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Becoming Content With Less

August 25, 2008 RSS Feed Print

When I received a copy of The Way We'll Be by pollster John Zogby, I couldn't believe some of his predictions. First of all, he says that we'll become more "Zen-like" as we learn to work at home and realize we don't want to spend hours of each day stuck in traffic. In his world, yoga may become as ubiquitous as McDonald's is now. In terms of spending, Zogby says Americans are learning their limits. Instead of fantasizing about owning a mansion, we're learning to be content with the two-bedroom condo that we can actually afford. (I recently wrote about how living more simply has also become "cooler," which seems to be a related phenomenon.)

I wish I could say that I embrace that new attitude in my own life, but for me, it's a struggle. I still want what I can't have. I'd really like to be able to afford a house, such as the three-bedroom one my parents bought when they were my age, but that will likely elude me for years. Still, I check online listings once a week and watch "for sale" signs in my neighborhood closely, even though the homes are all out of my price range.

What about you—do you feel content with what you have, or do you find yourself wanting more? If you've achieved this "Zen-like" existence that Zogby describes, please give me advice on how to join you.

(My full interview with Zogby will be posted tomorrow.)

Tags:: consumers,; books,; personal finance

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I think part of the struggle is that young people are not prepared to take a step (or several steps) down from what they had with their parents, or what their parents had at their age. I just don't think parents talk to their kids about how much saving, struggle, sacrifice, luck, and planning went into that 3-bedroom 2-bath house. Instead, all we see are media examples or people just getting everything easily.
It is human nature to want more. I think to be satisfied with less we have to remind ourselves often of a few things:
1. Look at how much we really do have compared to what is really the minimum needed to survive. We are rich already. We aren't living in mud huts with dust floors, with only one set of clothes and no other property, no medical care, walking 10 miles daily for water that isn't clean, and eating only rice day in and day out.
2. Look at what really makes us happy. It usually isn't stuff. Prove it to yourself by hiding your favorite objects from yourself for a month. You'll soon realize you get by just fine without most of them (the computer would be the hardest for me, but I know I would adapt).
3. We always think we want more home, more space, more land. But when you get it, you aren't really happier. Having it brings on more work - more maintenance, more debt, more cleaning, more taxes, etc. Adding more space just to hold more unnecessary stuff does not improve quality of life. Same thing with that new car - you'll get a buzz from it for awhile, sure. But is it really a $30,000 buzz? Doesn't it get you from A to B pretty much the same way as your older car? Psychology studies of people who won the lottery show they aren't happier, they don't have fewer problems than the rest of us. In fact, that sudden wealth often brings a lot of stress. Instead, psychology studies show that however happy you are, you're likely to be that happy regardless of your circumstances taking a drastic turn for the better or worse, aside from short-term fluctuations.

otowi of CO 10:28AM April 13, 2009

Zogby may think we'd rather work at home, but in some professions, that's just not possible. I'm going to be a mental health counselor at some point in time....I'm sure clients would be thrilled to video-conference with their mental health counselor who could be sitting in sweats in their bed, not to mention all the HIPAA problems that could cause.
Some people choose to work in their office because they are more productive in their office, away from the distractions of spouses, children, and pets.....

Veronica of NY 3:01PM August 25, 2008

I'm very content with what I have/own -- I don't want more. But I worry that what I DO own (mainly, my house) will be lost due to economic difficulties...so all in all, not very zen-like. :-(

Single Mom of 2:38PM August 25, 2008

Becoming Content With Less

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