The Joy of Owning Nothing
If you had millions of dollars, what would you buy? For some of us, the best answer might be “nothing.”
Sure, almost everyone has wondered what they’d do if they won the lottery. I imagine a beach house, a large boat and probably a couple of cars would be coming my way if I won. Of course I’d have to play the lottery, but you get the idea. But on further inspection, winning the lottery doesn’t always work out.
Consider the story of a man who sold his company for 22 million. What would he do with all that loot? Not much, or quite a bit, depending on how one looks at it. He sang the joys of owning nothing and decided to pass not only on the iPhone, but just about any other ownership. He’s not alone, when one looks at the lifestyle of billionaires, they may own some nice things, but they don’t always live as large as their bank accounts.
But what’s so bad about owning stuff? Here are a few downides I could think of:
- Hidden Costs: I wrote about the real costs of car ownership before, and some of the ideas fall over into everything. There’s maintenance, storage, monthly fees, input (fuel in the case of a car, games in the case of an xBox, DVDs for your player, food for a pet, etc.), insurance and more.
- Immobilization: To paraphrase George Carlin, the more stuff you have, the bigger the place you need to store it. If you favor a mobile lifesytle, excessive ownership can make life difficlut. Home ownership can be great, but just try to relocate these days, and you might find the home is an anchor (for better or worse) to a certain city.
- Time Drain: There’s more to the hidden costs than just money. Somebody’s got to manage all that stuff. It takes time and can steer us away from what matters.
Then again, people do get real satisfaction from ownership. Like I said, home ownership can be great. Car ownership can actually provide freedom and mobility and cars don’t have to cost you a ton and repaired fairly cheap if done right. But I’m going to try and err on the side of frugality more and see what happens.
In the mean time I’m working on selling my excess stuff. I’ll get some money back, clear out some of the clutter in my life and be in a better position to move in the future.
What have you enjoyed not owning? Any ownership nightmares? Let me know in the comments below.
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I like having the freedom a car brings. I needed it before to go to work, but now i use transit. But it’s cost is minimal to own. It’s an older car with great gas mileage, cheap insurance, cheap tags, and minimum loss of revenue from the value.
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I enjoy not owning a brand-new car – no payments, depreciation, etc.
However, I just can’t give up a car totally so I drive a ‘94 Tempo.
I enjoy the idea of owning a home because I have two children. As a military brat, I was relocated enough times to continue the wander lust into my adult years. 10 years ago, I bought (began making payments on) a modest two story with too much room and a really big yard. A continual love/hate relationship, I am now hopelessly stuck in the memories of being in one place for the longest stretch of time in my life. Now my children’s memories of this home matter to me. For the years prior, I lived in several cities, practicing a minimalist lifestyle before it became popular, and was the envy of my friends and co-workers who had very early set about accumulating material possessions. Not to say I never wanted stuff, I just liked my freedom more. Even now, if something is missing, spouse and children will say I either threw it away or gave it away.
For me, the less the better. I sold off a ton of stuff (half my closet, half my stuff), and I want to purge even more.
I want to head into the minimalist, zen kind of mindset.
Fabulously Broke in the City
“Just a girl trying to find a balance between being a Shopaholic and a Saver.“