Waste not, want not.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
Count your pennies and your dollars will count themselves...
These are all mantras that speak to our sense of thriftiness and practicality.
Certainly one should not be so presumptuous as to assume that any one way of spending money (or not as the case may be) is best. However, during these trying economic times when the penny doesn’t take us quite as far as it used to, it just makes sense to at least try to be thrifty.
Many adults and most kids seem to fall somewhere in the conspicuous consumption category... keeping up with the Joneses so to speak. It can happen so easily with such an overwhelming volume of marketing barraging us with the biggest, best, coolest new trend that we must have. Certainly we’ve all heard it from our kids. “Bobby has that, so I HAVE to have it, too!” or “That’s not fair! EVERYONE has those shoes!” However, if we take a moment to take a close look at what we already have and teach our children what we truly ‘need’ then it becomes quite apparent that the stuff isn’t what truly defines us.
Instead, we can try to glean a better appreciation for what really matters... family, friends and life experience. We can make the conscious decision to teach ourselves and our children the value of simplicity, to acquire an appreciation for what one has without constantly needing more, and to make a commitment to lessen our carbon footprint during a time of an unprecedented population explosion.
So saving money isn’t just about trimming coupons and Black Friday sales. It’s a lifestyle choice. Enjoy being a discerning spender/saver. Don’t look at being frugal, thrifty, or cheap as an insult. Instead embrace your inner cheap skate and think of it, instead, as a compliment. You’re simply fostering creativity in spending, making the choice not to waste and are channeling the eco-you that you know is there. You, too, can be a discerning spender, saver and consumer.
Maybe there is some worth in repeating those mantras after all.
