“He that is of the opinion money will do everything may well be suspected of doing everything for money.” – Benjamin Franklin
I’ve never been one to employ large sweeping generalities. I try to recognize that everyone lives unique lives with unique backgrounds focused on unique passions. We are different in our nationality, our heritage, our gender, our family status, our religion, our culture, and our worldview. But I am becoming increasingly convinced there is one characteristic that unites each of us:
We don’t need more money.
I admit that some have stumbled upon this blog post today who do need money for legitimate survival. But it is probably not you. After all, you clearly have access to the Internet… which doesn’t guarantee you have everything you need for survival, but it sure increases the probability. Add to that the reality that 6 billion people live on less than $13,000/year and Daniel Suelo has survived the past 12 years with no money at all and I’d say chances are pretty good your basic needs are already taken care of.
We don’t really need more money.
But most of us still want it. We’d like more cash in our pocket. We want a bigger paycheck each week. We want a larger balance in our checking account, savings account, or retirement account. And many of us have tied our happiness to this pursuit of money.
Even though our basic needs have been met, our desire for money persists. Far too often, this desire begins to take root as a need inside of us. Before we know it, we forget that we were talking about a want and begin confusing it with a need. But what we need and what we want are rarely the same.
We don’t really need more money. Instead…
- We need to show more spending restraint.
- We need to discover gratitude and contentment.
- We need to practice generosity.
- We need to stop comparing our lives to others.
- We need to change our view of money.
- We need to realize our lives are far more valuable than the amount of money we possess.
{ 46 comments… read them below or add one }
“We need to show more spending restraint.” Point taken. Until I read that, my plan was to immediately head to Amazon and buy the new book.
Glad I could help. :)
I have to ask why did you write a book in the first place? If it was to inform and share information with others, then why are you charging money for it? Also, since you just stopped a reader of your blog from buying your book, why not send him your book for free? Writing an informative book and then charging money for it (since you can’t get it for free at the library) puts you in the same pool as a capitalist pig, which is a total contrast to what you pontificate here. After all, I am certain you have enough money for your own life. Why are you asking for more?
Money is simply energy. It is what lifted man out of the jungle (as in the case of the scavenger, Daniel Suelo) and made the human race more civilized. Money is not a problem, per se. If people want more of it and work for it, let them have it. That’s what I say. If you want true freedom from the love of money, then you must be able to let people live as they themselves see fit. We should respect the wealthy as much as we respect the poor. Only then are we truly free from the lust of money. IMHO.
Right now, the whole entire universe is showing ‘spending restraint’ due to a global collapsed economy. How’s that been working out for everybody? Is the world a happier place? Or have you noticed more rioting in the streets, from the lack of money?
Personally, I think you should send johnny C a free copy of your book and if you really practice what you preach, everyone who visits this blog should get a free copy also. Just make it available as a free download for all of us who blantantly access the internet because we are all rich fat cats, eh?
@ My Life,
Josh actually never said that money was bad. And he certainly didn’t say that people shouldn’t make money or be wealthy, or that people who do are “capitalist pigs.” All he said was that most of the people accessing this blog, himself included, don’t need more money, but want more money, and that we should learn to differentiate our wants from our needs. By understanding the difference, we won’t “tie our happiness to this pursuit of money” if/when it’s not a need.
It’s easy to read something into a post that isn’t really there. I’ve certainly done this before, and it’s definitely not something I’d look down on anyone else for doing. There’s just no need to imply that someone (in this case, Josh) is hypocritical for making money when he’s made it clear that it’s not money that’s the issue, but basing our happiness on it.
@My Life
If you’re going to name call and bash people, why don’t you do it somewhere else. You shouldn’t come onto someone else’s blog and start bashing.
Don’t you realize that Joshua needs to provide for his family? He wrote a book, that takes time away from his family, that is his precious time…. as well as his source of income. He doesn’t have to give it away unless he wants to. It’s a choice we all can make and where he and his family choose to give to/away, is HIS choice.
Also, I don’t know what part of the country you live in and where you see “rioting in the streets” but where I see that there are plenty of people still buying buying buying. So Joshua is right when he says “we don’t need more money.”
@Joshua – I appreciate your thoughts and your blog b/c it’s really helped me grow within the area of minimalizing. I st I would hope people, including My Life would read your blog and be encouraged by your passion and your awareness you bring.
Thanks for the comment @My Life. It gives me opportunity to explain a bit more than I may have in the article. Just to be clear, I am not against labor. And I am not against being compensated for your labor.
What I was hoping to accomplish in this piece is to free up many of us who get caught in the trap of thinking that we “need” more money to improve our lives or experience greater happiness. What we think we need is not always accurate of what we actually need.
I believe then it’s called ‘living within ones means’. Has nothing to do with or without making money at all. You also, Joshua, were very degrading to people who are just using the internet. As if implying people who do use it are rich or something.
I think only religious pastors should pontificate. Money makes the world go round and should be respected, which it is NOT here. You seem to admonish those who have money and perhaps you do not even realize that you do.
@Brooke, if a person wants to have a blog, have a comments section and sell a product at the same time, he or she should welcome all viewers regardless of what they have to say or write. Why such fear?
To anyone who thinks they don’t need money, they will be in for a rude surprise. It’s the level of money one needs. Respect the wealthy as you should respect the poor.
PS: I won’t come back here anymore, so any more discussion is moot. I’m deleting this blog from my roll and the person who recommended this site to me will get a nice email from me. Apparently this site is listed in a book. Thankfully it’s an eBook, online and thanks to the internet, can be erased.
Actually in my city you can pay $1 and request the library purchase a book. Often they will do it without even charging the $1.
I also have friends who freely share books. One buys one book and another a different and we swap them around. This keeps a roof over the authors’ heads and keeps us from all owning all the books.
Your cerebral financial thought for the day.
Josh,
Because writing a book COST money. The book isn’t about how to screw yourself over by doing everything for free.
Josh, keeping aside @my life’s way of saying things… (may be blunt, but he has a point).
You touched upon “need” but you didn’t distinguish it from “want”. Today I may “want” $10 to do something, but with inflation, tomorrow, in order to get the same thing… I may “need” $10 to get half of it… needs and wants change over time.
There’s nothing wrong with being a capitalist… would like to point you in the direction of two interesting books if you haven’t read.
1) Your Money or Your Life – Vicki Robin
2) How To Get Rich – Felix Dennis (no BS approach about being wealthy)
I’m really amazed at how people have caught on the minimalistic trend, yet really don’t practice it.
How about giving your ebook away, and then offering those who want to buy the physical copy (or digital) a way of buying it? Seth Godin did this with ideavirus… you saw his success. What about you… you don’t need more money do you?
Some of us access the internet on the library or at work, internet this days does not equal well off.
If you compare with people in sub-Saharan Africa that live on dust, yeah we don’t need more money. But if you want to give your kids fresh food instead of hotdogs and crisps than you need more money. Context and geography matter, sweeping generalizations and a few people that make it “without money” not so much.
In my experience, healthy food is not more expensive. Quite the contrary, it’s often much cheaper to buy vegetables and create your own low-calorie, low-salt, high-nutrition, lots-of-vegetable food.
What it needs is mostly more time, not more money.
Carla,
I can completely understand where your concern is coming from. I have totally felt where you are, having to care for the health and welfare of children on a meager income. However, Joshua did mention that not all are in a place where money is truly a non-issue. Also, I want to provide some insight that it can all come down to perspective shifting and shifting priorities. We are a family of 4 (2 adults & 2 little ones) living on $34k/year gross income. We constantly feel the strain trying to keep a decent roof over our heads and feed our boys healthy foods. However, in reality, it’s much easier than we tell ourselves it is. We are able to purchase organic foods almost always. We own our house. And even find a way to save a little each month. Granted, our boys are on state health insurance and utilize WIC (where we don’t even use 1/2 of the checks), but we really are better off than we often imagine we are. And I think that’s the point Joshua is trying to make. Yes, things can be rough financially, but in reality we are the ones who make it harder than it needs to be.
Megyn @MinimalistMommi
I couldn’t agree with you more. When my parents first moved to the states when I was 2…we were a family of 5 in a TINY old apartment, my mom made everything from scratch and we always had healthy nutritious food (I never had McDonald’s until I was 16) and we had no income (mom stayed with us at home, dad went to school…lived on a tiny saving). My mom fed all of us 5 on <50$ per week, and taught us creativity an art for several years using boxes of scraps and random scrap supplies she bought for $5. My point is- I totally get still feeling I have not enough money…but alot of the time we do have enough, but we believe we don't and thus act as we don't…
Money = food. Food = survival. No food = death. Not enough money means possible death. How many of us are aware of this untruth? When consciously unaware of this we erroneously think we fear countless other things.
A previous comment on your blog: “Some of us access the internet on the library or at work, internet this days does not equal well off.” If employed, we’re well off. If we’ve got internet, there’s nothing we don’t have access to. If literate, let’s count our blessings. I still sometimes think I need more money, even @ $75k/year gross. I’m not complaining about what I do have, and I still need to change my view of money.
It all boils down to not knowing who we are. We constantly look outside ourselves for an identity. That includes food and money. When we come to know (not believe) that who we really are can never be diminished and never dies, we can begin to experience the liberation that comes from that knowing. Forgetting who we are is the issue. Amnesia, not lack of money, is the real issue.
Fabulous article Joshua Becker!
Wanting to earn more to afford fresh produce is not wrong or a problem of identity, it is providing a better life for those that depend on you.
” When we come to know (not believe) that who we really are can never be diminished and never dies, we can begin to experience the liberation that comes from that knowing. Forgetting who we are is the issue. Amnesia, not lack of money, is the real issue.
”
See we do die, really we do. Even the memory of us will die, and that is just a memory forged by the perception of other people, even that is not really You.
And you know how we can die faster, if we only eat crap because that is all you can afford.
I can’t help but think of having a plan with money. This would mean weekly, monthly, goals, the future.
Having a plan puts things in prospective.
If we continue to think money will create happiness for us, we will be chasing our tails. Everything you spoke about is so true. Money can become a source of misery for many. Giving, sharing, caring, having a spirit of gratitude, etc. provides far more riches than the what the bank says is in our accounts.
Bravo, Josh… This is among the most meaningful and valuable posts on any blog in 2012. As Mother Teresa said, “Whoever is dependent on his or her money or worries about it, is truly a poor person.” I pray it is read widely and taken seriously.
Love that quote thanks needed it today!
I really needed this today!! Thank you! The more we focus on “lack” the more lack we will attract. I try to focus on abundance and blessings and I always receive more when I do
Yes !! Having a mindset of poverty and creates an impoversished soul..which manifests itself into poor quality of life
I read an article/post by a professional frugality blogger who said that friends are too expensive — that we waste money by buying gifts for them, trying to keep up, etc. It’s something I disagree with. One thing that having a responsible financial life is about for me, is being able to be generous with my friends. I have actually started to spend more for birthdays, etc. But I don’t give physical gifts. I just gave a girl friend restaurant gift certificates because she moved into a new house that needs a lot of fixing and they have no kitchen and money is tight. We are generous in making meals for friends, or brining wine to their home when we are invited.
For me, part of earning a nice income is not being afraid to let some of it go for good causes (like charities, which you mention), but to use it to live an enriched and generous life with those we care about. Maybe I am in the minority of people who blog about financial restraing/responsibility, but I strive to make good money for the work I do and hope that it in turn helps me become more generous — not miserly. Charity is all well and good, but spreading the enjoyment of life is something that is important for me too. The trick, IMO, is to find a way to be generous without making the recipient feel they need to reciprocate.
My dream is to have a blessing of a good income so that I can bless others..simple and blessed for others.
Many years ago I was complaining about my low salary. A friend said, “Maybe instead of wishing for more money you should find a way to live within your means.” It was good advice. As someone else said, “If your OUTgo exceeds your INcome, your UPkeep will be your DOWNfall.” Forty years later I am still growing in gratitude, contentment, and generosity.
In my situation, more money is good thing, to get debt paid off as quickly as possible so I can not have to worry about money. So I guess, in my case, you will “eventually” be right.
I love the Franklin quote, it’s one I hadn’t seen before. Money fits into Maslow’s hierarchy so well, that of course, we can’t be happy when our basic needs are met. We just end up striving for more.
…if left unchecked, yes. But what if we replaced the striving for money/stuff with striving to have more enriching experiences with friends, family or alone? As humans, we’ll always be striving for something, that’s what makes life worth living and exciting. But we need to be careful of what it is we’re actually striving for. :)
This was the perfect thing for me to read today on my lunch break. I emptied out my online shopping cart (a brand I like is having an online special with free shipping, but I didn’t feel like I needed anything in my online basket), and instead made that donation I budgeted for this month, but had previously been putting off for a more convenient time. Thanks for the encouragement!
Well, I’m glad the bashing kind of died down towards the later comments. Honestly, you can’t expect people to take those kinds of comments seriously on a blog about living with less, intentionally. I’m here for the constant reminders to change my mental habits and it’s working. Thanks Josh for this and all your articles, they’re really helping me change my thoughts on my own life and in turn the world and others in it. Once basic needs are met, we are free to decide how much or how little we ‘need’ to feel comfortable in life. Reframing our relationship to money and material things is the cheapest (but not easiest) way to get us off the hamster wheel and on to doing more purposeful things with our lives.
have lived on little in the past, often out of necessity and then out of a desire to live a life without obligation to work for someone else in a 9to5 way. Was inspired by the Mennonite Book, “Having More With Less.”. Like your blog and FB page, am now working toward producing less waste and more living off the land, buying local. I didn’t see any comment about the Internet so can’t comment on that, but disagree with the comments that claim you shouldn’t be paid for a book, or the ones that complain of poverty. A big part of today’s economic crisis is the feeling by most of is that you can never have enough, you always want more…and more. the truth is you don’t need a new car every 2 years and new fashions each season. The less you spend on “stuff,” the more you have to help others who truly don’t have enough, and the less impact you have on a suffering environment
I think it’s weird when people get caught up on one post and take it out of context from all the other information the author has shared over a long amount of time. This post reflects one aspect of minimalism, and is good advice. He plainly begins by saying there are some who actually do need more money to provide for basic needs. He also has gone on at length about “RATIONAL minimalism”, explaining that our needs vary depending upon what our family size is, our job is, our interests are. His point has always been; Have what YOU need, and not more. Another words, if you want to travel the world, make a nice income, buy tickets, travel. But don’t waste your money on a ballet slipper collection you’re never home to see. On the other hand, if you’re a ballerina, there’s a reason to have a collection of ballet slippers, and perhaps you don’t need the hiking boots and kayak if you haven’t seen woodland in 8 years.
I can honestly say that with the rising cost of health insurance and other mandatory costs, my husband and I are still working to raise our income. But… mind you… we have been married 28 years, are the parents of six children aged 24-2, and have never made more than $50,000./year. We have enjoyed an amazingly full, joyfilled, life including healthy homemade meals. Our children have all excelled academically, and are healthy, talented, well-rounded, caring citizens. I have discovered that what children really want is their parents. They want our attention, our time, our company. Buying them fancy toys means nothing if we don’t play with them. I don’t want to spend more time away from them earning a paycheck to buy them more things. I want to find more ways to let go of things and free up my time to be with them.
I love this blog and I think nobody has to agree with me but it not correct to come here and say bad words about the blog. I am Brazilian, I live in Brazil and I am sure that people like me ( my family income is about 40,000 dollars a year; four people) have the necessary to live with dignity. Here as well the Americans, people work too much to increase their income to put their children in ballet, foreing language schools, swimming, to pay nannies because they don’t have time left to be with their children. And they want to buy a new car, a new house, a beach house, a country house, and so on. Do they need all the money? I am pretty sure they don’t.
There is a passage in the Bible in the old testement:” Whoever loves money will never be satisfied with money”.
God bless you all!
Janete Canteri
Thanks Josh. We moved here to Alaska from A wealthy suburb of Dallas Texas . Many here do not have bathrooms in their homes, or a finished houses. It’s not uncommon to have youth get showers at our church on Sunday mornings before Sunday School in -30 degree weather . Everyone fishes in Summer to get enough fish for the entire year. we adjusting toDirt roads, no fancy shops or restaurants. The Love and generosity here however is more than we could ever imagine. People actually spend time at home preparing meals with their kids . After dinner activities might include a family hike, building a fire, or just a game of cards at table together.
Our lives are forever changed. This place would be considered poor and unihabitable by many. One year removed from the wealthy burbs… We have found life again in a place rich with friends. Enjoying the simple and abundant life.
Youth ministry is crazy good too. Youth who travel
Miles on snow machine to lead worship
For their peers every week.
Jeff,
I would love to know what part of Alaska you moved to! I just came back from an Alaska vacation and I absolutely fell in love with it. From what you have mentioned, it sounds like you are surrounded by wonderful people.
We live In the Kenai Peninsula. It’s about 3 hours south of Anchorage.
Kasilof is the Town.
I am kind of envious of the life you are describing in Alaska. So simple and meaningful. Here I sit in the comforts of home, everyone is plugged into something, meals are whenever we can eat, the kids complain when a hike is suggested, no one wants to get up at 8 on a Sunday morning to go to church. The world has its grips on us.
Enjoy Alaska. Enjoy living within our mean. Enjoy simplicity and having the basics.
I love this blog.
I think most of us can live with less, a lot less. Your point is well taken. When we lived in China, most families grew their own vegetables, or traded them, and lived on a bit more than $300 a year.Their houses were built from the earth around them. Their families cared for the needs of the old and the young. Sounds a great deal like my grandmother’s house in the 1890′s in the US.
As for Daniel, he can survive without money because we all make the money for him to survive. He lives on public land (doing what comes natural in the setting), hunts public wildlife and foods, scavenges off of food that others leave behind, begs for food and when ill, is cared for by the public. If we all lived his life- no one would have anything—including an education. We used to call these people hermits and feel sad that they could not find enough in their selves to contribute to society. Now we glorify them as minimalists.
Daniel and the people in China are not even close to the same. One group chooses to find a way to live with little because they do not need the outside society, the other chooses to not participate in society.
Just last week our pastor spoke on the lie that the world offers us that our job (money) is our security. We’ve made it into a false god where we sacrifice so many things because of the trust we put into it. We spend way too much of our lives neglecting relationships, serving, etc. just to try to get more money. Maybe another reason we “never have enough” is because we believe that money is what will safeguard us from things to come? We can certainly be wise with our money and make good choices, but security is never guaranteed. In the same way that you can eat healthy and exercise yet are not guaranteed that you’ll live past tomorrow.
With the messages (lies) that the world gives us that money makes us happy and money keeps us safe from the worries of tomorrow, it’s no wonder that we’re always searching yet never reaching our destination. We’re chasing illusions.
Once again, great post, Joshua!
Wow, I am surprised at how many people took offense at this post. We chose for me to stay home with our children a few years ago and we “need” more money because we also choose to continue living the lifestyle we were accustomed to pre-children. But if we really took your advice to heart and started “Dave Ramsey-ing” up our life, we could really do well with the money my husband makes…once we are debt free. And we don’t really need to continue living with our previous “lavish” lifestyle or wasteful spending habits. It is just that they are, well, habits that we haven’t broken yet.
Hi Joshua,
I’ve been reading your blog since long, but am commenting for the first time.
Living in India, capital city nonetheless, with two incomes (total still less than 10K $ per annum) and two kids 20 months and 8 months, there is one thing I know, ‘to each his own’.
Yes, our cost of living is less than yours probably, but our culture expects us to maintain a certain standard of living, expects giving within a large joint family and pay for travelling of our parents.Then there’ll be fees and birthday parties for kids (expected socially for important ones like first, fifth and so on). So I’m looking at generating an income of 25K per annum as sufficient. This will not enable us to buy a house or a fancy car but I’ll be happy. I won’t be worrying over fresh fruits for my kids.
So what’s more important is that one should decide a healthy reaistic target and than be satisfied with that. pursuit of more and more money will probably be unending.
Thanks,
Nishaa
Hi Joshua,
I’ve been reading your blog since long, but am commenting for the first time.
Living in India, capital city nonetheless, with two incomes (total still less than 10K $ per annum) and two kids 20 months and 8 months, there is one thing I know, ‘to each his own’.
Yes, our cost of living is less than yours probably, but our culture expects us to maintain a certain standard of living, expects giving within a large joint family and pay for travelling of our parents.Then there’ll be fees and birthday parties for kids (expected socially for important ones like first, fifth and so on). So I’m looking at generating an income of 25K per annum as sufficient. This will not enable us to buy a house or a fancy car but I’ll be happy. I won’t be worrying over fresh fruits for my kids.
So what’s more important is that one should decide a healthy realistic target and than be satisfied with that. pursuit of more and more money will probably be unending.
Thanks,
Nishaa
To do more with less can be a great virtue, no doubt. (Housewives have been doing it for years!) In making my comments, I am not assuming greed or making money to be the focus of our lives, but I am asking the readers to remember we are each tiny economic engines in the greater whole – our collective economy, the fuel of our country, is the sum total of millions of small ones.
If we want our infrastructure to remain vibrant, we must consider that our tax dollars support it.
If we want our schools to remain (become?) the educational bedrock of our future citizens, we must realize our taxes fund it.
If we want to be able to travel across our country, the knowledge that our taxes fund road maintenance and construction cannot escape us.
If we want to be free from the tyranny of other world powers or more local thuggery, we must realize our tax dollars pay for our protection.
If we expect the safety net of social security to be a portion of our support in our pension years, then being able to contribute today is incumbent for tomorrow’s payment.
Tax dollars from property, income and sales fund the good our local, state and federal governments do. Less tax dollars into our coffers equals fewer services out.
No matter your economic situation, we all derive the benefits of those taxpayers before us, and owe it to the next generations to continue to support those missions of our government, despite the fact we may agree or disagree with the administration that happens to be in charge. Currently 49% of Americans pay not federal taxes, yet 63% of us receive some kind of government assistance
Living a life of minimalism can be laudable, especially when excess income is used to support ministries at one’s church or in one’s community or around the world. Striving to do one’s best and deriving an economic benefit from it is not something to shun. We have lost the idea of being good citizens. Citizenship is no longer taught in our schools. The “greatest generation” is now in their late golden years, and there has not been a generation since theirs that has considered duty to country, in all its forms, to be at least as important as duty to themselves.
There are owners of restaurants, small shops, salons, construction companies, car dealerships,producers of luxury goods and other services – all small economic engines themselves – who would love, love, love for people to be spending more money. In doing so taxes are generated and wages can be paid to employees. That is the best road we have to deal with our unemployment issues; it is the best stimulus package. With real unemployment around 23,000,000 people, there are many who could benefit from those of us who can afford to continuing to use the money we have been blessed with to circulate it through the economy.
Great article Josh. I have been following your blog for a couple of years and I applaud your tackling issues such as the feeling of not having enough money. It is all perspective for those of us with a roof and food. I grow organic food in my tiny garden and prior to that I grew food in containers while living in an apartment. Organic fresh food is far cheaper than angioplasty or diabetes or buying new clothes because we are too fat to fit into our old ones. Restaurant food and fast food and pre-prepared foods cost much more than produce and homemade. I know many families who go fishing after work for that nights’ entree. I often approach homes where there are fruit trees hanging with fruit and ask if I can pick for myself and them. I have never been turned down…creativity is the name of the game not money.
Joshua,
Thanks for you’re insightful words of encouragement. I like the point you make towards feeling more gratitude in one’s life. I agree, and its so sad that some folks tend to react with such negativity to a post that is trying to teach us that love, gratitude and family are the main source of happiness, not MORE money..it’s plain to see you are not opposed to making money and providing for yourself and a family, you’re obvious point it to say that more money, leads to more useless stuff, which then leads to being obligated to the stuff- cleaning, looking after and worrying about replacing the stuff when it gets broken, lost stolen etc. Some (not all) people in this society are literally addicted to acquiring things, it helps them numb out, hide behind, and/or keep up with “The Jones” so to speak.. I’m guilty of it from time to time myself:) when what we really need is gratitude, love and a source of passion in our life. Thanks for you’re good work!
I can’t remember where I read it; but I once read that in the 40′s or 50′s if presented with this hypothesis, they would choose option #1:
If your income doubled, would you rather work half the hours? Or work the same and make more money?
People decades ago choose “working half the hours.” People in the past decade chose option two.
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