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The real use of money is to buy freedom  

Paras Chopra:

The only, legitimate use of money is to be able to say no to things you don't want to do and yes to things which feel out of reach.

I find myself in a similar situation to Paras. I have enough money to afford whatever gadgets I may want, but what's the point of buying all those things?

I firmly believe that material possessions may end up owning my life rather than I owning them.

About a year ago, I was walking back home, and had to cross a bridge, and the thought crossed my mind: what if the bridge was closed forever and I could never get back to my flat?

I felt liberated when I realised that I didn't care. The only possessions I really care about fit inside a small backpack: a laptop and a portable hard drive. A nice new iPhone. A recent iPad with books on it. That's about it. The other things I care about are people, but those are different.

Sure, I like having a 42-inch TV in the nice new flat I moved into, and the under-floor heating in the bathroom is awesome (as is the plentiful hot water from the taps - my previous flat didn't have hot water from the taps for 3 years). But really, in the greater scheme of things, those are just luxuries. I can easily live without them - and I think I'm richer for it.

More thoughts on this in Paras Chopra's article.

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