Living Modestly

It may seem that living modestly is the opposite of having a rich life. However, I desire more time to live my life, and to spend less of it working. For me this equals living modestly. 
Aspects of living modestly I employ are being debt free and living below my means.  From this I have money for savings and investments. 

Rich Life with a winter creek

I pay only cash for things, even larger purchases and travel. I find ways to do thing myself, or barter, or buy second hand.  And good stewardship of the things I have is key. I like my home and my car and my things to be nice but I equally value frugality so I take very good care of the things I do have so I don't have to replace them and the remain nice for a long time. 

My methods for living modestly enhance my feeling of having a rich life. Having savings and investing in my future makes me feel safe. It takes away stress I didn't really know was there. As does being debt free.  Living in a small house doesn't mean a small life, it enables me to have a large, rich life. 
Paying cash rather than using credit cuts down on the guilt accompaing charging things. It also makes me think more about the number of hours of my life I used up working to earn the $100 I'm about to spend, and ask myself "is it worth it"?  
Time is the greatest luxury. By living modestly I can work less and have more time to enjoy Having a Rich Life. 

Resources

Suze Orman
Mr. Money Mustache
Total Money Makeover

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