Consumption, conspicuous or not, can be either a good partner or a wicked master depending upon how each of us manages it.
The old phrase, ‘Keeping up with the Joneses’, can, and often is, detrimental not only to the household budget but the household mental state.
I think there is something to be said for shopping seasonally, taking advantage of lower seasonal prices, being very intentional regarding trends – as in do I really need to be doing this or … ? None of us lives in spaces that can hold every thing we could possibly imagine and I would go so far as to say that the majority of us don’t have the financial resources to afford every thing available. Many, however, tend to operate on the idea (?) that those realities don’t apply to them.
Have you noticed that there seems to be this cottage industry around uncluttering? I see that going hand in hand with another cottage industry that tells us we Must Buy This [ fill in blank ]. And while I applaud the idea where when one item comes in another goes out, the reality is often not quite so…accurate.
Stuff, like rabbits, tend to multiply.
On the Other Hand…
Buying seasonal foods is often cheaper and – added bonus – the flavor is better. Couple that with the anticipation of those first of season berries or fruits or veg and the meal could exceed more expectations than you thought it might.
Staycations might sound dull but how many of us look up one day and realize that we have never checked out the local national park or gone to the lake, beach, whatever? Even in smaller towns there are locations easily accessed that could provide a welcome get away – many that out of town/state tourists know all about but somehow were overlooked by us.
As we tackle higher fuel and food prices it behooves us to take stock of what we are spending and look at our options. What have we not been doing? Where have we not been going? What have we been dreaming about but keep putting off? That quiet picnic with all the good food might be more accessible than we thought. Gatherings with friends and family could be even better as huge pot lucks.
While the idea of doing without can be depressing, maybe we need to just adjust our attitude a bit. Find a way to make it more exciting, if not interesting.
The balancing act could be the way we look at what we are doing and why we are doing it and make a change here and there. Just to see what we think. Who knows? It could becomes the best thing we do all Summer!
