This post is from our regular contributor, Erin.
Imagine that you wake up in the middle of the night to the fire alarm blaring in your ears.
You wake up in a panic. What’s the first thing you do?
If you’re like any normal person, you might start freaking out just a bit.
You’re likely going to start thinking about rounding up your family or pets, and then thinking about what you want to rescue from your home.
Think about it right now – off the top of your head, what would you take with you? What’s so important to you, you’d risk your life to save it from destruction?
While it’s not fun to think about, it sure is a way to get your financial priorities straight!
What Matters Most to You?
We’ve covered it here before, but it’s so important to know what your priorities and values are.
That said, it can be difficult to know what they are if you’ve never given any thought to it.
Try this exercise and see what you come up with. Whatever ends up on the list obviously means a lot to you!
Use this list to prioritize your finances and spending. Your money should be going to your values, as spending on these will likely make you happier than wasting your money elsewhere.
Things to Reflect On
I actually had to think about this a few weeks ago, as the fire alarm in my apartment building went off suddenly. (Thankfully it was a false alarm.)
My first thought immediately went to my cats (of course), but I didn’t really think about taking anything else other than my laptop.
Does that make me a bad person? What should I take away from that?
Well, it makes sense to prioritize any living things in your home, so there’s that.
But technology? Is it really that important?
I believe so, especially these days when we often have many aspects of our lives saved on our computers.
I have a bunch of important documents on there, and I have plenty of pictures that hold a lot of memories.
In many cases, these are irreplaceable (unless you’re backing your hard drive up somewhere else, which is probably a smart move).
Notice how I didn’t think about anything that could be easily replaced.
While losing clothing, cookware, furniture, and other possessions might be a pain, they can all be purchased again. And most don’t hold any sentimental value. They’re not really worth going through flames for.
Coming to this realization was actually pretty freeing for me. Over the years, I’ve held onto various things for one reason or another, but none of the reasons are particularly good.
If I can’t be bothered to save any of these things from a fire, what business do I have holding onto them regularly?
Evaluate Reality Against Your Results
I thought this was an interesting exercise in seeing how your reality compares to this imaginary scenario.
Do you have tons of stuff in your home that you’re hoarding for a rainy day? Are you spending needlessly on things you wouldn’t think twice about under dire circumstances?
If so, use this exercise as a prompt to make a change.
I highlighted some of the benefits of decluttering and cleaning your home out last week – now’s the time for that point to be hammered home.
I’ve never been a minimalist, and I wasn’t totally on board with the movement when I was first introduced to it.
However, over the past few months, I’ve warmed up to the idea of at least paring down on things that are simply taking up space.
I don’t think I’ll ever not own any sort of furniture, but the less stuff I have to worry about, the better, in my opinion.
I’ve been practicing meaningful spending for the last year or so now as well, and I can definitely tell you it’s made a difference to me.
My weakness used to be cosmetics (notice how that’s definitely not on my list of concerns when it comes to a house fire). Any time a new product came out, I convinced myself I needed to try it. That whatever I was using at the time wasn’t cutting it.
I ended up with a drawer full of makeup, and lots of money down the drain.
My spending didn’t align with my values, especially since being debt free matters a lot to me. Purchasing all that stuff was taking money away from that goal.
What did I do? I changed my shopping habits and my mindset. I realized I was collecting way too much stuff. I had more than I needed, and there was no reason to buy more. I was ashamed it had gotten to the point it did.
Now, I only make purchases when I’ve run out of a product. I operate the same way when it comes to almost everything else, whether it be clothing, accessories, or tools in the kitchen.
What You Can Take Away From This
A lot of people aren’t happy with their spending. They’re guilty of letting things slip through the cracks, of impulse buying, or of not knowing when enough is enough.
The media wants us to consume mindlessly. They only stand to make a profit.
Hopefully this exercise makes you realize that mindless spending isn’t the way to go.
By narrowing down what’s truly important to you, you can focus on what matters most in life.
Cut down on anything you can do without, and make more room for your values.
Money is a precious tool and shouldn’t be spent carelessly. You and your wallet will be happier when you start to think twice about your spending.
_________________
If you’re unclear on what things matter most to you in life, think about what possessions you would take with you in the event your home was on fire. It’s a scary situation, but it can give you a lot of insight and perspective!
And if fires are a bit too scary, think about what items you would absolutely have to have with you if you were stranded in a remote location. =)
What would you take with you if your house was on fire? Do you think it’s a good representation of your spending?
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Great exercise Erin! I’ve actually pondered this myself many times. There used to be a time where is come up with a prioritized list of “stuff”. Now it’s “get me and the kids out alive”. I might grab my laptop or iPad if it’s handy but I’m not stopping to go find them!
I’d grab Mr. FW and Frugal Hound! I have some old family photos that aren’t digitized that I’d like to take if I could, but other than that, it’s all just stuff that can be replaced. Our computers are backed up to the cloud (including all of our current photos), which definitely makes me feel better.
I think this is a good thing to think through – in order to see what truly matters to you and where your priorities are. If we had this experience, it would obviously be my wife, kids & the cat. Our laptops are backed up to the cloud each evening, but I’d still probably grab our laptops to be safe. Other than that, we might also take a small jewelry box my wife has that contains some family heirlooms. Beyond that, we’d be running!
I’m not a hardcore minimalist but I love having space to breathe and know where everything is and not have it be crammed into closets and drawers, and it does reflect how I spend or not spend my money. Aside from my cat I’d take my journals, my photos, and my laptop. Oh, and probably my phone. That way I could continue my livelihood quickly to try and recover from things that were lost. But of course I hope that never happens!
Wonderful post, Erin. People, cats, pictures. That’s all I would take. The rest can go. I know some things we need, such as furniture and some clothing, but we do we hold on to the rest?
I actually think about this a lot. We have moved so much over the past 10 years and every time we move, I purge things for essentially this reason. If my house was on fire, I would make sure my son, my hubby and my cat were safe. Everything else can be replaced and since that’s the case, nothing else really has value like we think it does which means we don’t really need so many things.
I really love this post! Assuming my Hubby was able to get out on his own, I’d just grab my daughter and her baby memory book (our photos are pretty much all digitized, so that makes me feel better). Maybe even my cell phone so I could call 911. There really isn’t much around here that would make me want to stick around a burning house for. I liked this exercise though, it forced me to really think about what my priority items would be :)
We we had a small fire in our kitchen a few months ago, I actually didn’t grab anything. I just helped me son get out of the apartment but deep down I figured our entire building wouldn’t burn down and we’d eventually be able to return home. Thankfully it wasn’t worse but if it would have, I probably wouldn’t even worry about electronics too much and just go for clothes and keepsakes. I had a friend and coworker who both recently endured damaging fires to their homes so it’s kind of difficult to predict how I would react in a situation like that.
indebtedmom I’ve definitely thought about it more than once, but there really isn’t much worth risking your life for aside from other humans and pets. =)
Mrs. Frugalwoods I really need to work on backing my stuff up! I replaced my old hard drive a while ago and forgot to transfer a folder of photos over and was pretty upset.
FrugalRules Sounds like a good list, John! Family heirlooms are definitely important, as are pets and family members. =)
Beachbudget That’s mainly why I’d want to take my laptop (and phone) as well – it’d be weird not to have it, and I kind of need it for work! It can be a hassle to replace documents, but I guess that’s why I need to move more stuff to the cloud. ;)
Laurie TheFrugalFarmer Thanks, Laurie! It’s interesting to think about even beyond what we would take with us – how would we rebuild? If we were spenders before and had a lot of “stuff,” I wonder if many of us would choose to pare down on things.
blonde_finance Exactly, Shannon! We classify so many things as necessities when they aren’t. When it comes down to taking or leaving it, we can usually leave it.
Christina@EmbracingSimple I’m glad you liked it, Christina! It sounds like many of us are on the same page. I hope it helps others realize what their priorities are as well.
Chonce It’s a super scary situation and one I wouldn’t wish on anyone. I can’t imagine actually going through it, as watching my neighbors’ houses burn down when I was younger was bad enough. It’s hard to think straight when you’re panicking anyway, so I think most of us would act on instinct and run to get whatever truly mattered most to us.
I’d grab my cell phone to notify friends, family, and insurance companies, my pets, and a small safe with important documents.
After my family, I’d find my phone, iPad, and laptop in that order. I am working on getting rid of things that don’t hold any value to me and when I think of it, those are the only 3 things I use daily and I feel that I need. I already have a fire proof safe with important documents so I’m covered there.
SimplySave All great things to take!
DrSheba That’s great you’re working on getting rid of things that aren’t useful or valuable! And fire proof safes are always nice to have, just in case.
I would hate to think about a fire, but as I start the de-cluttering part of my life, I realize I could have skipped purchasing a few things, and left the rat race earlier.
I would certainly grab the dog and any people in the house.
No Nonsense Landlord That’s one of the most difficult parts about decluttering for me. To realize how much money I wasted on meaningless things. At least it’s a good lesson for the future!