This week I’m talking about materialism and how it might be wrecking your retirement. Materialism places utmost importance on money, the things money can buy, and outward signs of financial success. 

The problem with materialism is that many of us blindly pursue more and more, with the expectation that doing so will make us happy. A higher salary, a bigger house, a nicer car, and a first class plane ticket with bring contentment. Not only does this not satisfy the hole in our hearts, unchecked materialism can also wreck you financially, especially if your materialistic impulses are driving you into debt or taking precedence over your long-term financial goals - like saving enough money for retirement. 

Today, we need to address the deeper issues behind materialism. Stopping damaging materialistic behavior goes so much deeper than an act of the will. Declarations of stopping spending so much money and cutting up your credit cards usually won’t be enough.

We have to look deeper and understand what’s driving our materialism in the first place. When the data clearly points to that wealth and money and more stuff can’t buy happiness, why do we so blindly pursue more, more, and more? 

For nearly all of our existence, we humans have been mobile creatures, and being weighed down by possessions was completely unnatural and impractical. A closet full of shoes is only a very recent luxury, and toting around that many pairs of heels would have got you killed by a wild beast, so the hoarders among our ancestors were most definitely wiped out. 

So if it’s not in our nature or our history to store up treasures here on earth, why do we do it? In my research, what I came across most is that there are two good reasons: 1 is pride and ego and 2 is that there is some type of deep unmet need that we are trying to fill with stuff. 

Pride and ego are angling for attention and for people to see you and think “wow, he’s a success” or “dang, she’s got everything”. Materialism and monetary success are easy ways in which we can measure ourselves against others, so it serves as natural fuel for our pride and ego. 

The unmet need or hole in our hearts can be a result of a number of factors, but what it boils down to is that we are unhappy and unfulfilled, often without purpose, living a life that we are less than capable of, spending time with people who bring us down who don’t really love us in the way we need them to, working a job that is sucking the life out of us, and we mistakenly believe that a new sweater or a $50 pair of underwear will fill the emptiness in our hearts. 

We are all materialistic in one way or another. The key is self-examination to get at the root of the problem so you can move on to changing your materialistic ways. 

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening. My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the One Minute Retirement Tip. 

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