He, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, was an example in being ascetic and abandoning worldly gains:

One day ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattaab came into the house of the Prophet of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, to find him lying on a simple mat which had left its marks on his body. ‘Umar started to sob. “Why are you crying? O ‘Umar”, asked the Prophet of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. ‘Umar said, “I thought of Caesar and Chosroes sitting on thrones of gold, wearing silk.And you are the Messenger of Allah, yet here you are sitting on this simple mattress.’ Thereupon the Prophet of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said:“O ‘Umar, are you not satisfied that they have this world and we havethe next?”

The Prophet of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, encouraged his companions to be ascetic, and to be more attached to the Hereafter. He, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, performed Hajj while sitting on a worn-out saddle cloth and wearing a garment that was not worth four Dirhams (silver coins)