What Do You Want?

Most people want a happy family, good health, meaningful work, and enough money to live comfortably. To have all four requires balance, and when one’s main concern is money, that balance is disturbed. For many people, getting back on track may mean accepting a lower-paying job, a smaller home, a less-expensive car, or a lower social status. How many of them are willing to sacrifice such luxuries for the sake of higher values? ‘I know I don’t need these things,’ admitted one woman, ‘but it’s so hard to let go of them!’ Others want to let go, but they don’t want to be the first to do so.

What about you? If you have already found a way to keep money and material things in their place, you are to be commended. On the other hand, are you rushing through this article right now because your standard of living demands too much of your time? Are you among those who feel a need to cut back materially in favor of greater physical and emotional well-being? Then act decisively before materialism has opportunity to do its destructive work in your household. The box on this page provides some suggestions for getting started.

When material things are kept in their place, each member of the family will benefit physically and emotionally.

[Box/​Picture on page 7]

Living With a Sense of Balance

Cutting back materially will require determination and careful planning. Here are suggestions that have proved helpful to some.

◼ INVENTORY. What can you stop buying? What can you get rid of? Magazine subscriptions? Music CDs? Unnecessary accessories for the car?

◼ SIMPLIFY ON A TRIAL BASIS. If you have serious reservations about living more simply, why not try it for six months or a year. Prove to yourself whether all that time spent on money and possessions was really making you happier​—or less so.

◼ INCLUDE YOUR CHILDREN IN FAMILY DISCUSSIONS ABOUT SIMPLIFYING. Thus, they will likely be supportive and you will not find it so hard to say no when you must.

◼ CONSIDER GIVING YOUR CHILDREN AN ALLOWANCE. Whether they decide to save for a desired item or to forgo it, they will learn patience and appreciation for what they own. They will also learn how to make decisions.

◼ LEARN TECHNIQUES THAT WILL HELP YOU SAVE. Shop for bargains. Make a budget. Carpool. Run appliances less. Borrow books from the library instead of buying them.

◼ FILL THE GAP. Remember, your objective in cutting back is not simply to own less but to give attention to more important concerns, such as the people in your life. Are you doing that?