“Enough”
The idea that “Everyone Can Become Wealthy” is controversial. It’s hard to scroll through a newsfeed without seeing an article on the consequences of the massive student loan burden, the decline in social mobility, or the increasing consolidation of the world’s wealth in fewer and fewer hands. But at the same time, I have a hard time not thinking that most people could be doing a lot better than they are. I suspect that these external factors are not the only reasons (or even the main reasons) that many people fail to reach a state of financial bliss.
To me, “wealth” is a more nuanced concept than “having a lot of money.” Of course, it’s great to have a lot of money, but that alone doesn’t guarantee that you’ll enjoy it. Conversely, many people with less money can have a great deal of happiness in their situation. What we should strive for, then, is a situation where we have enough money to meet our needs (needs, not wants) and the wisdom to appreciate the beauty of that situation.
So I confess that part of my claim, “Everyone Can Become Wealthy” comes from a slightly spongier view of “wealthiness” than most people. For some, prosperity means having a certain, requisite collection of things: a 3+ bedroom house; a broad, green yard; a car for each person of driving age in the family (nice cars presumably, not the old clunkers that riddle the overgrown lawns of trailer parks); a hefty 401k; cadillac-grade healthcare coverage; and some subset of: a vacation home, a boat, regular vacations outside the continental US, and enough to pay for $200,000 college degrees for their children. In their eyes, these things are synonymous with wealth. Anything less is relative poverty.
But those things aren’t really important.
Wealth, to me, is having enough. “Enough” cannot be bought (though many people seem intent on trying); it comes instead from within. It means contentment with what you already have.
It can be tempting to twist this, and argue (as many do) that you only need a little more money until your “haves” align” with your “wants.” This is foolish. People will always want more, no matter how much they have. In fact, I think if personal finance had a set of natural laws, this would be the equivalent of Newton’s Third: For each and every increase in income, there is an equal and offsetting increase in spending.
We must therefore actively redirect our desires to what we have, rather than attempt to satisfy our wants through more vigorous consumption.
Change Your Mind, Change Your Reality
Most people’s minds are far more malleable than they give them credit for. In fact, it is common to think that it would be easier to change the external world (by landing extra promotions, raises, working extra jobs) than by focusing on within. But the opposite is true.
Something that works well for me is focusing on the abundance I already have, and choosing to want that instead of a bunch of new stuff. I have a 2010 macbook pro that still works great, a good phone, a comfortable bed, a netflix subscription, some good cooking tools, wifi, a kitchen table that functions as my desk, an extravagantly nice recorder for my podcast…I could hardly be richer! Additionally, these are the things I spend the most time using. In fact, if I had more time I’d spend it using these things rather than on trying to incorporate something new to my already-crowded schedule.
I could make myself unhappy by focusing on all the nicer apartments and houses than mine. Or I could direct my attention inward on the fact that I really like my studio apartment. I like that the price is cheap, that it feels like home, that there’s no yardwork ever, that the kitchen layout is simple but incredibly functional, that I’m comfortable and happy living and working here, that we’re a short walk away from some beautiful views, and that we’re allowed to have a wonderful dog named Penny while we live here. Just writing this, I already feel more appreciative!
It sounds “New-Agey,” but I think the first step to growing richer (financially) is to feel a sense of abundance with what you already have. Budgeting, saving, and investing are all very important, but those are a later step. Without a foundation of well-being on which to start doing all those things, you risk running out of steam and falling into bad habits. Feeling wealthy (as I do), leads to a self-perpetuating cycle of enhanced simplicity and happiness. That, not austerity, is the base upon which you can build your better life.