Strive for perfection. This does not exist, so you will achieve excellence. » I confess: I have long had a weakness for this sentence delicately adorning the corner of my office bulletin board. But by reading the new work by Jean-Sébastien Marsan, Free yourself through deconsumption (Éditions du Journal), I am no longer sure I want to keep it. This philosophy, by valuing performance and the quest for success, would not be without influencing our relationship to consumption.
When we think about it, the importance given to our professional life is linked to the increasingly greater place that material pursuits and the search for comfort take in our lives.
Deconsumption is defined as the tendency to reduce mass consumption. It involves several choices different from those that have become the norm in recent decades, in terms of food, transport, work, housing and leisure. On their own, the consumer society in which we live and the ecological issues constitute strong enough considerations for us to consider joining them.
Deconsumption can also apply to your personal finances. Jean-Sébastien Marsan forces us to question a form of professional or financial ambition which would be
deleterious.
To take the logical continuation of a song popularized by Vulgaires Machins, we can say that by working more, we allow ourselves to consume more, and that the more consumption increases, the greater the desire to earn more money to spending more sets in too.
Here are some tips inspired by reading this book.
End consumer debt. Let’s forget the delicacy and get straight to the point: only the poor get into debt by buying luxury goods. Well-heeled families and entrepreneurs take on debt to invest, and when their financial situation is more favorable, they take the opportunity to increase their comfort level. I know it is shocking to pit the rich and the poor against each other like this, but if talking about deconsumption can do any useful work, it is by encouraging the public to limit debt.
Access to credit encourages consumption choices that are inappropriate for one’s real financial situation and makes one forget the opportunity cost of each purchasing decision. The classic example is coffee or breakfast picked up daily in the morning at the drive-thru.
This bad habit maintained for 40 years, for a hypothetical total of $30 per week, means giving up almost $200,000, if this sum had, for example, been invested in an RRSP generating a return of 5% per year.
Boldly, Mr. Marsan suggests that we rediscover the relationship of shame that our ancestors had with credit. If you’re a parent, one of your minimum financial responsibilities should be to educate your children about the financial implications of paying only the minimum balance on a credit card each month.
Forget the “I deserve it so much”. Because we work hard to earn our money, many spend enormously to reward themselves: more material goods, more expensive trips, more family vacations to be like everyone else, more restaurants, more luxury goods. luxury. One of the keys would be to rethink your relationship with time and work. Obviously, a job that allows us to flourish perhaps reduces the temptation to use this excuse to justify various emotional expenses.
This reading also brings to mind a fact that gives rise to reflection: if, at a time not so long ago, it was still possible to live a happy life without even considering the purchase of a luxury good, today, these same goods are so easily accessible with credit that we forget to think before obtaining them.
Do we really need a luxury car, kitchenware worthy of a restaurant, a trendy house, a big swimming pool? These are automatisms which impoverish many households living beyond their means.
Question traditional models. Choose a paying profession, go into debt to study, own a house, buy a car, start a family, travel, buy a chalet. Every life is unique, but when you think about it, many choices are made through simple repetition or imitation.
The problem is that this model is not financially sustainable for many. Nor for the environment, for that matter. It is important to take the time to calculate the true hourly rate that your job earns, to make a more rational analysis of the choice between renting or buying, to put an end to the car, this social symbol of success.
Why carry out such painful questions? Because they also open the door to freedom and financial autonomy. When we reduce our consumption, the mind becomes lighter, the wallet fills and investments materialize. Deconsumption is therefore aimed at everyone, regardless of income.
What if financial satiety was the key to achieving more modest personal financial goals, but allowing us to reduce our footprint on the planet and avoid many sources of stress while increasing the quality of our relationships? Jean-Sébastien Marsan offers essential reading for anyone who finds frugality seems impossible and who is looking for a plan to reduce their expenses without completely losing their quality of life.