Life is funny isn’t it? All through school we’re told to get good grades so that we can get into college.
Once we get into college we are told to get good grades so we can get a good job.
Once we get a good job, we work a ton of hours so that we can move up the ranks and get a better job, which usually requires more time and more pressure so that we can set ourselves up with the next promotion.
We do all of this in hopes that once we reach a certain job status or certain level of income that it will provide us with happiness.
We want more money to accumulate more things, which just take up more time that we don’t have, which leads us to wonder at some point in life,
Is this all there is?
A Merry Minimalist
Are promotions and hard work bad things? Of course not! But, many times, we have it all wrong. I need to constantly remind myself of this, so maybe we all need a bit of reminder:
True wealth is not found in our promotions or our jobs or by helping a company turn a profit! It is found in the quality of relationships and pursuing our passions!
So maybe we need to take a step back and simplify. We just might find that minimizing our pursuit of stuff may just lead to a greater quality of life.
Simplifying lifestyles leads to owning fewer “things”, but let’s take a look at how owning fewer trinkets can lead us to owning more:
Own more time
You’ll free up time to do things you enjoy. Maybe it’s spending time with family and friends. Maybe it’s sitting down and reading a good book. Maybe it’s a home project you’ve wanted to get done.
It’s amazing how quickly our “I’d like to do” list gets piled up.
For example, we say, “Oh, I’d like to take the kids to the museum, or I’d like to take my wife out on a nice date, or I’d like to spend more time volunteering at a non-profit organization” and then those things never happen because we’re too busy.
Maybe it’s time to take a step back and look at how much time we spend building our own little earthly kingdom rather than investing into others.
Don’t miss another post! Get Redeeming Riches delivered straight to your inbox!
Own more money
The whole premise to the Millionaire Next Door, the popular book by Thomas Stanley and William Danko is that based on their research they found the majority of those who lived in upscale neighborhoods and had high incomes were not weathy – they just lived high on the hog.
When we kill ourselves to move up the ladder so we can make it into the next upscale community and keep pace with the next income bracket, a funny thing happens. Our net worth typically doesn’t increase.
Those who realize the foolishness of keeping up with the Joneses and are satisfied with what they have tend to see an increase in net worth because they save money rather than blow it!
Own more happiness
Remember the song “Cats in the Cradle“? It’s a sad song about a dad who never played with his son because he was always so busy. The tables turned on the dad down the road when his son told him he didn’t have time to visit with his father because he was too busy himself.
You could be the best employee at your job, moving quickly up the ranks, but if your spouse and kids can’t stand you because you are never home or never involved with them, what good is it?
Simplifying our lifestyle or decluttering your life from “stuff” will free up more time for you to invest into and enjoy things that will bring greater returns – like quality of relationships.
Share your thoughts!
IRA Withdrawal Rules – When Can You Withdraw Your IRA?
10 Money-Saving Tips to Help You Stash $10,000!
Well Paying Careers: 30 Jobs That Pay $30 Per Hour
7 Most Important Habits That Rich People Use to Build Wealth
Should You Give Money to a Homeless Person?
{ 24 comments… read them below or add one }
Totally agree! Reminded me of the story told about a guy trying to explain to a poor, uneducated fisherman, why he should go to school and get an education so he could get a good job, a better salary, a better house… With every successive step the fisherman kept asking, “Why?” Until the final step was so he could retire and live by the sea and go fishing…
.-= Budgets are the New Black´s last blog ..Good Read$… and Other Musings from a Week Awry =-.
What the world needs more of are blog posts like this. On the topic of time, let’s not forget the time one spends taking care of things (maintaining, fixing, replacing, upgrading). The things you use frequently are worth owning, but how many specialized kitchen gadtes or onl-for-Christmas items does one household need to store 12 months a year?
Great post.
This is why basic financial planning should always start with goals and dreams first.
So true! When I first thought of life after college, I thought about sinking time into work, reaching my dreams of being the best at my job. Then I read “Voluntary Simplicity,” and oddly enough, it really hit me for the first time that I’m not going to live forever. What things am I going to regret when I die? Certainly not that I didn’t buy a bigger home or spend more time at the office! Now when I think of “being rich” and “success,” I think of having just enough money to do the things I love and having enough down time to spend with my family and boyfriend. Who cares how big your house is or how nice your car is? It’s not like we can take it with us when we go…
.-= Red´s last blog ..Voyeurism, or tour of our apartment =-.
Thanks for this post, I’m checking out your site didn’t know you were here in NW Indiana.
.-= daltonsbriefs´s last blog ..Positive sign for home building =-.
Budgets, yes that is a great story with a great point! We work and work and work thinking that we will finally get to a point where we can enjoy the destination and way too often we forget to enjoy the journey!
Thanks David! I agree with you, but I swear I’ll use that Jack Lalanne Power Juicer some day!
RJ, It’s importatnt to have our financial plan incorporate personal, family, spiritual and general life goals – not just money goals.
Red, sounds like you got a pretty good head start on being a Merry Minimalist! Nice job!
This post reminds me a lot of a book I read in college and still read sometimes, Your Money or Your Life by Robins and Dominguez. It’s nice that people are still trying to get the message out that more stuff does not equal more happiness.
Indiana Teacher – thanks for your comment! This message is so counter-cultural and something we probably all need to hear more. Unfortunatley, advertising, media and the like bombard us with the oppositve view. It’s hard to wade through all the garbage out there.
Nice post. I really like the Cats in the Cradle analogy. As a father of 3 young kids I can really relate. I always tell friends that are expecting there 1st kid that 90% of being a good Dad is just showing up. In the end, all kids want is your time. Glad I found your blog, I’ll be back.
Hey Kyle, thanks for checking out the blog! There’s a lot to be said for Dad’s who are present in their kids’ lives. Being purposeful and intentional about that time is so important, otherwise it’s easy to let other things creep in and steal that time away!
Great article. I could totally relate…less is more. For some reason it took me until middle aged to realize this. I just downloaded an interesting EBook about finding your bliss called “The Objective is Happiness”. It’s about focusing on what really matters and finding happiness. Less is more!
Thanks for the comment Betty! I’m glad you realized that less is more. Keep putting the message out there to younger folks so they don’t have to wait until “middle age”.
I very much agree with this artical. This is what I blog about all the time. We quit our full time jobs to work part time from home and be with our kids more.
.-= Laura´s last blog ..Save $10/Month on Electricity (For Busy People) =-.
Laura, wow! That’s pretty ambitious to cut out the full time jobs to be with the kids more. Very cool though. I’m sure your kids love it!
It’s not what you have, but what you do with what you have.
Linda, good point – we can still be faithful with a little right!?
The song Cat’s in the Cradle is so sad. It makes me cry whenever I hear it. Our kids are grown and my husband made his kids a top priority, didn’t fish or hunt or watch football… and he still feels like he missed out on their childhood.
If only parents could realize that what their kids need more than anything is THEM!
Bernice
http://bernicewood.wordpress.com/2010/08/27/the-cure-for-the-american-dream/
The song Cat’s in the Cradle is so sad. It makes me cry whenever I hear it. Our kids are grown and my husband made his kids a top priority, didn’t fish or hunt or watch football… and he still feels like he missed out on their childhood.
If only parents could realize that what their kids need more than anything is THEM!
Bernice
http://bernicewood.wordpress.com/2010/08/27/the-cure-for-the-american-dream/
The song Cat’s in the Cradle is so sad. It makes me cry whenever I hear it. Our kids are grown and my husband made his kids a top priority, didn’t fish or hunt or watch football… and he still feels like he missed out on their childhood.
If only parents could realize that what their kids need more than anything is THEM!
Bernice
http://bernicewood.wordpress.com/2010/08/27/the-cure-for-the-american-dream/
The song Cat’s in the Cradle is so sad. It makes me cry whenever I hear it. Our kids are grown and my husband made his kids a top priority, didn’t fish or hunt or watch football… and he still feels like he missed out on their childhood.
If only parents could realize that what their kids need more than anything is THEM!
Bernice
http://bernicewood.wordpress.com/2010/08/27/the-cure-for-the-american-dream/
Great point! I’m glad to hear your husband made his kids a top priority – that’s one of my aims as well.
{ 13 trackbacks }