This text is about personal, social, economic and environmental costs of over-consumption, and what we can do to beat the "all-consuming bug". The authors assert that we're already giving up the good life, by sacrificing personal health and sanity, family closeness and ecological stability.

Affluenza offers practical guidance for adopting lifestyles that are more sensible and satisfying, and shows, through stories and interviews, that "the best things in life aren't things."