One of the best mental exercises I’ve ever done and one that I’d recommend to everyone reading this right now is to game out this scenario: “Suddenly, out of the blue, you get Elon Musk-level wealth… 200 billion dollars in the bank.
Too much wealth can become a very heavy burden. The simplicity of traveling light is true freedom. "Truth is ever to be found in the simplicity, and not in the multiplicity and confusion of things."
I heard a sermon once where the preacher said he bought a swing set for his kids. He went through a whole long story about his trials and tribulations trying to get the thing put together. Then, he said, he finally got to the end of the instructions, and read, "It is imperative that all fasteners be checked and re-tightened every two weeks." So, he said, now every other weekend
for the rest of my life, I have to do this all over again.
Point being: Are all your possessions your servants ... or your master?
I am not a minimalist, but I do see the appeal and have gone more minimalistic as I have gotten older. The less stuff you have, the less stuff you have to maintain, upgrade and replace when it breaks. I tend to be very Marie Kondo about things. Is it super useful and often used? Does it "Spark joy?" If the answer to both of those is "no," get rid of it.
I've heard the test, "Does it bring you joy?" That's a little simplistic: I have things in my house that don't particularly "bring me joy", but which I keep because they're useful. They save me work or make my life more comfortable. Like, I am not filled with rapture every time I turn on the air conditioning, but I'd much prefer not to do without it. Your two part test, "useful OR sparks joy", makes more sense.
Flying private. That’s the only freedom I wish I had the money to afford. Nothing else. The rest is just fancier junk that gets left behind or auctioned or thrown out.
Yes. Like what can someone who has 10 billion dollars buy that someone with a mere 1 billion cannot? Or 1 million? Sure, you can buy a big fancy house and a fleet of cars. But you'll probably end up actually living in just 2 or 3 rooms of that big fancy house, and you can only drive one car at a time. I'm married to a Filipina and most of my in-laws live on $200 per MONTH. Okay, things are cheaper in the Philippines ... but not THAT much cheaper. When my now-wife and I were long distance dating, I once asked her whether she had a gas oven or electric. She said she cooks with charcoal.
I'm not saying that I necessarily know what "enough" is. That's getting into philosophy beyond the scope of this blog. What I do know is, economics is not a mathematical science; it's a behavioral study. And here we are. ;)
Yes. When I was young, I regularly thought that some new toy would make me happy -- a new car, a computer game, whatever. One day there was a computer gadget I wanted that was fairly expensive (for me at the time, anyway), so I had to save up for it for months. Finally, I bought it! When I got it, I played with it every day ... for about 3 days. Then I put it on a shelf and never used it again.
These days I find that I can buy almost anything I want. Not because I'm fabulously rich -- I am definitely not -- but because there's not that much I want any more.
I recently sold my house and moved to an apartment that's half the size. And you know what? It doesn't make much difference. I have room for my laptop and a couch and a TV and a dining table and I have a bedroom with a bed and a nightstand. How much more room do I need?
If I suddenly inherited a billion dollars maybe I'd buy a bigger house. Or maybe I wouldn't bother, because moving would be more trouble than the advantages. I'd fly first class instead of coach. I'd buy a backup generator so when we have power failures I'd still have electricity. And ... I'm hard pressed to think what else I'd buy.
Too much wealth can become a very heavy burden. The simplicity of traveling light is true freedom. "Truth is ever to be found in the simplicity, and not in the multiplicity and confusion of things."
Isaac Newton
I heard a sermon once where the preacher said he bought a swing set for his kids. He went through a whole long story about his trials and tribulations trying to get the thing put together. Then, he said, he finally got to the end of the instructions, and read, "It is imperative that all fasteners be checked and re-tightened every two weeks." So, he said, now every other weekend
for the rest of my life, I have to do this all over again.
Point being: Are all your possessions your servants ... or your master?
I am not a minimalist, but I do see the appeal and have gone more minimalistic as I have gotten older. The less stuff you have, the less stuff you have to maintain, upgrade and replace when it breaks. I tend to be very Marie Kondo about things. Is it super useful and often used? Does it "Spark joy?" If the answer to both of those is "no," get rid of it.
I've heard the test, "Does it bring you joy?" That's a little simplistic: I have things in my house that don't particularly "bring me joy", but which I keep because they're useful. They save me work or make my life more comfortable. Like, I am not filled with rapture every time I turn on the air conditioning, but I'd much prefer not to do without it. Your two part test, "useful OR sparks joy", makes more sense.
Flying private. That’s the only freedom I wish I had the money to afford. Nothing else. The rest is just fancier junk that gets left behind or auctioned or thrown out.
Blessed are those who have learned the secret of contentment, like St. Paul (Phil. 4:11-12).
There is a point at which a person has "enough." The rest is just window dressing, and past a certain point more trouble than it's worth.
Yes. Like what can someone who has 10 billion dollars buy that someone with a mere 1 billion cannot? Or 1 million? Sure, you can buy a big fancy house and a fleet of cars. But you'll probably end up actually living in just 2 or 3 rooms of that big fancy house, and you can only drive one car at a time. I'm married to a Filipina and most of my in-laws live on $200 per MONTH. Okay, things are cheaper in the Philippines ... but not THAT much cheaper. When my now-wife and I were long distance dating, I once asked her whether she had a gas oven or electric. She said she cooks with charcoal.
I'm not saying that I necessarily know what "enough" is. That's getting into philosophy beyond the scope of this blog. What I do know is, economics is not a mathematical science; it's a behavioral study. And here we are. ;)
GOoD riches - fine.
Ill riches - not.
Money itself is not a problem.
Your immortal soul is incomparable in value to anything or everything in this short human age's purpose.
Live forever, returning to where and with whom we were previous to the katabole, or erased completely.
Yes. When I was young, I regularly thought that some new toy would make me happy -- a new car, a computer game, whatever. One day there was a computer gadget I wanted that was fairly expensive (for me at the time, anyway), so I had to save up for it for months. Finally, I bought it! When I got it, I played with it every day ... for about 3 days. Then I put it on a shelf and never used it again.
These days I find that I can buy almost anything I want. Not because I'm fabulously rich -- I am definitely not -- but because there's not that much I want any more.
I recently sold my house and moved to an apartment that's half the size. And you know what? It doesn't make much difference. I have room for my laptop and a couch and a TV and a dining table and I have a bedroom with a bed and a nightstand. How much more room do I need?
If I suddenly inherited a billion dollars maybe I'd buy a bigger house. Or maybe I wouldn't bother, because moving would be more trouble than the advantages. I'd fly first class instead of coach. I'd buy a backup generator so when we have power failures I'd still have electricity. And ... I'm hard pressed to think what else I'd buy.
The rich man's wealth may ransom his life. But the poor man is not threatened. -- Proverbs 13:8