Stop buying stuff!
You’re destroying the planet, you’re keeping yourself poor and miserable, and screwing up your life. Don’t believe me? Watch this. Think about the true costs of the useless crap you buy every day that fills up your closet and eventually ends up in the landfill. Learn about, study, and ponder externalities. How many are you (at least partially) responsible for?
Ask yourself this, and answer honestly: Would you really be all that bad off if you gave up everything you own except basic kitchen fixtures, a bed, and a modest roof over your head? (Ok, you can have some more basic furniture and a simple wardrobe, but you must buy it all used at thrift shops. And you can have basic utilities, so long as you don’t overuse them.) Would that ruin your life? Would it really have any appreciable effect on your well being at all? Most people derive 90% of their happiness from their family and friends. And to fill in that last 10%, you can get unlimited entertainment, enough for a lifetime, free at any local library, along with a free Internet connection.
Now consider how much money you’ve blown over the years on items that aren’t on that list. Imagine if you had saved it all, and invested it at a modest 8% return. Seriously, run the numbers and see. For most middle class Americans, the result would be more than enough to create a lifetime of financial independence.
It’s not too late. You can just stop. You really can!
In fact, I ought to launch another site called “Million Dollar Closet.” The rules would be the same, except your starting stake can come from selling crap you already own on eBay or Craig’s list. The hook – no buying ANYTHING new until you have a million in the bank. You can buy food (but not at restaurants), pay your bills, and pay to repair stuff you already have, but that’s it. I’m confident most people could get rich in much less time than they imagine this way. So why not do it?