Wondering how to deal with the economic downturn? The first step is to get our own personal economy in order.
Personal economy is pretty simple, dollars in and dollars out. The dollars in part of the equation can be difficult to change. However for most of us there are some simple things we can do to work on the dollars out part of the equation. Time to tighten our belts.
The best thing we can do to tighten our belt is to tame our desire. Now I don’t want to go all Buddhist on your ass here, but each of us spends a lot of money on things we want but don’t really need. We all know this deep down. However, rather than trying to fight the desire, which can be difficult, it is sometimes better to look directly into the eye of the beast and ask if there is a way to reduce costs while making our lives more enjoyable. Spending can be like “worrying” a bad tooth. Sometimes we just keep on doing what we did yesterday even if it is not working for us.
The marketing machine of consumer society is not about letting you know about products but rather, is about creating demand, your demand. As it turns out, most of us get sold illusory desire by media advertising and then try to satisfy that desire. Do you really want chicken nuggets? Is that really how Olympians eat? This kind of pseudo-desire has infiltrated our society and fuels the created demand that advertising budgets are made from. Pseudo-desire has a negative affect on real lives.
Here is one example, instead of waiting in line at the local bagel shop drive-through to pick up a bagel and a coffee to eat and quaff in the car while in traffic, buy a french press pot. Then drink a pot of french press in the morning and share it with your mate (in either the American or British sense of that word) along with some oatmeal, before heading off to work. The amount of time spent in the drive through will be comparable to the amount of time to make the french press and oatmeal but the french press coffee is much more delightful as is the company. Over time, the amount of money spent on the french press pot will amortize. The cost of good quality coffee will actually be cheaper and so will the oatmeal. You can even make sure the the coffee is fair trade and organic if that floats your boat. Dollars out reduces, while satisfaction increases. Another benefit is that the amount of stress waiting in line goes down and your companionship goes up. Lastly the calories will drop because of losing the bagel.
Personally, I have, over the last few months, cut all alcohol out of my budget. It saves money like you can not believe while reducing my calorie count and helping me drop about 1.5 pounds per month. In the end, it will be a wealthier, healthier, me. I decreased a pseudo-desire in order to address a real desire of dropping a few pounds and at the same time, it saved a lot of money. One good 12 oz. beer per day goes for about $1.50 (minimum) and contains maybe 200 calories. Thats $525 per year (plus tax) and more than 20 lbs per year leaving a couple of weeks a year to indulge if that makes vacation more fun.
This approach is not about denying desire. It is about recognizing and eliminating pseudo-desire and satisfying what we really desire: companionship, health, a simpler life that we can afford. Where are you paying and not getting value because of untamed pseudo-desire?
