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Does consumption have to be a measure of wealth and happiness?

Most of us now accept that we need to strive to become greener. But the question remains, should we extend this attitude towards our spending to become more economical too?

In our consumerist society we’re led to believe that the more money we have, the more we’ll be able to consume and the happier we’ll be. But if you choose to really challenge this concept you’ll probably find the opposite is true.

Julia, a 40-year-old public sector manager came to see me a couple of years ago after receiving news of her imminent redundancy. She was keen to take the opportunity to start up her own business, but was concerned that unless she resolved her relationship with money she didn’t stand a hope of running a successful business. As a result of the work we did together, Julia came to realise that she had been caught up in a cycle of spending more as her earnings increased. By challenging her beliefs and changing her behaviours around money, she questioned the whole blueprint by which she had been living - believing that she could only be happy if she sustained a certain level of income.

Once Julia let go of the safety net of a full time job, she created her own safety net by learning new tools to manage her money. And, by letting go of the fear that she had always previously associated with money and viewing money in a different way, she started to experience more freedom and a deeper level of happiness that grew as she discovered easy ways to spend less. Two years on, she can now recognise the signs that warn her to pay attention to money, but as soon as she takes the necessary action, she instantly feels reassured.

The late ecologist and economist Fritz Schumacher said “Since consumption is only merely a means to human well-being, the aim should be to obtain the maximum amount of well-being with the minimum amount of consumption”. What better time than the beginning of a new year to make plans to reduce your level of consumption and incorporate this aim within your definition of sustainability. And challenge whether your money habits will help you reach your potential while allowing you to flex and adjust the way you work and live in a changing landscape.

So what of the role of money and consumption in this idealistic picture? Do our money habits enable us to reach our potential and encourage greater freedom? As our levels of consumption are increasingly scrutinised and as the sustainability debate continues, I believe many more of us will choose to address our relationship with money without experiencing it as a sacrifice.

Simonne Gnessen is founder of Wise Monkey Financial Coaching. She has been advising and coaching people on their finances for more than 15 years, initially as an independent financial adviser and now as a coach. She equips people with the skills they need to take better control of their money and responsibility for their financial future, integrating the technical and practical aspects of money management and financial planning with their emotional relationship with money.

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