This excerpt on Slate.com offers a “Minimalist” perspective on some of the hidden costs of our belongings. I’m not siding one way or the other in the stuff debate, rather I’m recognizing that–as is true for everything–being mindful of our acquisitions is critical.
As kids, we learn that it costs money to buy something. It’s as we get older that we recognize it also costs time, energy, and money to maintain it. Having a car is great, until you have to wash it. Having a backyard is great, until you have to weed it. Having a house is great, until you have to replace the water heater. As Joshua Fields Millburn writes: “No matter how organized we are, we must continue to care for the stuff we organize, sorting and cleaning our meticulously structured belongings.”
In my work, I see the financial challenges that folks face to get and maintain their stuff. I also see the choices they have to make during tough times such as divorce or death. Like many professionals who work with divorcing couples, I have seen what happens when anger, fear, and disappointment converge and a normal object’s importance far surpasses its market value. The emotions of the divorce distort the client’s sense of worth so that it seems fighting over that object is a good use of their time, energy, and money. I suspect that if these clients’ wiser selves could talk to them, they’d advise saving money and skipping the battle.
Will contests happen when heirs are unhappy with how a relation’s estate passed. To some extent, estate planning in Washington is simplified by the fact that a testator (person making a will) can create their own, separate, written instructions as to the disposition of tangible personal property. Nevertheless, at death, your choices about what things felt deserved your time, energy, and money will directly impact the person or persons who administer your estate.
For myself, I’d say that I’m a “sufficient-ist”. I need stuff; stuff helps comfort and entertain. And I want my stuff to be worth the time, energy, and money that it takes to maintain it.