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Several posts ago, I suggested three strategies to help you subdue your appetite for stuff: strategic ignorance, strategic aloofness, and strategic participation. Here’s a quick review.
Strategic ignorance: This is the practice of consciously removing yourself from the loop, of being purposely ignorant of whatever is “cool” or “hot” or “fashionable.” The logic behind strategic ignorance is pretty straightforward. Human beings covet what they see. So if you reduce what you “see,” you’ll covet less.
Strategic aloofness: This is the practice of choosing functionality over popularity. In other words, you know your stuff is lame, but it works and you don’t give a rat’s ass what others say.
Strategic participation: This is the practice of not participating in the materialism game.
FOMO Rears Its Ugly Head
These three strategies will help you subdue your appetite for stuff if you give them a chance. But what if you’re afflicted with a severe case of FOMO—fear of missing out? You love being on the cutting edge of fashion, entertainment, and technology. You enjoy hanging with the cool kids. You don’t think extremism in the name of consumerism is a vice.
I could, of course, hurl some derision your way. “C’mon snowflake, you’re going to sacrifice your financial future so you can prance around in fancy clothes and drink overpriced cocktails at snooty dance clubs?” But that wouldn’t be fair. FOMO is a real thing. I should know. I was afflicted with it myself for a good portion of my adult life. So rather than hurl derision your way, I’m going to hurl some ideas at you that may help arrest your feelings of FOMO.
Keeping FOMO at Bay
Being Frugal Doesn’t Mean Doing Without
A bed provides the same level of comfort whether it’s sitting in a 600 square foot apartment or a 3,000 square foot McMansion. A properly maintained 10-year-old Chevy will negotiate rush-hour traffic as well as a brand new BMW. Celebrating Valentine’s Day at White Castle is just as much fun as celebrating it at a fancy restaurant.
Do you recognize a pattern here? Mindful spending is not synonymous with abject misery. Life is still good if you only replace things when they wear out. Life is still fun if you only buy what is needed to get the job done. When you do frugality right, you sacrifice nothing. Remembering this will help you become a better practitioner of strategic ignorance.
Only Compete Against Yourself
Human beings love to compare themselves to other human beings. The only problem is that most human beings look up when they make comparisons. They rarely look down. But here’s a novel suggestion, for you. Don’t look up, down, or sideways when you’re making comparisons, look only at yourself. Are you making more money than you made last year? Are you saving more? Is your net worth higher? Are you more skilled or knowledgeable? Can you do more pull-ups? Are you a better spouse, friend, or neighbor?
Your job is to be the best version of you that you can be. It’s not to be an equal or better version of another dude or dudette. Remembering this will help you become a better practitioner of strategic aloofness.
Hedonic Adaptation Assures Your Defeat
Like most people, I love that new car smell. But after a couple of years with a new car, the new car smell is long gone and that car that once got you all jacked up is now just a hunk of metal, glass, and rubber that sits in your garage for twenty-plus hours a day doing nothing. The thrill, as they say, is gone.
What I just described is understood as hedonic adaptation—the tendency of human beings to get bored or increasingly unsatisfied with their stuff. Now a question. If you’re forever doomed to frown upon your stuff—regardless of how incredible it once was—isn’t playing a material game an exercise in futility? Absolutely. Because of hedonic adaptation, you can never win the material game. But you can win the freedom game. You put together a large enough portfolio and you’ll never have to work again. Now another question. Would you rather be unhappy with your stuff and working forty-plus hours a week? Or would you rather be unhappy with your stuff and retired? I could be wrong, but I think your answer will help you see the wisdom of strategic participation.
Groovy Store Is Open
Okay, you now have three strategies to subdue your appetite for stuff and three ideas to subdue the devilish beast known as FOMO. Haha! You now have absolutely no excuse for living paycheck to paycheck.
But wait, there’s more.
Not only have I solved the typical American’s financial problems, at least on the spending front, I have also opened an Etsy store. Yep, I got inspired by J and Gwen from the Fire Drill Podcast and their numerous discussions of passive income and Etsy. And you know me, when two of my favorite FIRE personalities get excited about something, I get excited about it. Here are the links to the Freedom Is Groovy store.
Indirect link from this website
Direct link to Esty storefront
And here are two examples of our Groovy merchandise.
Final Thoughts
Okay, groovy freedomist, that’s all I got. What say you? Are my three ideas for keeping FOMO at bay for real? Or are they unmitigated hogswallop? Let me know what you think when you get a chance. Peace.
[Mrs. Groovy here. Holy crap! Not very well played, my husband. I’m sure the irony is not lost on many of our readers—here you are, showing folks how to subdue their appetite for stuff, and even making suggestions on how to deal with cursed FOMO—and, yet, you conclude your post by promoting our brand new Etsy store. A store that SELLS STUFF!!! It’s great stuff, I might add, but it’s still STUFF. In the words of my Brooklyn ancestors, OYYYYYY.]
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