Living a Richer Life with Less

From Consumerism to Essentialism

I grew up learning a very valuable lesson that has served me well: always buy quality over price. It has stuck with me over these years and I’ve kept practicing, experimenting and discovering new ways of getting the most value out of the essentials.

Instead of price I’m looking at lifetime value (LTV) — the difference between consumption and utilization. So before I look at price I think about the utilization. How much will I use the product or service? A pair of shorts I’ll use 175+ days per year so owning great quality that are designed to last is essential. If they are $50 or $150 doesn’t then really matter.

I’ve also learned that a real need (or want which I try to avoid) can result not just in ownership but in many other creative ways of paying for utilization. One example is car ownership which is estimated to cost $9,122 per year for an average sedan driving 15K miles.

That insight made me sell my car and start walking or biking everyday, using public transportation and Uber as well as signing up for Zipcar (which I haven’t had a need to use yet). The benefits of access over ownership are tremendous: personal savings, better for environment, improved health by walking, less stress from traffic et cetera. Easily makes up for not being able to show off my perceived social status and possible financial success. I actually rather live the dream than showing off the dream.

Accessing only when needed partially solves the problem with strategic obsolescence which is when products are designed to become unusable after a certain period of time. So during my lifetime — if owning my vechicle — I don’t just have to work to pay for one car but for several cars. The lifetime value in this context is very low and the price exorbitantly high (including getting debt).

This thinking has lead me to want to own as few things as possible with high quality, longevity and frequent utilization. The rest I can easily access, rent, borrow, barter or live without (imagine that). My life has become simpler, with better economics and more time to spend on the things I think really matter to live life well.