Frugal Hedonism
I’ve often told people to be careful about what you choose to become pretentious/ a connoisseur of.
Taking up appreciating fine wine as a hobby is a trend in the direction of massive overspending.
Remember Johnny Depp boasting he spent more than 30k a month on wine? and later becoming bankrupt.
It’s easy to let our tastes rise to the level of our income, hence the term hedonic treadmill.
And, no, it will never be enough.
Philosophers have known this since ancient greek and roman times.
So, how do we cultivate an improved state of being and be ‘frugally hedonic’?
We take up interests that don’t require us to be billionaires.
You can learn to like anything.
I love doing acroyoga, which is mostly free to do. There are some associated costs, and if you want to take classes and workshops, you can bring up the price tag, but it’s largely something you just need two people and a mat for.
Going to coffee shops to read or meet with friends is low key.
And even there, I trained myself to really enjoy just a good cup of regular ‘ol drip coffee. I blame/thank that on my very frugal startup days.
But of course, you can splurge on a $10 chemex or $6 pour over.
At one of my favorite coffee shops in new york, they’ll make you a $50 cup of coffee using moon rocks or some bullshit. (and full disclosure, a part of me is tempted to try it).
But, I’ve largely noticed, just like in real life, past a certain threshold, it doesn’t make much of a difference.
Once you’re past the shit quality of a pike place regular coffee from Charbucks, you can enjoy a regular cup of coffee from a decent coffee shop just as you would any of the fancier options, though research does indicate we attribute quality and taste in proportion with how much we spend on a thing in order to reinforce why we spent that money.
so how else do you cultivate happiness without spending more?
The beach is a good one.
A park picnic.
stargazing
libraries
home brunches
Things I avoid developing a taste for:
fine wine
fine whiskey
front-row anything
fancy coffee drinks
11.19.2019
