The Tyranny of Abundance

Near the end of Free (iTunes link), the author mentions something very similar to an article recently posted over on AoM: we can become trapped in a world of abundance. It seems paradoxical. Human existence strives to rid the world of scarcity. After all, an unlimited supply of clean water would instantly raise the standard of living for millions. Same with food. But these deal with atoms, or the physical world. Modern living has created a whole other digital world, a world of bits, where abundance flows freely.

But is abundance really a good thing? Speaking from experience, I relate very well to the previously-mentioned AoM article. Since moving to the city and starting this wonderful new life on my own, I quickly ran into this issue, that I did not realize or admit was an issue until now.

In my desire to be as frugal and financially responsible as possible, I started looking for other people with the same ideas in mind. This quickly led me to The Simple Dollar. From there, I came across Wise Bread, The Crafty Dollar, Saving For Serenity, Frugal Dad, and numerous others in just my brief searching. All these sites link to each other, as well as bargain-hunting sites - places that aggregate the latest coupons/discounts/deals from amazon to zales.

Therein lies the tyranny: I was on a restless pursuit of another finance blog, another coupon site, in the hope of finding more relevant, more helpful information. It is common courtesy in the blogosphere to link to like-minded sites. Cross-promotion. This quickly led me down a rabbit trail of links, leading from one great site to the next. With the abundance of information - free, no less; it cost me nothing but time (aha) - I was quickly drowning myself in information. Invest here...open an online bank account here...20 ways to save big at the grocery store...10 ways to save at the farmers market...The 5 most efficient ways to keep a clutter free life...and on and on it went. In this internet age, anyone can post their ideas for anyone else to see, readily a google search away. It's helpful, no doubt, but it's unending.

Which made me finally come to the realization: do I really want to be spending my time trying to find marginally cheaper groceries? Is saving $2 on that box of Stridex worth it? Initially it is, until you apply that to every area of your life. My life was being consumed with trying to make it marginally more efficient. I have yet to open a 'high-yield' online savings account, as hundreds of bloggers have yet to settle on which one has the best customer service and ease of use.

Time really is money, as Mr. Anderson alludes to in his book. It is the last final currency with no inflation or, in this case, deflation. We cannot take away nor add hours to the day. Living a frugal life takes time, with the tradeoff being monthly (or yearly) savings of X amount. For a lot of people this is worth it (as I quickly found out). I still am trying to find the balance, how much I am willing to pay with my time for a little monetary exchange.

With this over abundance of information and advice comes the mindset that something more helpful or more affordable is just a link away. And because all of it is free, it looks like we are getting a good deal, when in fact we pay with hours of our time.