LESS IS MORE
To most, this may sound absolutely absurd, but let's have a discussion about it and why this cliche makes more and more sense as you get older. We live in a society where consumption is at an all time high. Sure we need more stuff because the stuff we are buying is basically junk and needs to constantly be replaced. We are also buying to fill voids in our personal lives. We also over consume to feel relevant. But as I am sure you have all experienced, everything has a marginal diminishing utility. Basically, it all gets boring so we need to keep consuming. External validation, consumption of material things make us feel great but it is fleeting. This is how companies keep you enslaved to the never ending cycle of consumption.
There are several books that discuss the psychology of why we consume so much stuff for temporary moments of joy. However, they never address the root cause and finding solutions to make that joyous state of mind last without having to be a victim of corporate marketing campaigns. One the best books I have read on this topic is https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2848658-buyology .
The financial benefits of consuming less:
- The obvious, you have more money in your pocket by buying less stuff. You can use that money and go on a trip, see the world, experience life
- Every purchase has a constant cost to maintain. Buy a nice watch, got to get insurance, have to maintain the watch and get it serviced so it stays in working order
- You save space and avoid having to pay for a storage unit for all the stuff you think you may need one day but now after years you don't even know you have it
Get more time to do more things
- The more choices you have, the more time you spend deciding which one to engage. You know you only use 20% of the stuff anyways yet you waste time looking at the other 80% and then coming back to the 20%
- It takes the average man 12 minutes to figure out what he will wear each day. It should take you around 5 minutes, so 6 minutes a day over the year is around 91 hours of time wasted - you could have played 22 rounds of golf but you spent it staring at your closet
- Time is your most precious asset, why waste it?
Maximize enjoyment
- I am assuming most of the stuff you buy is meant to provide you with a certain level of enjoyment, so the more you have the less you actually enjoy each thing
- Use what you have as much as you can - trust me, you will soon learn that the more you use something, the better it gets assuming you are not shopping at Shien or Temu
- Better is not equal to cost, buy better things rather than more things and really enjoy each of those things
When it comes to clothing, think about building a functional, high performance wardrobe rather than having a garage filled with spare parts. Not only does this help keep your mind clear, it saves you a ton of money and reduces unnecessary clutter in your life. Another great advantage is it gives you more time to do other things. You spend x amount of time trying to figure out what to wear when you could be using that time to do something productive. Are you starting to see what we are trying to say? Our 2-2-4 system basically alleviates all the nonsense when it comes to dressing in style. Pick any 2 jackets, any 2 pants and 4 variations of shirts and you have 16 new looks. Now, add 3 types of shoes, a sneaker, loafer and a boot. You now have 48 different looks. Playing with accessories like watches and belts can now make your wardrobe limitless. Check out articl3.com for a comprehensive capsule wardrobe that will make your life easier.
All in all, by having less, you really have a lot more. You have more space, more time, more money in your pocket, more mental clarity and more joy from enjoying the pieces you actually use.
