As a society, we tend to equate money with success and happiness to a disproportionate degree, but it’s so ingrained that most of us aren’t aware of it. I could reference countless articles that state after a certain amount of income (approximately $75,000) more money doesn’t actually increase your happiness. That makes sense to me.

Dean and I struggled a little bit when we moved to Nashville, then the pandemic hit my income hard. Things are much better now, but I remember the first time we had a flat tire as we were starting to climb out of our financial hole. I was coming back from a pre-dawn run and by the time I got home there was enough light to see that the tire was flat. I was able to wake Dean up, we were able to use a portable air compressor to get the tire pumped up enough, and he was able to take the car in before he started work. I had to take my bike to my job.

Instead of being pissed that the day started with a flat tire, I was thankful. Not only had I discovered the flat early enough so that we could take care of it without either of us missing work, I didn’t have to worry about how much the tire cost. For the first time since we’d moved, I didn’t have to move any money around. I didn’t have to be sure to time a certain bill to a certain paycheck, or put off another planned purchase.

There are so many things I’d rather do than dust.

It’s nice to know you can afford to pay for things that just happen in life.

I mentioned that our society is very conditioned to equate success and happiness with material things. And after a while, you really don’t need more material things. You get used to the new things and they become old things. Often, it’s more rewarding in the long run to spend on experiences. Or spend on things that give you more time to do the day to day things that you enjoy. Like paying a kid to cut your grass (if that’s a chore you dislike, I happen to enjoy cutting the grass.) An added bonus of this is that you’re paying someone else, enabling them to earn a living.

Before we put the condo in Chicago on the market, we hired cleaners to give the place a good scrub. I loved that experience so much that I tried to see if we could work them into the regular budget. Unfortunately, we couldn’t, not with the looming move. But since then it’s been a life goal of mine to have someone else clean my house semi-regularly.

I have coffee with a friend once a week now. I could spend that time cleaning. But why?

I get distracted by clutter and I like a clean, neat space. And Dean and I do clean, and we run the Roomba regularly, but there are so many other things we’d rather do after both of us get off work that cleaning gets pushed to the end of the list. We do it when things got really bad, before we leave town, or before people come to visit. It isn’t enough. I’m caught in a weird place between dissatisfaction at our level of tidiness and strongly preferring to write or meet a friend for coffee rather than dust.

There’s an Air BnB up the street from us and they have cleaners over to scrub the place between visitors. We got a flyer left in our mailbox a couple of times. Finally, I took a look at the prices. We finally earn enough to where it makes sense.

It seemed like a big leap. I felt a little weird. I’ve never had ‘people’ to do things I’m capable of doing. I cut my own grass. I try to fix my own stuff. Etc. But if I run into a plumbing problem that I can’t fix, I do have someone that I call. I’m not making time to clean, and when I do, I’m not doing it well enough. Why not call someone. That way I can write instead of dust. Or go to coffee with a friend. Or have someone over randomly without apologizing for the state of things.

So we tried it. We had a free consultation where someone came over to check out our space and get the particulars. (Would someone be home or would a key be left? Where are the garbage bags? Anything off limits?) We discussed what we needed and how much it would be. Since our home was, and I’m quoting her, “delightfully compact” we would be on the more affordable end.

Anyway, we did it. People come twice a month unless we reschedule. So far, it’s been amazing.

Me: happy and at peace with my clean surfaces that I had very little to do with.

They come in, they say good morning, they coo at the cats, they clean. Better and faster than I ever could. When they come into the office, I move to the living room for a bit. They tell me when they’re done with the office and then I move back. They say goodbye, they leave. My house is CLEAN! It’s freaking magical.

It’s also given us the impetus to clear things up regularly and not create piles of detritus in corners. The cleaners will moving things aside, but if the surface is too cluttered, they won’t clean it. I love it. I love having less clutter. I feel more relaxed in general in my space. I feel like I have extra time. It’s not like I was cleaning that often, so I’m not sure why I feel this way, but I do.

This is worth the money. I’d rather have this than a larger t.v. or a bigger computer monitor or a new rug or whatever. I’ve been so used to saving, that I really don’t spend money on much right now other than coffee, writing conferences, books, and wine. I’ve decided that I’m going to take a look at some experiences that I stopped when we moved, some that made me feel good, and add them back in. I used to get a massage once a month. It was necessary when I was teaching full time, but it was also just amazing mentally and physically.

If there’s a chore that you dread, and you have the money to outsource it. Do it. It may feel weird, especially if you’re used to being careful with money, but just try it out for a month or so and see how it makes you feel. That’s my advice for the week.

Money Can't Buy Happiness (at least after $75,000)