What If You Could Never Buy Anything Again?
By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large
I���ve talked about minimalism off and on through this space, as well as through the Christian Money Plus members-only site, and I���ve done so with some admiration for those who have been able to make the break from a consumer-oriented lifestyle���to one centered on owning as absolutely little as possible. In my own life, while it would be inaccurate to say I have devoted myself to minimalism, I have been slowly winnowing my possessions in the interest of working to get my life to as uncomplicated a configuration as possible. Granted, coming to have a truly uncomplicated life involves more than just unburdening oneself of physical trappings, but it is funny how much of your life can be altered by owning more���or less.
In that same vein, there���s a good article���recently published on Lifehacker���that asks the question, ���What if I could never buy anything?��� The author, Eric Ravenscraft, doesn���t ask you to ask the question out of deference to philosophical concerns; his purpose is to encourage you to live, as much as possible, the idea of being unable to purchase anything ever again, in order to help ensure that you���re living as financially sound an existence as possible. His position is that if you reprogram your mind to think of consuming anything, going forwarded, on an as-needed basis���and take the matter of buying something because you ���want��� it and putting it permanently in your rearview mirror���you will take amazingly good care of that which you already own, and, as a result, save all kinds of money in the process.
Even though living a simpler life is not really the point of Ravenscraft���s article���while financial solvency is���what he puts forth is another narrative by which you can have both. I have largely reconfigured my own life this way explicitly because of the dual benefit it provides; I want to be sure that, for the rest of my days, financial worries are a thing of the past, and also, I want to live a life that affords me the mental space to appreciate ���the little things.��� There are different psychological mechanisms you can employ to help arrive at those places, and Ravenscraft���s is certainly a good one.
