For many years, I believed financial success meant climbing the corporate ladder, owning luxury cars and watches, upgrading my lifestyle, and earning more. That’s the message we keep hearing.

Ignore what doesn’t feel right. Just work harder, earn more, rinse and repeat.

I didn’t achieve all of that. But I still found myself chasing the same ideals. But more money wasn’t the answer.

After work, I often sat in my car, staring at the sky for a while. The sun had set, and I didn’t realize it was one of the days where time had gone by quickly, filled with endless emails and Zoom calls, physical meetings and other obligations. The expectations, fast-paced and never-ending, created a cycle of doing more that seemed tiresome and never felt like it was enough.

I chased my KPIs, poured energy into a career that rewards results, and I justified one of my impulse purchases with, “ I deserve this. I work hard for it”. I told myself that after everything, I deserved a brand new watch, one that cost almost $3,500. I should not feel guilty. I should be proud of the purchase. My peers had watches even more expensive than mine, so I told myself ‘No, I didn’t overspend”.

I didn’t realize I wasn’t just spending the money. I was trading my time for it.

That was the day I asked myself a question that made me rethink the way I spend and live.

When I achieved my KPIs, instead of saving or investing, I spent the incentive on a watch I didn’t need. It’s a cool and unique watch. Wearing it brought more worry than joy. I took extra care maintaining it. At first, I was excited. But as time passed, the excitement faded and it didn’t truly serve me. But I wasn’t only losing money over time but also trading my time that could be used for more meaningful things. I regret purchasing it.

I could have used the time and money to work on the projects I have been thinking about, learn new courses and skills or just simply save and invest. 

What if I didn’t need more money but just more time? We don’t buy things with money but we buy them with our time. We trade our time for work, work for money, and then spend that money on unnecessary things, only to realize we are trapped in a cycle with no end.

That thought struck me. So I began aligning how I spent money with how I wanted to live – slowly, intentionally. Facing that truth wasn’t easy. For many years, People told me that success meant owning luxury items and to achieve all that, working hard and making more money was the goal.

Was I stuck in a cycle of blindly copying everyone else? Is this the identity I want to have? To look successful and happy?

If you find yourself caught in constant work, unnecessary spending, and not saving enough, if that sounds familiar, you are not the only one. Let’s walk through this together. This might help you pause and reflect.

Less Became More

Every chat with friends turned into the same conversation:

Where are you staying now? 

What car are you driving?

How many watches do you own?

Upgrading to the latest gadgets- phones, laptops, camera

Latest travel deals.

I didn’t notice it in myself at first, but I saw it with a few close friends.

There was a constant feeling of not having enough and feeling the urge to have more or to upgrade existing possessions. Some of my acquaintances were actually earning a lot. I almost convinced myself that financial security meant having more and being happy. But was that really the case? Or just never end up needing to upgrade?

I reflected on myself, I stopped buying things to reward myself for working hard and achieving KPIs.

I noticed what truly filled me was simple and cost me nothing at all. 

I asked myself: what were the things that genuinely made me happy or could I live with less? I get deeper with these questions and walking helps me to understand more.

Walking is a small activity that helped me in many aspects of my life. Slow living taught me not to escape modern life but to reclaim it.

Slowly I understood, that the less I chased, the more present I felt, the more aligned my spending with what truly matters, the less money I spent, and the less I needed,  the more freedom I felt, the ‘space’ not necessarily need to fill, and that’s okay. More stuff doesn’t bring me more real joy. I reduced fancy restaurants and started cooking at home more and realised I enjoyed it. I paid attention to how I spend money not just how it makes me feel because often newer things tend to make us excited but not for long. That dopamine hit won’t last and end up regretting the purchase.

By observing others and myself, I don’t need to be constantly living without purpose and constantly working for more money.

Spending With A Slow-Living Lifestyle 

My mornings and evenings used to be hectic with demanding job. I neglected sleep time and seldom had a fully rested night. There was no boundary for work time. Most of the time feeling tired and rushed.

I stopped reaching for my phone whenever I woke up. Let my body be in relaxed mode rather than reactive mode. I slowed down my mornings and evenings.

One of the things that contribute to stress and the constant need to rush is our spending habits. That needs to be changed.

Sometimes we need to sit with our thoughts. You may feel awkward and wasting time at first but it didn’t take long for me to notice the change.

And this is what happened.

I stopped listening to what others always buy. We will never be enough if we keep following the trend or what others telling us what should we buy. 

It’s the insecurity or void that will never be satisfied. I’ve started tracking my spending.

I stopped craving things I used to chase after.

I focus on my health and well-being.

I didn’t feel the need to treat myself after a long day.

My weekends can be without plans and purchases, shopping. Boring days so I could do what truly mattered, wanted slowness and less to-do list……..not more than five to-do lists in a day. And not travelling to more than one place, during weekends.

I no longer feel pressured to buy anything. Just appreciate what I have.

Now I spend my money and time on:

Books, courses and experiences that shape who I’m becoming

Healthy food that feels like care, not convenience.

High-quality gear for walks instead of the latest gadgets and branded apparel.

Equipment and apps that helped me in creative work instead of spending on building a gaming rig.

Focusing on investment and retirement instead of expensive dine-in.

The less I bought, the lighter I felt. I can live slower with lesser things that don’t matter.

The best part, is I don’t feel deprived because I get rid of what doesn’t matter.

The Unexpected Gifts of Financial Slow Living

Simplifying my finances not only gave me less stress but also unexpected rewards that came with it.

I have more time for deep work and creativity.

Better health, More time to exercise

Spend time and appreciate the moments with loved ones, more family time.

I never needed to escape my life because I had built a life I enjoyed living.

What Changed?

It wasn’t just the watch. What really changed was how I started evaluating my purchase by listening to what my life was telling me. The rush, stress and pressure to keep up, with others could be a success and having none of these means failure. To me, they were signs of misalignment I have to admit it was a regret, but I sold it for an Apple Watch which served me more with health data.

I started to ask different questions.

No more “What can I buy next?”

But “What do I want to feel every day?”

No more “How can I make more?”

But appreciate whatever I have now.

The Cost of Ignoring

Pretending everything was okay came at a cost.

Waking up tired.

I have never been contented with what I have.

Making decisions based on the validation of others.

Resting more, without guilt, became energy with calmer mornings and evenings. Not needing to maximise time on earning more.

When you have clarity, you don’t need constant hustling and earning more. It requires slowing down to realise you don’t want more. It’s all started here.

A Letter To My Past Self

If I could tell my younger self, I wish I could slow down and listen to myself and not constantly earn and chase what is expected of me. I still splurge on food sometimes and still feel misaligned, instead of feeling guilty and blaming myself,  but now I view these moments with more kindness. I have so much more to learn.

I am still new to slow and intentional living and still facing a lot of challenges in life, and societal norms. 

But I am taking action day by day to live more intentionally.

Final Thought

If you ever felt trapped in this cycle of constant working, earning and spending, there is another way to live.

Ask yourself

What expenses are taking away my freedom?

What does enough look like for me instead of what others projected on you?

If you are tempted to spend on something next time, ask yourself “Am I buying this with my time or my money?

What’s one step you can make today to align your money with slow living?

Let’s share in the comments.