Is your life full of STUFF?

I’ve just finished reading “Your Money or Your Life” by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin and I can highly recommend it. The aspect of the book which I would like to talk about today is the fundamental spiritual or psychological aspect of spending. When it comes to spending, some purchases may be wiser than others – at least as far as happiness is concerned. The book rightly says that we need to see what return we are getting for our life energy (money). For example, £50 spent on a day out with your children is always going to money better spent than £50 worth of bank account charges or 8 packs of cigarettes. In all aspects of life, people receive more enduring pleasure and satisfaction from investing in life experiences than material possessions. The old song “The Best Things in Life are Free” is true. Experiences are the new status symbols. Ask your dad if he’d rather have a new jumper or an hour behind the wheel of a Ferrari. Ask your mum if she’d rather have some new shoes or a lovely meal on a moonlit quayside. As we mature these basic fundamentals of life become more self-evident so don’t expect it to work for a child! The point I am getting at is that if you are serious about Personal Finance or achieving Financial Freedom then you need to substitute STUFF with FEELINGS. As I look around my living room I see a multitude of STUFF which gives me no pleasure whatsoever. Items that I simply don’t need. The feeling of having the cash back in my bank account would actually leave me feeling better than having these dust-collectors on my shelf. I am thinking about exercise bikes, lamps, ornaments, videos, books, vases, candles, stereo units, CDs, DVDs. Even the sideboard on which these items sit is STUFF that I don’t really need. Today I vow to declutter my life and take back some of the cash which I have wasted over the years. From now on there will be no more purchases other than the necessities of food, drink, shelter, transport and warmth. Once I know I can go back to basics then I can reintroduce the FEELINGS that will give me great pleasure in the years to come. The golden times that makes life worth living. Experiential purchases are a more meaningful part of a person’s identity. Please take this opportunity to turn the spotlight on yourself. Have you bought STUFF that gives you no pleasure?