Remember this,—that very little is needed to make a happy life.

The list of things actually required for a decent life is short, and most people never write it out. Something to do, someone to care about, enough to eat, a bit of quiet, some sense that tomorrow is not a threat. Almost everything past that is preference presented as necessity, and it costs the years spent acquiring it.

Write your own short list this week, honestly, and then compare it with where your money and hours are going. The gap is usually surprising. You do not have to give anything up to benefit from seeing it clearly.