Behavior #1: Do not acquire things
The quickest way to obey Wealth Rule #2: “Spend less than you make”, is to adopt an anti-consumerist stance — forgoing the purchase of things.
For our purposes, “things” are the non-essential products that litter our lives: status items, electronics, furnishings, clothing, sporting goods, toys, and the like. They are often purchased without real consideration of need, or given obvious and genuine need, consideration as to whether non-consumer solutions are available. With shocking frequency, recently bought items are duplicative of things we already own or unnecessary replacements to solutions we’ve already put in place, purchased only due to the daily collision of excellent marketing and available cash.
Eliminating these purchases does more than benefit our wealth — it allows us to step off the hedonic treadmill, pushing our discretionary dollars toward more happiness-inducing uses. These include purchasing experiences, spending to reduce time spent on menial tasks, engaging in charitable giving, or simply spending on others instead of ourselves — all shown to provide enduring positive emotion beyond the transient dopamine hit provided by clicking a brightly-colored checkout button.
When we perceive things are needed, we would be well suited to ask whether a purchase serves our Agency and Impact goals, and importantly, whether we are purchasing out of true necessity or to meet some other emotional need. Often, our need for Agency and Impact is better met through saving and investing, our need for emotional equilibrium and stress relief better met through enacting the Rules of Health.
When in doubt, do not acquire things.
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