One of my heroes is Jesus. Not for the miracles or how he died for us in love, but for how he was able to go through life essentially as a bum without possessions and have people follow him around and listen to his wise words. Not that I want to be a bum, but the idea of not really worrying about money or how I will survive and trusting that I will be provided for does sound appealing. Then again, I realize I am not Jesus and people will likely tire of hearing me ramble on and feeding me, so I should probably be able to take care of myself.
So the question presents itself, how much is enough? How much wealth should I accumulate to reasonably be able to take care of myself and not be a burden upon others? How much wealth is enough so I can continue to be generous and help others through charity? If I live a minimalist lifestyle growing my own food and buying clothes from second hand stores and generally foregoing mindless consumption, how little do I have to work to be able to accomplish long term financial security? Recreation time is my number one desire, far ahead of financial security and I don't want to wait until I am 65 to have it. So how much is enough?
Jesus says in Matthew 6 "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or drink, nor about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Consider the sparrows, they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet their heavenly father feeds them. Are you not more valuable than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to your life?" Dang, Jesus can be so deep sometimes and get right to the point. Essentially he is saying that as we accumulate more and more wealth, we basically communicate to God that we do not have faith he will continue to provide for us. Is extreme wealth accumulation really just extreme fear? Fear that you will run out someday or fear that you will be alone and broke at the end when you need someone to wipe your ass and help you get around.
Here are a few more scriptures on wealth: Matthew 6:19 says "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal." Matthew 6:21 says "For where your treasure is there will your heart be also." Ecclesiastes 5:10 says "Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless." All of these essentially point to wealth accumulation as a bad thing.
One way we have been able to achieve financial security, "work" less and maintain our charitable ways is by decreasing our consumption. Essentially we have learned to be satisfied with what we have. The root word of possessions is possess. Think about people who are possessed. Essentially the more possessions you have the more you are saying "that is mine and not yours". The more possessions you have the more stress you have, the more money you have to make to maintain those possessions. Many indigenous people look at objects as communal so they do not get that feeling of control over anything. Others are allowed to freely use or utilize an object as often as they would like. And in regards to gifts there isn't a running ledger going in your head about who gave who what and if they gave something back. That can be maddening to keep a ledger on everyone you know. Isn't it just much easier to freely give away your possessions so you do not become possessed?
Oh the earth is literally crying out for us to decrease our consumption right now. The oceans are filling with our disposed consumables, the highest point in Butler county OH is our regional landfill. About 1/3 of Americans are obese. We are chewing through green space to meet our insatiable demand for more and more, and for what? With anything and everything at our fingertips and able to be shipped to us in a couple of days from anywhere in the world, are we any happier? Our drug addictions would indicate we are not.
So we can achieve wealth by not spending but back to the question at hand, how much is enough? I believe it is financially prudent to have about 6 months of expenses in liquid cash. I also believe it is financially prudent to pay off your debts as quickly as possible, including your house. It is also socially and morally prudent to look around and lend a hand (and money) to those in need. Work can be enjoyable, but when you are forced to give your time to others because of your financial obligations, you are forced to give away your recreational time. Over time you give away your life.
You can increase your recreational time and decrease the amount of time you work by raising your hourly rate. You do this by increasing your skills so your services are in higher and higher demand. If you are working for a company and they do not raise your compensation at the same rate you are raising your efficacy at work you should look elsewhere for work. Consulting and 1099 contract work are a tremendous way to earn income and offer more free time. Specialized skills can be called upon by a company for a short or long period of time. When recreation has run its course and financial cushion is desired the hourly rate is competitive to get your foot in the door and show them what you can do. When the financial cushion is re-achieved and recreational time is desired the hourly rate increases. It kind of works itself out. Don't give your time to the man if you don't have to, give your time to yourself and your loved ones. If we were all contract employees we would hold the upper hand as labor.
Hard work and the stock market have made millionaires, many of them baby boomers about to retire. Globalism, cronyism and gangsterism have made billionaires (soon to be trillionaires). It is not for me to say what your cushion level should be. But if you can look around and see suffering and pain within your immediate family, friends or neighbors, maybe it is time to considering letting some of the possessions and wealth go and trusting that you will be provided for. Consider the sparrows...
So the question presents itself, how much is enough? How much wealth should I accumulate to reasonably be able to take care of myself and not be a burden upon others? How much wealth is enough so I can continue to be generous and help others through charity? If I live a minimalist lifestyle growing my own food and buying clothes from second hand stores and generally foregoing mindless consumption, how little do I have to work to be able to accomplish long term financial security? Recreation time is my number one desire, far ahead of financial security and I don't want to wait until I am 65 to have it. So how much is enough?
Jesus says in Matthew 6 "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or drink, nor about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Consider the sparrows, they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet their heavenly father feeds them. Are you not more valuable than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to your life?" Dang, Jesus can be so deep sometimes and get right to the point. Essentially he is saying that as we accumulate more and more wealth, we basically communicate to God that we do not have faith he will continue to provide for us. Is extreme wealth accumulation really just extreme fear? Fear that you will run out someday or fear that you will be alone and broke at the end when you need someone to wipe your ass and help you get around.
Here are a few more scriptures on wealth: Matthew 6:19 says "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal." Matthew 6:21 says "For where your treasure is there will your heart be also." Ecclesiastes 5:10 says "Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless." All of these essentially point to wealth accumulation as a bad thing.
One way we have been able to achieve financial security, "work" less and maintain our charitable ways is by decreasing our consumption. Essentially we have learned to be satisfied with what we have. The root word of possessions is possess. Think about people who are possessed. Essentially the more possessions you have the more you are saying "that is mine and not yours". The more possessions you have the more stress you have, the more money you have to make to maintain those possessions. Many indigenous people look at objects as communal so they do not get that feeling of control over anything. Others are allowed to freely use or utilize an object as often as they would like. And in regards to gifts there isn't a running ledger going in your head about who gave who what and if they gave something back. That can be maddening to keep a ledger on everyone you know. Isn't it just much easier to freely give away your possessions so you do not become possessed?
Oh the earth is literally crying out for us to decrease our consumption right now. The oceans are filling with our disposed consumables, the highest point in Butler county OH is our regional landfill. About 1/3 of Americans are obese. We are chewing through green space to meet our insatiable demand for more and more, and for what? With anything and everything at our fingertips and able to be shipped to us in a couple of days from anywhere in the world, are we any happier? Our drug addictions would indicate we are not.
So we can achieve wealth by not spending but back to the question at hand, how much is enough? I believe it is financially prudent to have about 6 months of expenses in liquid cash. I also believe it is financially prudent to pay off your debts as quickly as possible, including your house. It is also socially and morally prudent to look around and lend a hand (and money) to those in need. Work can be enjoyable, but when you are forced to give your time to others because of your financial obligations, you are forced to give away your recreational time. Over time you give away your life.
You can increase your recreational time and decrease the amount of time you work by raising your hourly rate. You do this by increasing your skills so your services are in higher and higher demand. If you are working for a company and they do not raise your compensation at the same rate you are raising your efficacy at work you should look elsewhere for work. Consulting and 1099 contract work are a tremendous way to earn income and offer more free time. Specialized skills can be called upon by a company for a short or long period of time. When recreation has run its course and financial cushion is desired the hourly rate is competitive to get your foot in the door and show them what you can do. When the financial cushion is re-achieved and recreational time is desired the hourly rate increases. It kind of works itself out. Don't give your time to the man if you don't have to, give your time to yourself and your loved ones. If we were all contract employees we would hold the upper hand as labor.
Hard work and the stock market have made millionaires, many of them baby boomers about to retire. Globalism, cronyism and gangsterism have made billionaires (soon to be trillionaires). It is not for me to say what your cushion level should be. But if you can look around and see suffering and pain within your immediate family, friends or neighbors, maybe it is time to considering letting some of the possessions and wealth go and trusting that you will be provided for. Consider the sparrows...
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