This is part of an ongoing series where I dissect and discuss the reasoning behind various facets of my lifestyle. Through this, I’m attempting to separate the money aspect from the decision-making process, showing that I live a lifestyle that’s largely divorced from concerns about money whatsoever. Essentially, this is a lifestyle that I’d live regardless of my income/wealth. These facets thus aren’t about the money at all, but rather the result of thoughtful choices based around what I value and what drives my happiness.
Warren Buffett still lives in the same house he bought in 1958 for $31,500. (I took that picture of his house when I was in Omaha for the 2015 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting.)
Tony Hsieh lives in an Airstream trailer (inside an Airstream trailer park) and walks everywhere.
Mark Zuckerberg drives a Volkswagen GTI.
Whenever I used to read about millionaires or billionaires living rather frugally, I used to think it was kind of strange.
I mean, once you have enough money for multiple lifetimes, why bother to still live so substantially below your means? Isn’t the point of building the wealth and passive income in the first place so that you can do whatever you want?
The answer to that second question is a resounding yes.
But that answer doesn’t invalidate the idea of living substantially below your means proposed in the first question. One can live rather frugally and also live the exact lifestyle they want to live. The two are not mutually exclusive.
And that’s what took me a little while to understand.
I believe those who have really mastered how life, money, and happiness all intertwine understand this concept.
Happiness isn’t about how much money you spend once you have your basic needs covered. And money shouldn’t be spent just because it can. Being able to do something doesn’t mean you should do it. Just because you’re in a position to burn $100, $10,000 or $1,000,000, it doesn’t mean you should light that money on fire.
Living frugally is simply part of an overall belief system about what matters in life. Frugality is part of a holistic lifestyle designed to maximize happiness, purpose, and value.
Whereas society apparently has the notion that frugality is a detriment to one’s happiness, I believe the opposite. I think frugality is a great boon to clearing the clutter from one’s mind and life in order to discover what’s true and lasting.
My monthly core personal expenses hover around $1,000 these days. Could I spend much more? Absolutely. Although my passive income is designed to cover those core personal expenses, passive income is just one element of my overall income.
But why would I? Why would I spend much more money? What would that get me?
I used to spend a lot more money. And you know what? I wasn’t happy. In fact, it was this feeling of running on a treadmill faster and faster but not getting anywhere that led me to the idea of frugality in the first place.
See, I believe it all comes down to value.
When I first started to cut a lot of fat from my budget, I took a hard look at what I value and what I do not.
What I found is that what I value highly doesn’t cost much money. Conversely, that which I do not value that highly actually tends to cost a lot of money.
This is a thought process that takes over every time I’m about to spend money.
Do I value it? What do I value it at? Is it important to me? What’s it worth to me? Is this going to positively impact my lasting happiness?
The billionaires I used as earlier examples have found what they value in life and they concentrate their resources on those things.
Warren Buffett doesn’t value a stable of expensive toys (like yachts and luxury cars). He does, however, value the company he built. And so he spends a lot of time running Berkshire Hathaway. He also sees a lot of value in philanthropy, which is why he’s giving away 99% of his wealth (during his lifetime or at death). He’s actually a major force behind The Giving Pledge, which encourages the world’s wealthiest individuals to dedicate the majority of their wealth to philanthropy.
Tony Hsieh has an intense desire to make the city of Las Vegas (especially downtown Las Vegas) a better place to live, work, and play. So he’s spending his resources (time, money, creativity, energy) on projects related to that. He doesn’t care to own a giant mansion, so he doesn’t bother with buying one. Although he wishes he would have spent some of his money differently, there’s no doubt that he’s behind some major transformations in the city.
Mark Zuckerberg obviously has a passion for social media, entrepreneurship, and running his business empire. But just because those passions have endowed him with many billions of dollars doesn’t mean he should then just spend it recklessly, without the thought process of what he values and how much something might be worth to him. He instead lives in a modest (by Palo Alto standards) home and drives a modest car. And he, too, is part of The Giving Pledge – Zuckerberg is going to end up giving away 99% of his Facebook shares during the course of his lifetime.
These extremely wealthy individuals have taken the time to thoughtfully approach spending money on what they really value in life.
Not only is spending money on things that we don’t value a waste of money that could be used to do great good in society, it’s a distraction from what does provide value in our lives. Wasting money is a needless distraction.
Although I’ll never be wealthy enough to join The Giving Pledge, I also plan to give away the majority of my wealth during my lifetime or at death. I’m already as happy as a pig in mud, so I see no reason to hoard money for myself. Once what I value is regularly and easily attainable, the rest of the money is essentially being squandered.
For example, I like living in a small, modest apartment. I don’t like clutter. I don’t value large spaces. Having a yard and a garage means zilch to me. And I like renting. I’m not living the way I live specifically to live frugally or save money; rather, I’m living a lifestyle that is in alignment with my personal values. I’d live just like I do no matter how much money I had.
This simple choice allows me to spend far more resources on things I do highly value, like writing this very article.
Frugality is occasionally looked at as a bad word, as if it’s this necessary evil that one must have in their life in order to achieve certain financial goals. It’s a means to an end.
Well, I don’t believe that. The money is a means to an end, but frugality is not a necessary evil at all. Frugality is instead the natural byproduct of concentrating on value in all aspects of life. It’s the manifestation of living a holistic lifestyle that’s custom tuned to maximize happiness and purpose.
The importance of concentrating on value in relation to what I’m paying is an intuitive concept, but it became very obvious to me when I started buying stock.
I still remember when I first started investing. It didn’t take long for me to realize that I had to buy stocks for less than they’re worth. I should only buy high-quality stocks when they’re priced less than they’re intrinsically worth, as that maximizes my income and long-term total return potential while minimizing risk. Why pay $50 for something worth $40 when you could pay $20 for something worth $30?
And so this thought process then carries out to everything else in life. Is that steak really worth $45? Is a trip to some beach halfway across the world (that’s probably no better than what I have here in Sarasota) worth $3,000? So on and so forth.
Once you’re thoughtful about this in all aspects of your life, you naturally start to find that perhaps many objects and experiences are overvalued, relative to what they’re worth to you. While society seems to believe that nothing is too expensive once you have the money for it (i.e. you should spend all that you have), value has become my guiding light in all aspects of my life.
I believe value should be thought of at both the micro and macro level in one’s life.
There are the individual transactions where you’re determining value independent of price, attempting to pay a fair price or better. Otherwise, it’s just a waste of a precious resource that could be used for greater things.
And then there’s the overall value system that one has in their life, where they live a lifestyle congruent with what matters most to them, forgoing all that impedes them from achieving greater lasting happiness.
As I’ve written about before, the definition of happiness proposed by the ancient Greeks thousands of years ago seems most appropriate: happiness is the joy you feel striving toward your potential.
What I think these extremely wealthy people understand is that striving toward your potential as a human being has nothing to do with what kind of car you drive or how big your house is.
Once that’s understood, frugality is the natural byproduct. And once you’re not spending money on that which impedes your happiness, it’s freed up to be directed toward your overall value system in life, which gives you even more motivation to value individual transactions in life. That means more money eventually piling up throughout life that can be further directed toward that which you value the most, which is all part of striving toward your potential. It’s an incredible cycle that holistically and organically feeds into itself.
Because I also understand this, I spend very little. Although I could easily ramp up my spending, I’ve instead started to direct some of that cash flow toward philanthropic ventures. I wouldn’t live much differently than I do now, no matter how much money I had. It’s not about spending less just to spend less; it’s about living authentically. Frugality is no necessary evil. It’s instead a beautiful gift.
I’m having this dialogue with you readers in order to point out that the lifestyle one creates in order to become financially free at a young age doesn’t have to and shouldn’t lead to a decline in one’s happiness.
Not only does spending more money not automatically lead to more happiness, but spending less money can actually lead to more happiness.
It’s counterintuitive – which makes it that much more amazing. For some reason, people largely believe that money and happiness operate under a constant 1:1 ratio where the increase or decrease of the former always leads to the equivalent change in the latter. But it’s just not true.
And that’s not just due to the permanent shift in one’s internal “happiness thermostat” that one attains after becoming financially free, but it’s also due to the realization that the creation of a more robust lifestyle that concentrates on life and experiences more than stuff and money alleviates oneself of a silly and undue burden. This can actually improve the world around you, which simply compounds the benefits.
Finally, being in a position to make lifestyle decisions not based on money but rather the pursuit of happiness is, in my view, a wonderful way to approach life. I’ve found that I think not about money when I make decisions but instead about whether or not something makes me happy. And it just so happens that what makes me happy doesn’t cost very much money. It’s an incredibly virtuous cycle that’s part of an overarching holistic lifestyle that feeds into itself. Once you open your eyes to it, it’s almost like you can’t help but succeed, become financially free, and live life on your terms.
What do you think? Is frugality and seeking value about the money or not? Would you spend a lot more money if you had access to unlimited wealth?
Thanks for reading.
Good read sir. I’m reallly enjoying the more abstract topics that focus on the intangibles of happiness. Keep up the work
Ronald,
Thanks so much. Glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
I always wanted to write an ode to frugality. This is it. I owe so much to frugality, and I’m sad that many people think it’s this necessary evil that’s only a means to an end. Once you embrace it as part of a holistic lifestyle, you’re truly free to spend your precious resources on far more important things.
Cheers!
Go post Jason. It is interesting for me to read. I am the opposite of you in many ways. I like having a house with a yard and a garage 😉
I enjoy working at my job. I am moderately frugal if that is a word. We have a nice house and drive newer cars etc.. But we do not go on expensive vacations, fancy restaurants etc.., we save 50% or so of our income and max out our retirement accounts.
At the end of the day you have to do what makes you happy, and I think we both live by that motto (in our own ways).
Derrick,
I’m with you. The whole purpose of all of this – all the saving, the investing, the frugality, and everything else – is to be happier. It’s to align your lifestyle with your values so that you’re pursuing happiness with the maximum possibility of success.
Frugality isn’t an exact science. What it means to one person might be different to someone else. The point isn’t to out-frugal someone; rather, you should be limiting waste in your life so that you’re able to spend your resources on the things that matter. 🙂
Thanks for dropping by!
Cheers.
I remember I was giving my roommate’s a friend ride somewhere and she asked me “if you could have any car, what would it be?”. I responded “This Honda Civic. It works fine. Why would I want something else?” I think it kind of blew her mind, I guess some people are just wired a little bit differently, but I see all those status symbols as adding extra stress to my life, regardless of the financial costs. I’m sure I could find some things that I’d spend more money on, but I wouldn’t make big changes. In fact, I expect to downsize my spending after I get out of SoCal.
TJ,
That’s funny. I’m sure her mind was completely blown. I would have blown her mind even more, because I would have said: “No car.” 🙂
Once you see how silly it is to run faster on this treadmill but not get anywhere, you realize how easy it is to simply step off.
Thanks for sharing that!
Best regards.
I love your articles and this one is a kind of masterpiece! I totally agree with you on all these topics.
I don’t know if it’s rude to ask, but what about having a family? How much are you willing to “drop” to meet SO’s desires? What about kids?
Mr. RIP,
Thanks so much. It’s really one of my favorites. As I noted in another comment, this is my ode to frugality. I owe much of my freedom to it. 🙂
As for children, I’ve talked about that over on Dividend Mantra. To sum it up, I won’t be having any children of my own. I already made sure of that via a procedure. But I’m not necessarily against being with someone who already has kids, as my own partner does. I actually feel better about that. I was essentially adopted when I was quite young, and I’m cognizant of how many children need stable homes and good people in their lives. So the only way I’d have kids is by becoming a father-type figure to someone else’s children. I won’t be having any of my own, however.
Thanks for taking the time to comment!
Best wishes.
I think it is a fine balance between money and happiness and frugality. Some people feel happy spending while others do not, maybe they have not left the matrix yet. Those who understand the value of money will probably be better savers than 90% of the population. I like to save more than my entertainment budget, but that’s just me. I would spend more if I had unlimited wealth, because it is just about the math at the end of the day. But I will still be frugal percentage wise, no matter the millions received I believe.
RichUncle EL,
Right. I think once you find what you value in life, the money becomes pretty much irrelevant. The odds are pretty good that what you really value doesn’t cost that much, as I’ve been writing a lot about. The things that really matter to us, like time, relationships, shelter, food, security, laughter, and making the world a better place really just don’t add up to all that much once you start to look at what matters.
I’d probably spend a little more overall money if I had unlimited wealth, but that percentage spent (relative to what I had) would always remain very low. Just because you have it, it doesn’t mean you have to spend it.
Cheers!
Great post, Jason. Happiness is more than what you’re able to spend. It’s about being able to do the things you love to do.
For me, happiness will be as simple as not having to worry about making sales quotas, handling unruly customers, and navigating banking regulations. It’s not simply about hating your job, as you wrote on Dividend Mantra, but about devoting my physical, mental, and emotional energy away from that which isn’t important to me and towards that which is. I think I would devote my time to my business, volunteer financial education, and becoming a Twitch/YouTube Let’s Player. Things that I value rather than things that I have to do to pay my bills.
To be able to devote your energy towards that which you value. Isn’t that what happiness is all about?
Sincerely,
ARB–Angry Retail Banker
ARB,
Absolutely, man. That’s the gift of financial freedom. Once you’re able to devote your precious resources toward that which you value (rather than that which you do not), you’re there. You’re living a truly rich life. I think society believes that living a rich life is only possible if you have a lot of money, as if it’s just this thing where being able to constantly spend money is the end goal. But that’s just not the case. Truly wealthy people realize that money is just a tool that allows you to align your lifestyle with your values. It eliminates all the distractions, which means you’re free to focus on what matters. 🙂
Thanks for dropping by. Glad you were able to post a comment. Bluehost is having some major problems across all of the sites they host.
Cheers!
Nice piece Jason. I have actually seen some of this frugality in person. I was at amazon.com back in the late 90’s, and Bezos still drove his 80’s Datsun hatchback. I think his biggest expense at the time was the company picnic.
But now I also see (and benefit) from what can only be seen as the opposite of frugality. I work at an 18 person custom home builder that succeeds from the excesses of those who have too much money. Just finished off a 2.5 year long building of a 6 million dollar swimming pool. The amount of money spent on this was staggering and you would hear things like “this is what you get when you have too much money”. But it provided job security and excellent pay for our employees and the dozens of subcontractors that we hired. So I can see where the lack of frugality actually benefitted hundreds of people.
And the client was happy, so I can’t complain. The architect was happy to build his dream pool. And the landscapers were happy to surround it in a garden that showcases their skills. It ended up a win win.
John,
Right. In our capitalistic society, everything hinges on people spending and investing lots of money. It would probably collapse if everyone lived like I (and some others) do. However, I’m not sure that would be the worst thing in the world. If we had a different economic system that didn’t kind of incentivize someone to spend precious resources on a gigantic swimming pool, would that be the worst thing in the world? Food for thought.
That all said, I don’t begrudge anyone for spending their money on whatever they wish. It’s just that I spend a great deal of my time researching how life, happiness, and money intertwine. I can tell you that a $6 million swimming pool isn’t the answer (at least for most people).
Cheers!
Jason,
You are totally right. A bigger pool does not = bigger happiness. Their kids are super happy though, but are getting lost in the meaning of value….
The only thing I would suggest to you, is real estate is a very good investment. In 18 years my house has 750k equity. I never used any of it all these years and it will be paid off by the time I retire.
It is almost worth a million now and I bought it for 367k. I love my home, my neighborhood and my neighbors. It will be my inheritance to my children. They grew up here and want to keep it in the family.
The memories and security and happiness you can build in a home you love is priceless.
Mike,
Residental real estate (as in SFH) has returned ~0% in real terms, as an asset class, over the last 100 or so years. Stocks do much, much better over the long run. So I feel pretty good about renting the former and owning the latter. 🙂
That said, I’d rent even if it weren’t necessarily the right financial call, as I feel it’s the right lifestyle call. If I based my life around just what provided me the most possible money, I wouldn’t be “retired” in my early 30s.
Memories are indeed priceless. You could say our lives are nothing more than a collection of memories. However, owning a home doesn’t somehow make those memories better, in my view. You can rent anything you can buy, in regard to housing. Moreover, it’s precisely because I want to have great memories that I rent: the memories of doing household chores as a kid (cutting grass, raking leaves, etc.) still haunt me.
Thanks for dropping by!
Take care.
Hi Jason, Good morning or good evening !
We had two cars, and the older one slept on the street. One morning I go take it and surprise surprise, Thre tyres punctured. Unbelievable how stupid nieghbours can be ! Now only my wife has a car. I have no more car and feel way way better. The irony is that the older car’s tyres were punctured because there were very few parking spots on the street where we live. Now that the crisis has worsened, Hi HI, the street has only two to three cars on it instead of 10 to 12. Since more than a year now I ride an e-bike for which I do not pay anything but the electricity to reload tha battery. I improved my health a lot and spent very good moments riding all around. I have now somewhat more than 1’600 kilometers on the meter. I learnt how to change the breaking system (I ordered it at Amazon, thank you Jeff Bezos) Changed my tyres and inner tubes also. I feel way better now that when II go downtown I immediately find a parking place, for which I pay nothing. I am very glad too that my private chauffeur now is my wife, while I sleep or rest by her side. The problem with spneding less money is that I get so much used to it that any €uro more spent looks to me as a sin,
We still need one car as we live up on a hill far away from decent food store. We also nned at times load up with gas bombonne for the water heater,
As to money philosophy, I have none. Should I have more money, I’d probably spend it on my daughter or my wife to make them happier (Not sure it would). We are growing older, as every body, and all we ant is harmony and peace.(Shall we ever get them ?) About Facebook, that I might call Facelook, I closed the site where I felt being on a not so social site. It did not give me any happiness at all. All those people showing off, what for ?
As you said before, the society would go broke if there were only people like you spending so little, but maybe society would be more happy and valuable.
Keep on writing, keep on sparing, keep on investing in what you believe.
Best regards
Old Aspenhawk
Aspenhawk,
Thanks so much for sharing. 🙂
That’s funny that you mention how you get used to spending so little. I feel the same. It doesn’t take much to give me sticker shock, which is really quite different from how it used to be for me. I used to spend money without much thought or purpose. Now because there’s so much thought about value and purpose, every dollar has to kind of match up. It’s pretty much an instinct thing these days. It’s really an interesting process that occurs there. I think it makes living frugally so much easier. It just comes natural at some point. Spending becomes the unnatural thing to do.
I hope all is well over there. And I’m sure you’ll be happier without Facebook. If I didn’t have this online persona, I probably wouldn’t even bother with social media.
Best regards!
This post is so true. Sure there are some things you may like a lot which may cost more money, but that doesn’t mean that just beacuse something costs more that it is better, or that it will make you happier. I wish someone would have explained that to me in high school, especially about education. I heard from all my high school teachers and guidance counselors, that I should go to the highest ranked school I could get into, regardless of price. I guess, thankfully, I went to the second most highest ranked school for my bachelor, which was cheaper than the highest ranked one and gave me more scholarship (though still only about 25% my freshman year). I think we need to communicate this more to younger people: spending more doesn’t mean you’ll be happier.
Expat AJ,
Definitely. There’s not this 1:1 correlation between money spent and the amount of happiness you will receive in return. Unfortunately, that’s the belief a lot of people hold.
I’m not sure if there’s a way to ever really get society as a whole to understand that, but I simply aim to inspire and help those who see the light and wish to live a more fulfilled, free, and purposeful life. 🙂
I personally could earn 10x more money per month, yet my lifestyle and spending would remain constant. That’s because I’m already extremely happy. Having a yacht or something wouldn’t only serve to not improve my happiness, but it would probably only make me less happy.
Best regards!