We just got home from a 61-day road trip that took us from our home in Florida to the remote province of Labrador, Canada. To make extended trips like this more affordable, we live out of a tiny camper van without a toilet, kitchen, sink, or shower — sleeping in mostly primitive, free campsites. It’s not exactly a stay at the Ritz-Carlton, but we love it!
Every time we return to our beach house from one of these rugged adventures, we’re astonished with the level of luxury that becomes instantly available to us — things we took completely for granted only a few months prior.
We suddenly feel fabulously rich, not because of the million dollars we have in the bank, but because of our newfound access to the conveniences of modern life that we’ve voluntarily gone without for a while.
If you ever find yourself complaining about slow traffic, dull paperwork, a missing delivery from Amazon, or some other “first-world problem,” it might be time to do a little mental reset to help you recognize how lucky you really are.
Ask yourself: How many of these 9 conveniences do you have access to — and how many of them do you take for granted?
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The 9 Signs of Astonishing Wealth
We went without these things for 2 months on the road, and we found ourselves missing them. As you read through this list, contemplate the fact that much of Earth’s population still doesn’t have access to this stuff at all.
1. Flush Toilet
Nearly 60% of Earth’s households do not have a functioning flush toilet. But our 114 m² (1,224 ft²) house, which is considered “small” in the United States, has two of them. What could possibly make us feel richer than these thrones of opulence?
2. Hot Shower
There’s something truly decadent about getting in your own private shower, with all your favorite full-size toiletries already in their places, and just running it for as long as you want.
3. Oven & Stove
After every road trip, the once-annoying task of “having to cook” suddenly becomes the privilege of being able to conveniently prepare whatever we want to eat with a complete array of appliances and dishes at our disposal.
4. Refrigerator & Freezer
Only 4-5 small items fit into our van’s tiny cooler, and we constantly have to refill it with ice. When we come back home, we no longer look into a fridge full of food and claim that “there’s nothing to eat!”
5. Central Air Conditioning & Heat
Just a hundred years ago, even the world’s richest humans didn’t have access to air conditioning. Even to this day, less than one-third of global households have AC. But in our condo, we can push a button to change the temperature to whatever we want. That’s nothing short of a miracle.
6. Washer & Dryer
You might describe walking across the house to your own personal laundry room and loading the machine as a “chore” — until you’ve tried doing laundry any other way.
7. Coffee Maker
Our beloved De’Longhi Magnifica Evo Espresso Machine doesn’t fit in the van, and it draws too much current to work with our power inverter, anyway. Going without it for a couple of months made us really appreciate that perfect cup.
8. Television
Friends sometimes make fun of us because the TV in our living room was manufactured in 2011 and only supports 720p resolution, but compared to huddling around a laptop screen in our van, it feels like a movie theater!
9. Stable Internet Connection
We pay for the cheapest internet package available in our home market, but it sure beats hunting around town for a functional public wifi hotspot. Internet access is something we all think of as a “necessity” today, but even the wealthiest man on Earth had to live without it during our parents’ lifetimes.
How Rich Are You, Really?
Our camper van isn’t equipped with any of the 9 items above, which is what makes us so thankful for them every time we return home from a long trip. It’s a great exercise in stoic self-denial that ultimately makes us happier and more grateful for everything we have.
But it’s worth noting that we still have access to pretty much all of these things on the road, if inconveniently. While traveling, we can get hot showers at the gym, ice from gas stations, cheap meals from restaurants, coffee from Tim Horton’s, internet access from wifi hotspots, and pretty much anything else imaginable in exchange for a little money.
The camper van lifestyle that feels like “roughing it” to us (and causes us to value our home life so much more) is still dramatically more luxurious than that of the billions of people living in poverty every day.
The fact of the matter is: If you’re a middle-class American, not only are you rich — you are fabulously wealthy on a global scale. Take a moment to truly contemplate that, and it’s almost guaranteed to put a smile on your face.
Next, consider the fact that almost every purchase you make is optional. It’s easy to trick yourself into thinking you “need” a nicer car, a newer smartphone, an extra bedroom, or food delivered to your door — but the truth is that nearly everything we spend money on in the United States is an unnecessary luxury.
Once you accept this, you’ll start to see that you have access to a lot of discretionary funds, and they present you with a world of options beyond additional consumption: You could invest that extra cash to buy your life back from work — or even donate that money to buy someone else a basic necessity of life. At the very least, you can learn to just be happy with what you have.
If you have most of the modern marvels listed on this page, you’re already rich. It’s time you felt like it! 😉
— Steven
How many of the 9 things listed above are in your home? Drop your result on social media and spread the gratitude. You might just help someone else to feel the same way.
