Debt $ense

I don’t know the name of this song, but it’s been on the radio a few times in the last couple days, and I think one line from it pretty much sums up the key to debt reduction and living below your means: “It’s not having what you want/It’s wanting what you’ve got.”

We can always want something more than what we have - there’s just so many options out there. Not to mention that what we don’t have almost always looks better than what we have. That said, the key to not succumbing to the “grass is greener” syndrome is to figure out what’s important to you and be happy with that.

There’s been a lot of research done that shows money doesn’t make you happier, and in many cases, all these luxuries don’t make people happier. You just reset your internal satisfaction meter to the higher level, and soon you want more, setting up a spiral to an unsustainable standard of living. About the only way to stop it, it seems, is to recognize that and make a conscious decision to be happy with where you are.

Now, there are exceptions. If you don’t have enough money to buy food, or to have enough shelter for your family, then yes, some more breathing room financially could definitely improve things on a long-term basis. And not always worrying about how to pay medical bills would certainly improve somebody’s outlook. But once you get beyond just covering needs (real needs - basic food, shelter, clothing, health care) the amount of improvment is minimal.

Which gets us back to the song lyrics: “It’s wanting what you’ve got.” How many of you want what you’ve got? Or are you still in the “having what you want” mode? Since I’ve been blogging - mid-April - I’m a whole lot closer to the “wanting what you’ve got” mode, but I’m not there yet.