Let’s face it, living without money is hard. Ideally, we could all just go through life being nice, and things would work out. However, after living on this planet for about two seconds, I realized that this will never happen. So I studied a subject I liked, then went out and landed a job that seemed fitting. What could go wrong, right? Well, I seem to have gotten a little case of “Keeping up with the Joneses”…that’s what went wrong.

If you’re unfamiliar with that term, it basically means that you compare yourself to your neighbors (and friends), and what they have. If they have more, you feel inferior, and want what they have. I’m not even materialistic. I don’t even crave high end goods. Yet somehow, my mind has still fallen into the trap of directly comparing myself with others, and feeling bad about it. Yeah, I have a job that I (occasionally) enjoy, and it pays my bills. The only problem is that (a) stuff (houses, food, air) in the NY/NJ area is really expensive, and (b) most of my friends make at least twice, and some even four times as much as I do. So I’ve made a decision, I’m not going to let my income determine the outcome of my life.

If all I did was stick to the stats, I would never win. Someone always has more. The only way to be truly happy in life is to appreciate what you have, make the best of it, and not worry about the other guy. I’m not saying that it’s an easy thing to do. Some of us just got wired to look left and right with jealousy. The key is to really think about it, and become aware of the situation. Also, take a look around, and you’ll find people with a lot less than you who are leading fulfilling lives. If they can do it, why can’t we?

Some things would need to change obviously. Financial responsibility most definitely has to be a part of this equation. Chances are, if you’re working in some sort of desk job like me, the money isn’t flying at you, so you need to be smart about how it gets used. Do you really need an iPhone? The cheapest option is still $70 a month. I use my ‘normal’ cell phone and pay $30 instead. So over the course of the year, I save $480! Do you really need to hit up Starbucks every day? Even if your drink is only $2.50 a day, over the course of the month that $50, over the course of the year that $600! Combine that with the cellphone, and I just saved $1080 over the course of a year. If this is part of my normal lifestyle, over 5 years, that’s $5,400. So from day 1, if I was putting that money aside for some average investments getting an 8% return per year, I would have $6,842.80 at the end of year 5. All from just staying away from the fancy phone, and not buying individual cups of coffee (I make my own).

So with this two pronged approach, I plan to get through life with a good level of happiness. I will recognize that material things aren’t that important, and it doesn’t matter what my friends have. We’re different people, and should lead different lives. If they have excess money to spend, that doesn’t mean I do, so why should I compare at all? We don’t even have the same kind of job. Then to make the most of what I do have, I stop the financial bleeding where I can, such as the tiny changes mentioned above. If you sit down and analyze your monthly spending, I’m sure you’ll find some as well. Using a tool such as Mint.com can also help you track your spending, and set goals. Remember, small things add up to big savings!

Now get back to work, and quit looking at your neighbors stuff! None of it matters in the big scheme of life.

In college, I used to have hopes and dreams of my post college world. What big company would I work for? What meaningful projects would I be involved with? What kind of amazingly interesting people would I meet? I would be working, but it would be what I wanted, and it would be fun. I’m not sure how everyone else would mess it up, but I would break free from the grind, and enjoy what I was doing, and look forward to getting up in the morning to start my day.

As a graduate with an IT degree, and some web knowledge I was ready for what the world had to offer. The first job was some low level web work in a small office. I had my own little corner. It was part of a double cube that I shared with someone in almost the same exact same situation. Things were shaping up nicely, and I assumed I was on my way to success.

Nothing achieved in my cube was that impressive, but that’s normal for a first job, right? You get your foot in the door, keep paying your dues, make a few friends in the industry, and prove your worth in general. Sooner or later, you would naturally move up some sort of ladder, and find yourself in a position of some worth. The things you said would matter to people within the company, and you would be able to make some important decisions.

I wish I knew how wrong I was. I’ve seen it work like that in the movies, but no, I was just wrong. For some people the cube is just a temporary stop on their path to something meaningful. Unfortunately, for many of us, it’s a very long stay in a place we’d rather not be, doing things we’d rather not do.

Having been a cubicle dweller for quite some time now, I realize just how hard it is to break free and move on to bigger and better things. It has become a trap, and a destroyer of my dreams. It manages to suffocate my thought, and extinguish my hope.

I sit here and wonder how it all went wrong, and if I should embark on a life long quest to find the creator of the office cube, and kill his mom before he is ever conceived. Yes, perhaps I’ve seen The Terminator too many times, but I am driven to this level of thought by the cube induced insanity.

The only thing that keeps me going is the fact that I see lots of other people going through the same thing. I used to think that a cube was a transitory phase of your work history. A step on the way to greatness. After meeting several 50+ year old coworkers also trapped in the cube, I now realize that I’m not special. Most jobs are in a cube. There’s just not enough space for everyone to have an office, so only the top few get one.

A cubicle is not always temporary, sometimes that’s just the way it is. You have a cube job. Your dreams of an office with an actual door are now gone. You’d better get used to it, and learn to deal with your tiny surroundings. The cubicle now owns you, and your dreams will be reshaped and bent to the will of 3 little walls.

Thanks a lot Cube.