There are advantages to having less money
“Less is more” is the popular refrain of the minimalist movement that champions the virtue of voluntary simplicity. While living with less may be a conscious choice for some people, the economic shutdown from the COVID-19 pandemic forced many people to live with less whether they want to or not. So can less be more or at least acceptable? Let’s take a look at what the science says.
Caveat:
I want to be clear that there is a distinction between living with less and not having enough. There is nothing virtuous about being forced to live with insufficient money to meet your basic needs. The pandemic left innumerable people unable to meet even minimal expenses like rent, groceries, and healthcare. This article is not meant to say those people should like their situation. Instead, this piece is targeted at those who have enough to meet their basic needs.
The COVID Pandemic Changed More Than Health
I talked with a woman who works two part-time jobs, one of which was at a business forced to close during the pandemic. When it reopened, I asked her if she planned to go back. She said no. It turns out that while she had been on forced furlough, she and her family had come to find that they could get along without the extra money. Moreover, she learned that she valued her time at home with her husband and kids and did not want to give that up. She even stated that she was grateful for the pandemic because it had forced her to reevaluate her priorities and get down to what was most important to her.
Research suggests my friend is not the only one to find benefit in hard times. Suffering life’s adversities has been shown to increase people’s gratitude for the things they have, rather than making them yearn for more. In these situations, people strengthen their connections to family and friends, improve skills, build expertise and find ways to think less of themselves and contribute more to others — all positive and admirable traits.
Let’s look at some other ways that having less can improve your life.
Coming Together
When people have less, they tend to pull together more and help each other. It may be a mother who is now home to help her children with their homework. Or it could be the family playing boards games rather than going out for entertainment. My family missed out on our long-planned trip to Europe because of the epidemic, and children missed out on going to school, so I don’t want to paint an unfairly rosy picture. But in other ways, my family and many others came together more. I hate to admit this, but I came to appreciate having my teen’s extracurriculars canceled and being able to spend time with them rather than feeling hassled by shuttling them from one thing to another.
Shifting Perspective
The change in work patterns has been detrimental to some who lost their jobs. As devastating as that can be, some people found it ideal to discover something new that better fits their interests and passions. As hard as it may be to lose a job, the feeling you have lost everything can drive your ambition because you have no other option. While those who saved their jobs as others around them did not found a new sense of gratitude for their work (even if it was one they complained about constantly before that.) Those who maintained their employment were also more motivated to show up and do their best work.
People forced to live with less realize that money (like most things in life) is not all it is cracked up to be. Priorities shift to things that matter in like family, friends, health, community and nature’s beauty. When circumstances become challenging, we tend to count our blessings and savor the small things. This appreciation of the little things in life is a nice change because as people become more affluent, they become less appreciative of the little things that used to bring them joy. Although the pandemic was harmful to many people in many ways, others found that they were more robust and capable than they had expected.
What you really want to know is how to get the most joy from the money you have. To find out, click here.
Getting Creative
When money becomes tight and store shelves go bare, the scarcity forces people to become more creative in how they meet their needs (no, I’m not talking just about toilet paper . . . Although, ya, that too.) When you have plenty of money, you can walk into a store and buy whatever you want. When you have little money, you learn how to make hard decisions. You take more time to consider what is truly worth buying and what you can get along without.
Living with less also means finding ways to get your needs met creatively. Garage sales skyrocketed during the economic recession of 2008 as people got rid of things they did not need by selling them to those that did. Barter systems also developed as people found innovative ways to trade what they had for what they needed. Entrepreneurship saw a surge during the COVID pandemic as innovation and enterprise flourished. As the economy opens up again, a record number of people are choosing not to go back to traditional employment but instead are starting their own businesses. Perhaps proving that necessity is the mother of invention.
Conservation
When people have less, they are less likely to squander it. The result is a reduced impact on the environment. People buy less, consume less, and drive less, all of which lead to environmental benefits including; cleaner air, less water pollution, fewer emissions, and the lifting of smog. Leading some chronically polluted cities to see clear skies for the first time in a long time.
Not only do we buy less and use less, but people also slow down and spend less time in resources intensive ways. Like many families, mine began to do more cooking and baking at home. People also recycled and reused things like linens, jars, and toys rather than throwing them out. And the same went for food, where families were more likely to finish meals or make creative use of leftovers.
Conclusion
Empirical and anecdotal evidence suggests that living with less does have clear benefits. People tap into their creativity and inner strength to deal with adversity and often come out feeling better for the experience. My friend has found she likes her new life with less so much that she has no plans to return to her second job.
Warning
I do want to reiterate that there is a difference between living with less and not having enough to meet basic needs for food, health, and security. People forced to live below the poverty line suffer and suffer disproportionately more when they must get by with less.
Final thought
That being said, for those who feel rushed and stressed working to make more money to keep up with the Joneses, living with less can have advantages. People learned this the hard way, but many have come to appreciate the benefits of living with less and are not eager to return to their pre-pandemic lives.
Part 2 of 3
I explored how wealth affects happiness in my previous article. In this piece, we looked at the potential benefits of living with less. But what we really want to know is how to make the most of what we do have to get the most out of our money and our life.
