These materialistic quotes will help you determine if you are more of a minimalist or a “material” person.

What does it even mean to be materialistic? These are questions that you can ponder while reading through these materialistic quotes.

First, let’s get a  handle on what being materialistic means and what it doesn’t.

The dictionary defines materialistic as someone “excessively concerned with material possessions; money-oriented.” 

According to Tim Kasser, a psychologist who specializes in materialism, “To be materialistic means to have values that put a relatively high priority on making a lot of money and having many possessions, as well as on image and popularity, which are almost always expressed via money and possessions.”

However, this doesn’t mean that any time you worry about money, or want something nice, that you are being materialistic.

Generally Capitalism rules a majority of the world we live in and some wants and worries about money are a reflection of that society.

Although, valuing those things over people, relationships, or experiences could be a matter of concern.

Keep reading the materialistic quotes for more about materialism and how to curb some of those tendencies.

Short materialistic quotes

These quotes are short and to the point! Which quote resonates with you?

1. “Collect moments not things.” — Unknown

2. “Materialism is an identity crisis.” — Bryant H. McGill

3. “The best things in life aren’t things.” — Art Buchwald

4. “Money is a great servant but a bad master.” ― Francis Bacon

5. “I make myself rich by making my wants few.” — Henry David Thoreau

6. “Materialism is the only form of distraction from true bliss.” — Douglas Horton

7. “Greed – always wanting more – is the chief evil of the modern world.” — Dr. Ralph Wood

8. “The entire money structure and materialistic society is a false society.” — Jacque Fresco

9. “Materialism is the philosophy of the subject who forgets to take account of himself.” — Arthur Schopenhauer

10. “To be content with little is difficult; to be content with much, impossible.” — Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach

Materialistic quotes about God, the bible, and Christianity

Check out these quotes about materialism from the perspective of God and the bible. Spoiler alert, things alone won’t make you happy.

11. “That materialistic life, that’s not my god.” —  Bernard Hopkins

12. “Christianity is the most materialistic of all religions.” — William Temple, Sr

13. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” — Matthew 6:21

14. “Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless.” — Ecclesiastes 5:10

15. “Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” — Luke 12:15 

16. “For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.” — 1 Timothy 6:7-8

17. “Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.” — 1 Timothy 6:9

18. “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” — Hebrews 13:5

19. “Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” — Matthew 19:21

20. “Self worth comes from God. Not from materialistic possessions. But from God alone.” — Unknown

Materialistic quotes about reality and the world

These quotes are great at relating how materialism applies to the world that we live in. Do any of these quotes ring true about you?

21. “The fact remains that the materialistic view is a truncated view of reality.” — Stephen C. Meyer

22. “She’s a gypsy girl living in a materialistic world. Unattached to most things but in love with life itself.” — Nikki Rowe

23. “We live in a materialist world, and materialism appeals so strongly to humanity, no matter where.” — Wole Soyinka

24. “Contemporary science is based on the philosophy of materialism, which claims that all reality is material or physical.” — Rupert Sheldrake

25. “I know we live in a materialistic world. I understand all that.” — Adnan Sami

26. “Materialism, attachment to things of the world, includes pride. Many religious people suffer from pride: taking pleasure or even delight in being good, or religious.” — Idries Shah

27. “I am degenerating into a machine for making money. I must break away and get out into the mountains to learn the news” ― John Muir

28. “The ontology of materialism rested upon the illusion that the kind of existence, the direct “actuality” of the world around us, can be extrapolated into the atomic range. This extrapolation is impossible, however.” — Werner Heisenberg

29. “An attitude to life which seeks fulfillment in the single minded pursuit of wealth – in short, materialism – does not fit into this world, because it contains within itself no limiting principle, while the environment in which it is placed is strictly limited.” — Charles Edwards

30. “Materialism is not fundamentally an economic problem, but a cultural one… a spiritual issue.” — Robert Wuthnow

Materialistic quotes from books and movies

Famous materialistic quotes from books and movies. Check out the quotes and see if you recognize any of them.

31. “Being content with less, creates space in the heart for more love.” ― Margo Vader, Take A Little Soul Time

32. “Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don’t need.” ― Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club

33. “The things you own end up owning you. It’s only after you lose everything that you’re free to do anything.” ― Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club

34. “I hope she’ll be a fool—that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.” — F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

35. “They have succeeded in accumulating a greater mass of objects, but the joy in the world has grown less.” ― Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov

36. “A lot of people get so hung up on what they can’t have that they don’t think for a second about whether they really want it.” ― Lionel Shriver, Checker and the Derailleurs

37. “True beauty is measured by the number of pearls within you, not those around your neck.”

― Suzy Kassem, Rise Up and Salute the Sun: The Writings of Suzy Kassem

38. “We’re all too driven by materialism. Obsessed with success. With money.” ― Sophie Kinsella, Shopaholic Ties the Knot

39. “We are too involved in materialistic things, and they don’t satisfy us. The loving relationships we have, the universe around us, we take these things for granted.” ― Mitch Albom, Tuesdays with Morrie

40. “That’s sad. How plastic and artificial life has become. It gets harder and harder to find something…real.” Nin interlocked his fingers, and stretched out his arms. “Real love, real friends, real body parts…” ― Jess C Scott, The Other Side of Life

Philosophical and thought provoking materialistic quotes

These quotes about materialism will make you think. Take a look at these quotes and see if they get you thinking.

41. “If everyone demanded peace instead of another television set, then there’d be peace.” — John Lennon

42. “The materialistic point of view in psychology can claim, at best, only the value of an heuristic hypothesis.” — Wilhelm Wundt

43. “It is the preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else, that prevents us from living freely and nobly.” ― Bertrand Russell

44. “How good something is should never be determined by its cost, designer, origin, or its perceived value by others.” ― Ashly Lorenzana

45. “Our chief comforts often produce our greatest anxieties, and the increase in our possessions is but an inlet to new disquietudes.” — Oliver Goldsmith

46. “In the end, only three things matter: how much you loved, how gently you lived, and how gracefully you let go of things not meant for you.” — Gautam Buddha

47. “Anything you cannot relinquish when it has outlived its usefulness possesses you, and in this materialistic age a great many of us are possessed by our possessions.” — Peace Pilgrim

48. “The more things we accumulate, the more cluttered our lives become, and the more stressed we feel as we are compelled to think about them. Life is about people, not about things.” — Natalie Vellacott

49. “Real success is not, like, materialistic. It’s being where you want to be when you want to be; just living your life how you feel; having an ultimate goal and being able to accomplish it.” — Lindsey Wixson

50. “Normal is getting dressed in clothes that you buy for work and driving through traffic in a car that you are still paying for—in order to get to the job you need to pay for the clothes and the car, and the house you leave vacant all day so you can afford to live in it.” ― Ellen Goodman

How materialism impacts our mental health

Being materialistic and valuing the quest for more stuff and money is not a diagnosable mental disorder.

However, materialistic behaviors are associated with increased depression, unpleasant emotions, anxiety, and even antisocial behavior.

Kesser states that, “We found that the more highly people endorsed materialistic values, the more they experienced unpleasant emotions, depression and anxiety, the more they reported physical health problems, such as stomachaches and headaches, and the less they experienced pleasant emotions and felt satisfied with their lives.”

Consequently, this is a pretty good indicator that it might be worth it to evaluate your thoughts around materialism.

How can you be less materialistic? One step, that will also help with other unpleasant emotions like envy, is to limit the amount of time spent on social media.

Everyone is constantly posting their newest possession, and it can leave us with a feeling of inadequacy that we do not have the same stuff.

But, the question is do you really want any of these things?

Would you even use them? Or do you just feel like if you can’t keep up with the Jones’ then you have failed?

Practicing gratitude is another way to curb your materialistic tendencies.

It will also help you be happier and help aid in focusing on the positive things in life.

When we are grateful for the things we have, we also become aware of how little others have.

Another way to be less materialistic, is to shift your focus to what others need—and how you can help!

Share some other materialistic quotes that you like with us in the comment section below.

Feel free to share with your friends and share any other tips you have too!