PROSPERITY PROJECT: How Much Money Do You Really Need?

During the course of the Prosperity Project exercise, in which we began with $1000 and every day had to spend $1000 more than the day before, we found that we very quickly ran out of things we wanted to buy.  After about four days, the amount of money we were expected to spend became ridiculously large.  When the game got to that point, many people stopped playing ...  I mean, we were clearly being forced to spend unrealistic sums of money, so why bother?  Those of us who stuck with it for the full 28 days -- in which we had to spend yet another $28,000 in one day after already having spent $27,000 the day before and $26,000 the day before that, after having already bought everything we've ever really wanted -- were forced to really stretch our imagination in order to complete our assignment. The exercise was not a pointless one, however, because we can't learn where our limits are if we never attempt to move beyond them (ask any teenager).  

We learned two important things from the Prosperity Project.  First, we learned what it is that we really value, because how you spend your money is a good indicator of what it is that you find most important in your life.  We all found that we wanted to use our money to pay for the workspace and tools we needed to do the work that our heart is calling us to do.  This part was exciting!  Instead of being thrifty, we were able to let our imaginations run wild; we were able to buy the very best computer equipment and the most jazzed-up cameras and musical instruments, and we were able to design a workshop or studio that perfectly suits the way in which we would most like to work.  We were able to imagine ourselves in these workshops, doing our best creative work.  As we described these work spaces here in the comments, we were able to actually envision each others' spaces, as if they already existed out there in the real world, and even imagine ourselves visiting each other there.  This part of the exercise was amazingly powerful in setting up a vibration that is bringing those very things into the here and now.  In fact, the new apartment that I found a few months ago is exactly the size, shape, and configuration of the room I visualized during the Prosperity Project!

The second important thing that we learned in the Prosperity Project is that although we say we would love to win the lottery and have millions of dollars a year to spend, we don't really mean it.  During the course of the Prosperity Project, we only spent $406,000 and ran out of things to buy early on.  So if how much you are earning now is not quite enough, and the amount we were required to spend on the Prosperity Project was way too much, how much is exactly the right amount?  How much money would it take to live the life of your dreams?  Do the math.  

Let's create a budget for your dream life.  Get out a piece of paper and start writing down numbers.  When we get to the bottom of the list, you will know exactly how much money you will need every month to finance your dream life.  Let's start:  First, you will need money for housing and food, of a quality of your choice.  Do you really want to live in a mansion?  Or maybe you'd rather live in a bungalow on a beach or a cozy cottage deep in the woods?  How much would that place cost you every month for rent and utilities and maintenance?  If you could buy whatever food you wanted, how much would you spend every month on groceries?  How often would you want to eat in restaurants?  How much would that cost?

After food and housing, we have transportation needs.  How much would it cost every month to pay for the kind of car you would like to drive?  How much for insurance and maintenance?  Do you have a desire to travel?  How often and to where?  Do you want to fly there, and if so, do you want to fly first class?  How much would that cost you?  Once you get where you are going, where would you want to stay and for how long?  How much would that cost you?

Now the fun stuff:  How much would it cost to have and maintain the workspace and special tools that you need to pursue all the creative and work projects?  Be specific about what you want and write it all down.  

Once you have written down an amount for each item, figure out how much all of that would cost you in one year; one month; one week.   This is the net amount of money you would like to have left over after taxes, and tithes, and savings (during the Prosperity Project I called savings our Wealth Building Account).  Take the amount of money you would like to spend every year and add another 40% to it.  20% for taxes, 10% for tithes, and 10% for wealth building.  This final number is the minimum amount of money you would really like to earn.  Now take this annual gross salary and divide it by 2,080, the number of hours in a 40-hour week.  This is exactly how much your time is worth to you.  It is a very important number to know!   

Here is a caveat, and it may be colored by my own personal point of view, so take it or leave it according to whether it feels true for you:  You may already have 90% of everything that your heart desires.  Sure, there may be some gizmos and doodads you would like to buy or do, but odds are you are already in love with your home, or the one that you want isn't really that much more than what you already have.  Chances are good that you already love your lifestyle, and wouldn't totally scrap it.  It is quite likely that what you really want is just to tweak the life that you have ... not jettison yourself into a completely alien alternate universe in which you are mega-wealthy.  Where would be the room for all of your loved ones in a life like that?  

When I did this exercise myself, I was astonished at how low the number really was.  For the most part, I am very content with the lifestyle I currently live.  I would like to have more money to spend on groceries and eating out, and I would like money to buy clothes instead of taking whatever I can scrounge up at Goodwill.  I would also like the freedom to travel and to spend the summer months on a wooded lake in a cooler locale.  When I added all of these numbers up, I was amazed to find that I could do everything my heart desires if only I could spend a mere $300 more a week!  That is totally doable!!

Remember our experience with the Prosperity Project:  We had to spend $406,000 in one month, when all we really wanted was probably $15,000.  So, as you are doing this exercise, try to come up with realistic numbers.  Begin by appreciating how much of your life already matches your ideal, and then expand from there.  The closer to reality these numbers are, the greater the likelihood that your subconscious mind will believe in the achievability of them, and the faster you will be able to attract that lifestyle.  Once you get there, you always have the option of increasing the number!