Do you hate your job and your life? Do you have a house full of stuff? You work so that you can buy things, and those things keep you chained to that desk working. Your materialistic lifestyle is killing you.
What is the concept of materialism?
In the United States and many other countries worldwide, we’re obsessed with materialism.
Not only do we want all the stuff, but we silently compete with each other to try and have the best, biggest, and most stuff possible.
This obsession can manifest through buying one big, flashy thing like a giant McMansion. Or it can show itself through a series of smaller purchases like endless closets full of clothes, progressively flatter, bigger televisions, and the latest version of any Apple product being produced.
This materialism forms the basis of our economy.
That’s our entire economic system: buy things. Everybody buy. It doesn’t matter what you buy. Just buy. It doesn’t matter if you don’t have money. Just buy. Our entire civilization now rests on the assumption that, no matter what else happens, we will all continue to buy lots and lots of things.
Buy, buy, buy, buy, buy. And then buy a little more. Don’t create, or produce, or discover — just buy. Never save, never invest, never cut back — just buy. Buy what you don’t need with money you don’t have… Buy like you breathe, only more frequently.
What are the three types of materialism?
Philosophical Materialism: Physicalism is the belief that the fundamental substance of reality is material or physical in nature. According to this view, physical properties and processes can ultimately explain everything that exists, including consciousness and mental states.
Historical Materialism: Developed by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, historical materialism is a sociopolitical theory that posits that the economic and material conditions in a society shape its historical development, social structures, and institutions. This perspective emphasizes the importance of class struggles, production relations, and economic forces in understanding societal changes.
Cultural Materialism: This is an anthropological theory that emphasizes the role of material conditions, such as technology, environment, and modes of production, in shaping human culture, beliefs, and behavior. Cultural materialists assert that the way people organize their societies and create meaning is primarily driven by their need to adapt to and transform their material world.
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What is an example of materialism?
It’s not just down to your own materialism and lack of willpower driving this.
Marketing Genius
In America, we’re conditioned for this nearly from the cradle. Take the example of Coca-Cola, a company that has very effectively used classical conditioning for decades. Thirst is an unconditioned response. We get thirsty due to outside forces like being in the heat or sweating while exercising or playing sports.
Through its marketing, Coke has associated itself with these activities, people drinking a “refreshing” Coke on a hot day at the beach or after a hard-fought game.
And it doesn’t hurt that the people drinking the Cokes in the ads are fit and attractive.
These images and their messages worm their way into our unconscious. Now we want a Coke not only in instances when we feel thirsty but also when we’re on the beach or after a game (or merely at a game) or even when we just see a Coke sign.
If we drink a Coke, we’ll be fit and attractive like the people in the ads, or at least we can do what attractive people do.
This kind of conditioning through advertising makes us buy a product, Coke in this case, even if we don’t need a Coke because we aren’t actually thirsty.
It’s easy to see how this example extends beyond just buying Coke to purchasing much more expensive items. And this is just one instance. You wouldn’t believe the tactics corporations use to get you to buy and consume junk food. The human brain is easily hijacked.
And Then There’s Social Media
Most of us have at least one social media account, and these platforms are increasingly influencing our purchasing decisions. Social media has become a powerful tool for marketers, with 74% of consumers now using social networks to help make buying decisions.
From product reviews to influencer recommendations, the content we see on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter significantly shapes what we choose to buy.
Because social media platforms have so much information about us, it’s easy for companies to use targeted marketing to sell to us. We’re targeted by location, demographics, our interests, and even our behaviors.
A study found that those who spend a lot of time on Facebook and who have a lot of friends are more likely to have credit card debt and lower credit scores than those who spend less time on the site and have fewer “friends.”
Those who see celebrities wearing a particular item of clothing on social media are often moved to buy it too. This is evidenced by the phenomenon of an item of clothing worn by young, female British royals often selling out almost as soon as the photographs of them in it are posted.
In fact, a whole company, The Royal Look For Less, has recently sprung up solely dedicated to selling inexpensive knockoffs of clothes worn by Kate Middleton and Megan Markle. If you like beige dresses and nude tights, this site is your new home page.
This All Leads To An Interesting Phenomenon
You might suspect all these ends in tears, and you’re right. Here is what can happen when you live to buy, buy, buy.
We’re not starving, homeless, and naked.
Why do we get out of bed five or so days a week and go to work? Well, because we need money to feed, house, and clothe ourselves and our families. But how much do those things cost? In most developed countries, food is reasonably affordable.
Governments, most notably the French monarchy, learned the hard way what happens when people can’t afford to feed themselves. When the peasants had no bread—despite the myth that Marie Antoinette said ‘Let them eat cake’—they chose to revolt, ultimately leading to the downfall of the rich and powerful during the French Revolution
Although housing is becoming increasingly expensive, (while wages remain stagnant) most of us can afford a place to live too even if it means bunking with roommates or living with family.
While we may not all be dressed in Chanel couture, it’s safe to say that it’s been a long time since I’ve seen anyone without the basics in public. Most of us are managing to cover the essentials—housing, food, and clothing—without too much difficulty.
$500 Grand a Year and Broke
So, why are so many of us drowning in debt, living paycheck to paycheck, and barely making ends meet?
After covering our core needs, we often have some money left over. But instead of saving, investing, or even giving it away, many choose to spend it on more stuff. We’re led to believe that buying more will make us happy, but is that really the case?
Whoever said money can't buy happiness doesn’t know where to shop.
Tweet ThisBut does it make you happy?
Selling Your Life Hour by the Hour
How often do you wake up and think, “I wish I didn’t have to go to work”? Or worse, how many of you feel that familiar dread creeping in around 5:00 pm on Sundays?
Do you genuinely love your job? If you weren’t getting paid, would you still do it? Can you imagine better, more fulfilling ways to spend your time? The truth is, most of us only show up to work because we’re paid to be there, not because we enjoy what we do.
If you didn’t have to work, you’d likely be a lot happier and far freer.
What many people fail to realize—or choose to ignore—is that everything you buy beyond your core needs pulls you further away from true happiness and freedom.
When you spend most of the money you earn at a job you dislike on things you don’t need, you’re essentially selling your life, your happiness, and your freedom one hour at a time.
Let’s do the math. If you want a new $1,000 iPhone and you make $20 an hour (before taxes), you’ll need to work 50 hours—a full workweek, plus two additional days and two hours—just to afford that phone. Shocking, isn’t it?
Even if you’re salaried, you can still calculate how much you earn per hour. Before making a purchase, figure out how many weeks, days, and hours of work it will take to pay for it.
Now, looking back at that iPhone purchase, what would you rather have: the phone, or seven days free from your soul-sucking job?
If you totaled up the cost of all the stuff you just “had” to have, now gathering dust in your closet, attic, or garage, you’d probably realize you could shave years off your working life.
It’s a sobering thought. If you struggle with the idea of buying less, try thinking of it as working less. In the pursuit of happiness, aim not only to reduce unnecessary purchases but also to reduce the time you spend working.
Breaking Out
Now that we recognize the problem and know what’s behind it, what can we do to break out?
The Sweet Spot
In 2010 a study from Princeton University was published citing $75,000 as the annual salary you need a year to be happy. The lower a person made under that amount, the unhappier they were, but no matter how much more a person made, $1 million, $75 million, or $10 billion, they reported no greater degree of happiness than those at the sweet spot of $75,000.
Adjusted for inflation, that is now $108,060. So it’s not minimum wage, but it’s not Bezos money either.
Buying Happiness
Money can buy happiness in more ways than one, but none of them have anything to do with buying stuff.
Freedom
Money can indeed buy happiness when it’s used to purchase freedom. But where can you buy freedom—at a freedom store? Freedom, in essence, is about having choices, and money is what enables those choices.
If you have money in the bank and you hate your job, you can quit even before you’ve lined up another. Or you can quit and start your own business. If you hate where you live, you can use your money to live somewhere else, a different house, a different town, or even a different country.
Time
What do people often wish they had more of? Money is usually the first answer, followed closely by time. While everyone has the same 24 hours in a day, having money allows you to effectively buy more time.
How? Take commuting, for instance. If your job is in the city and you can afford to live there—despite the higher cost of city living—your commute will be shorter than someone who has to live in the more affordable suburbs or countryside.
We all need a clean home, clean clothes, and meals to eat, but tasks like cleaning, laundry, and cooking take time. With money, you can hire people to handle these tasks for you, freeing up your time for other pursuits.
Good Karma
If you want to use your money to buy happiness, give it away. Being generous has been scientifically proven to increase happiness. It doesn’t have to be a lot either, just buying a cup of coffee for another person makes us happy.
It makes us healthier too. Studies have shown that older people who are generous enjoy better health.
Spending money on others can be as effective at decreasing blood pressure as taking medication or exercising (exercising makes us happy too).
Helping others gives us a longer life, maybe because doing so reduces stress and stress is bad for our health, happiness, and longevity.
Buy Experiences
We’re not telling you not to spend money on anything apart from the bare necessities. That’s no kind of life. But if you want to buy happiness, buy experiences rather than things. It’s been shown that buying something like concert tickets makes us happier than buying something like a new outfit.
When you buy an experience you buy anticipation, often a shared experience, and memories. When you buy a thing, well, you have a thing, and that’s it.
Getting There
This all sounds promising, but how do we achieve it? The bar may not be as high as you think. You don’t need to earn a million dollars a year to be happy—studies suggest that happiness can be found with an annual income between $50,000 and $65,000 (source). However, the median household income in the U.S. varies depending on where you live.
So how can we get to the sweet spot without putting in more hours at a job we hate?
Get Rid of Debt
The only thing more soul-sucking than a job you hate is being saddled with debt. If you have credit card debt, your focus needs to be getting rid of it. Attack it with the snowball or stacking method so you can pay it off efficiently.
Consider getting a balance transfer card so you can get the principal paid off without paying interest. Get a loan from a company like Upgrade. You’ll still have debt, but the interest rate will be considerably lower than what you were paying to the credit card companies.
If you have student loan debt refinance it with Credible. You can often lower your interest rate and even refinancing for a rate 1% lower than what you’re currently paying can save you thousands of dollars over the life of the loan.
Invest
Investing is the most important step to take if you want to achieve financial freedom. When you invest, your money is making money for you. Open a M1 account. Contribute to your employer’s 401k.
Consider real estate investing as the ultimate form of passive income. You don’t need a lot of money to do it nor do you have to become a hands-on landlord. You start investing in real estate with Fundrise.
Do A Freeze
Pick a month and do a spending freeze. A spending freeze means you don’t spend any money apart from what is absolutely necessary, housing, utilities, groceries, etc. You don’t go out to dinner or for drinks; you don’t buy any clothes, you don’t get your nails done. Nothing apart from the essentials.
See how it goes. Do it in February which is the shortest month and in most places, it’s too cold and miserable to go out anyway.
Put it on a List
If you’re considering buying something you don’t truly need, try writing it down and waiting for 30 days (the 30-day rule). After 30 days, if you still want the item, go ahead and purchase it. However, what often happens is that by the time the 30 days are up, you’ll have forgotten about it entirely.
Using the 30-day list method will go a long way to curbing impulse buying which is where a lot of us get into trouble.
Less Work, More Happiness
It’s important to realize that you’re a slave to your stuff. Recognize this, and you can free yourself. Materialism is killing you, but it’s never too late to break the habit.
Maybe your goal shouldn’t be to save money, maybe your goal should be to save yourself and your happiness. Be selfless in a way that will actually increase your happiness. You should also be absolutely selfish. Selfish with your time. You have a limited amount you shouldn’t be wasting it working for meaningless things. Work less, play more.
It's painful knowing that all those small transactions add up to big money. It's exciting to think of trying out a no spend challenge, but it also seems daunting. It doesn't need to be so intimidating. This workbook will guide you through a no buy month while keeping your sanity intact.
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Mark spent over 30 years as a senior finance executive in Private Banking, Asset Management and Alternative Investments. Mark holds a BS in Accounting from Brooklyn College, an MBA in Finance from Pace University as well as being sponsored to attend The Wharton School Executive Development Program.
