Being a Consumer . . . for less!

Recently I did some furniture shopping at a huge furniture store with my trusted sidekick, my mom. I don’t do well at places like that, which she knows, because the options are endless and to be honest, a little overwhelming. I don’t really care for shopping anyway. During the middle of my shopping venture I sat down on a couch and looked out at the dozens of people spread across the open floor buying hundreds and thousands of dollars worth of furniture for their homes. It’s almost to the extent of excessive consumerism.

Though I seek the minimalist life to lead me to The Good Life, I’m still a consumer. To live, I have to consume. But the biggest struggle myself and America makes is when it becomes excessive. I use excessive meaning when consumerism goes beyond necessities. Credit cards allow us to swipe a card and pay for something we don’t even have the money for!

 

So many times we see nicer homes, cooler cars, designer clothing and edgier technology and we believe that there lies a promise of fulfillment. Better yet, happiness. I’m sorry to let you down but couches don’t talk and your designer bag can’t call you to go out for drinks. Instead, those bigger and fancier things lead to the addictive nature of wanting MORE. 

  

Like I mentioned, consumption is normal and necessary. Excessive consumption is not normal, nor should we allow it to be. Here are three benefits as to why you should escape excessive consumerism:  

    1)   You save MONEY! I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to not abuse credit cards and understand checks and balances. If you have no sense of money or budgeting then ask for help. It’s true that over 35% of Americans have debt and unpaid bills. The average amount of debt is $5,178. I couldn’t believe when I read this:

“The share of Americans in collections has remained relatively constant, even as the country as a whole has whittled down the size of its credit card debt since the official end of the Great Recession in the middle of 2009”(Walker).

We need to change that by making better choices and educating ourselves. Money makes the world go around. So it’s important to realize how and why. 

    2)   Less pressure. Who really cares if your best buddy just got a nicer version of the car you have. Or if the couple next door just redecorated their kitchen or got new landscaping. Oscar Wilde once said, “ Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing.” Isn’t that true? We let our possessions own us. That’s silly. Stop caring about what others have and start noticing the value of what you already have. 

    3)   Realization that the intangibles mean so much more. The truest and most fulfilling aspects in life are actually invisible. Think about love, or faith or hope. All three of these things can’t be bundled up in a plastic (or paper) bag and paid for with cash, debit or credit. There are so many other things in this world that are way more important than what we own. Seek The Good Life in the right places.

In the end, we all consume. It’s inevitable. But what I’d like to see are consumers pushing back and not letting advertisements (and jealousy) stand in the way of our true desires.

The Good Life can be yours just as easily as The Joneses next door who got a new pool out back. Aren’t you glad that you can go enjoy it for free? 

 

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References:

Walker, J. (2014, September 27). Americans In Debt: 35 Percent Have Unpaid Bills Reported To Collection Agencies. Retrieved March 30, 2015, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/29/americans-in-debt_n_5629137.html