Money, Control, & Happiness

So I recently realized that I have way too much freedom. I have very flexible work hours which require me only to put in 40ish hours a week and be in the office roughly from 9am to 5pm. I don't have to be in at any hard time, and don't have to stay until any set time. I am single, which means I can go drink with buddies, stay up late and play video games, and generally report to no one. Additionally, and most importantly to this discussion, is that my job pays well, giving me essentially complete financial freedom.

With all of this independence, what's the problem?

The problem is that I have no control in my life, nothing to center my daily energies around. Many people can rationalize getting up and going to work because they need to support a family or pay school loans or make their mortgage payments. Aside from rent and a few bills, I have none of that. I have everything I need and plenty more, so there's no financial pressure for me to get up and do what I do. No goal to reach for.

Despite all of this, I am feeling financial pressure, but from me buying non-essential extravagences. I had the epiphany today that it's absolutely stupid to put this sort of strain on myself for luxuries. The point of these things (and I don't mean that in the strictly-material sense) is to bring joy, not to inflict stress. As I said in a conversation with a friend tonight, in our capitalistic society, financial institutions are willing to lend someone just enough rope to hang themselves with.

The translation of this is that I'm blaming my reckless spending (READ: inability to save money) on not spending enough money to begin with...let me explain.

When someone has a control in their life like a family or mortgage or other important emotional and financial obligation, they structure their finances around that control. If you have a mortgage, you spend just enough money on other things to still be able to make your loan payment each month. This gives a goal to build around, a control to plan your day-to-day life around. You think of each dinner out as one less dollar toward the house, that extra gadget as one less addition you can be making on the home; the house becomes the control in your life.

We are able to control our spending based on our current needs. In my case, however, all of my current needs are taken care of -- I can honestly say that I need for nothing purchasable. This leaves me with a considerable portion of my paycheck to play around with however I wish. I could save it, but that's extremely difficult for me. My parents were excellent savers, but that's one trait that's been lost in the mix somewhere with me.

So what's my cure to this copious freedom? To find a control in my life? I'm buying a car. I'm essentially tricking myself into needing/wanting it, and I figure this way, I'll stop buying many extravagances and just concentrate it all into one source. I will have 1 extravagant investment rather than many. Most people seem to do this with a non-depreciating investment like a house, but my future's not stable enough for that yet as I have no idea where I'll be in the next 3-5 years. At least I can take the car with me if I end up moving somewhere.