Live With Money Not For Money

Summary: Money is essential, but it shouldn’t consume your thoughts or your life. We should live with money, not for money.<br> This is a podcast about money, but we also believe that money shouldn’t be the most important thing in your life. We have to live with money, but there is more to life than accumulating as much money as you can.<br> Life is Not About Money<br> What if we were to value other things in our lives in the same way or even more than we value money? Imagine if it weren’t about money? What if we viewed money for its actual intent, survival?<br> Can Go Both Ways<br> When most of us think about being obsessed with money, we think of making money. But some people are obsessed with saving money. There is nothing wrong with being <a href="https://www.listenmoneymatters.com/being-too-frugal/">frugal,</a> especially if you have <a href="https://www.listenmoneymatters.com/go/nationaldebtrelief/">debt</a> you’re trying to pay off.<br> But some people take being frugal too far. Buying two-ply toilet paper and splitting it into one ply isn’t frugal, it’s cheap and gross! Why not go all in and use old corn cobs?<br> And at some point, isn’t your time more valuable than whatever small amount of money you’re saving by grating bars of soap to make your own laundry detergent? Wouldn’t working even a minimum wage job pay more than you’re saving by extreme couponing and pretending that’s a job?<br> Your Buying Diary<br> A piece of advice often given to people wanting to lose weight is to write down everything they eat or drink, all of it, the lick of the sauce spoon while making dinner, the rest of the chicken nuggets you ate from your kid’s unfinished plate, not just what you had for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.<br> People are often shocked and even embarrassed when they look at what they eat in stark black and white.<br> Do the same with the things you buy so you can reflect on how you spend money. How you spend money is a reflection of who you are and what your values are. What would your spending say about you to a stranger? Is that how you want to be seen?<br> Fueling the Consumption<br> Look back at your past spending decisions and your current financial commitments. What of those things bring you happiness and what are just a vestige of previous decisions.<br> You bought an expensive car and a house. Why did you do that? Because they were the next things on the list of “Stuff Adults Do?” Who made that list? You? Your parents? Your peers? Society in general?<br> A big car payment and a mortgage are like a ball and chain. That’s not to say owning a home is a bad idea for everyone but for young people who might move around with their career for several years, there are more affordable, less committed options.<br> Being chained to your lifestyle can mean being chained to a high paying job you hate. Reigning in <a href="https://www.listenmoneymatters.com/lifestyle-creep/">lifestyle spending</a> affords you the ability to take a pay cut to do a job that would be more meaningful and enjoyable.<br> You’re stuck in that job though because it fuels your consumption.<br> The FIRE Movement<br> Lifestyle doesn’t necessarily mean spending a lot of money; It can mean you’ve become too invested in the <a href="https://www.thebalance.com/does-fire-early-retirement-make-sense-for-you-4160765">FIRE movement. </a><br> The idea of this movement is to cut your expenses and maximize your savings to allow you to reach financial independence and a <a href="https://www.thebalance.com/taking-early-retirement-package-2388812">very early retirement</a>. The movement calls itself FIRE—short for financial independence / retire early.<br> The FIRE movement is made up of people around the country who think that you should be wel...