Consumption and living standards

It happens that you think about what you would do and how you would live if you had so much money, as much is impossible to spend?

Many people think that they would try to spend it all, but it was always interesting for me to look on the other side and find out if possessions and the standard of living that they are forced to maintain is a burden for wealthy people.

We buy giant houses and stuff them with things, electronics, household appliances, gadgets, organize own auto parks. But somehow all this stuff takes some part of our own life, well, or most of it. 

We live in an abundance of goods, in the world of hypermarkets, huge shopping centers, and convenience stores. People of almost any social stratum can surround themselves with things.

There is no sign that these things make us happy. In fact, I am seeing the opposite picture. It took me many years to get rid of all the insignificant things that I accumulated so diligently, and start living wider, freer, better, only with things that I really need.

When you can buy everything you want, the consumer drug soon ceases to cause euphoria. You get cold to everything. I began to reflect on why the improvements in life, which in theory were supposed to make me happier, do not help but only create a feeling of anxiety in my head. Life has become more complicated although more comfortable. So many things to watch out for. Lawn, garden, cleaning, cars, insurances, maintenance…

The need to take care of your property is guaranteed to trigger the production of stress hormones. Do you know that 75% of families cannot park their cars in the garage because the garage is full of other things?

Our love of things affects almost every aspect of our lives. The sizes of the houses are growing, but the average number of residents per house is decreasing… I wonder what for? To store more things in it? What do we store in the boxes that we drag when moving? We do not know until we open. I also read somewhere that 40% of the food an American buys, goes to a bin? Such insatiability has global implications.

© Fortune, 2020