Susan walked into my office and flung herself in my chair. “I think it’s time to simplify. Yep, it’s got to be back to basics for me.” At 46, Susan was a successful psychotherapist who enjoyed her work, but was tired of feeling financially stressed out. She had come to me for typical reasons—credit card debt, underearning, and a pervasive feeling of being in a money fog. We had spent time looking at where her personal money went and started a proactive planning process about how she WANTED to spend her money. Big questions were coming up for her.

I asked her, “What does it mean to simplify? And do you want to simplify your life?” Big questions. One of the things we had discussed was the difference between “voluntary simplicity” and “noble poverty”.

Voluntary simplicity is the conscious choice to lead a simpler life. If you simplify your lifestyle, you may need less money for some things and your life may be less complicated. On the surface, Susan was really drawn to the idea. It sounded more spiritual to her. And she said that in the past she had felt guilty for wanting more money.

But I told her that those feelings of guilt were more likely indicative of being caught up in noble poverty, not a conscious choice to simplify. When people are caught up in noble poverty, they generally have an unconscious belief that money is bad, or really good people shouldn’t want a lot of money. And noble poverty often get’s confused with anti-materialism.

One way you can tell if someone is wrapped up in noble poverty is if they wear their frugality as a badge of honor. (“Look at me! See how little I can get by with!”)

Susan was starting to tap into a lot of good things she could do with money—better self care for herself was at the top of the list. She counseled her clients to take better care of themselves but often felt like she didn’t have the money to nourish herself the way she wanted to.

Susan also really wanted to give money to some great causes, as well as her church. Personally, I think that giving away money in a conscious manner is very important to keep the flow of money moving in your life. Consciousness is key, though.

I also pointed out that voluntary simplicity was not the same thing as suppressing one’s income. Just because someone simplifies her life is no reason to make less money. True, simplifying may take some financial pressure off. Susan had decided, for example, to take a less expensive vacation. (At first she was going to cancel her vacation due to cost, but she had a real need to take time away. We found a way to satisfy this need with less money.)

And there are many wonderful uses of money. Buying local is more expensive then going to Wal-Mart. We do want to give to good causes. And making enough money helps secure our retirement.

Susan did decide to simplify parts of her life, though in a very conscious way. She made sure she identified what she really needed. She decided to spend less on some things so she could spend more in other areas she really cared about. But as she became more conscious about money, she decided that she did want to earn more. She raised her rates (which were under her colleagues rates), tightened her cancellation policy and focused on a new specialty.

In the end, she lowered some of her expenses and raised her income. Wow. She felt freer. She gave more money away and she saved more money.

One day Susan said, “Before, I was “simplifying” my life out of fear. Truthfully, I was just depriving myself. I guess there really is nothing noble about being poor…. Now, I feel so free that I could burst!”

Get conscious about your money. It’s your life and you have many options. But I agree with Susan—there is nothing noble about poverty. If you decide to simplify your life, do it carefully and thoughtfully. Think about what you really need. And don’t assume you can’t raise your income also.

So here is to earning what you’re really worth AND spending your money consciously.