Consumption and cost do not need to dramatically increase with age

I follow along and read posts on Financial Independence forums and there is a common anecdote that for the young people who have saved large amounts of money, but are not fully independent. There are loads of older people who like to say something along the lines of, you do not know how much things will cost in the future, or you are too young to know if you will have a house/kids/Porsche/Ferrari (jokes). While it’s valid, there is a lot of life to live after 28 or 30, it is also not necessarily the truth. Consumption of goods does not need to increase with age, and your ideals do not need to change either.

A lot of time the arguments are based around moving to suburbs and buying big properties, these properties need things, kids, and maintenance. Kids cost a lot, we know this, we get it, you gotta pay for college, and sports, and cars to carry them around. The secret sauce is you really don’t have to do any of this. 44% of adults 18 - 49 years old say they do not want to have kids, the population living in cities is increasing from 56% to 70% by 2050. Americans are becoming smaller in consumption (slowly), and this pattern will not change with the cost of living increasing and climate change becoming more pronounced.

There are those of us who consumption of goods does not bring enjoyment. It has been well documented how purchasing items large and small bring dopamine rushes but do not lead to lasting happiness. Happiness comes from relationships, freedom and a sense of purpose. These are free, well mostly. Freedom comes with a cost, but the point of this is that the traditional path of becoming a millionaire over 40+ years of work is not necessary.

Your path can look something like this, a 2 bed 2 bath condo in a walkable city, no car, 0-2 kids, bicycles, home cooked meals and a job that gives you purpose. It does not need to be a miserable slog up the corporate ladder, a large suburban house, 2-3 cars, 2-3 kids and expensive hobbies and sports (i.e. hockey, gymnastics, golf) the list goes on. The point is you can pick and choose your wants.

Maybe you want 2-3 kids but still have a condo in a walkable city. The point is save for the life you want but do not listen to the people saying you do not know anything, and don’t think you have to be miserable your whole life in order to live their vision of a life.