I was thinking about when the government was telling us to spend more to help the economy. Then I saw a piece about some people starting to spend more again, buying stuff. And today I saw how retail has been hit hard and doesn’t expect a good holiday season.
So I’m wondering, has anyone learned any lessons from the economic problems?
There are many lessons to be learned: Corporate corruption, government corruption & incompetence, etc, but I’m talking about a more personal level. I wrote about this a few months ago. Here’s the gist of it:
Spending on "things" and "stuff" people really don’t need and don’t really make them happier are at the root of our economic problems. Do you really need to keep up with your neighbor? Do you really want to send hundreds of dollars a year to a cable company so you can sit in your living room staring at a wall?
Isn’t there better ways to spend your money? The slowdown of retail is not surprising - and dare I say it’s a good thing? So many identical stores and vendors grew exponentially to meet unnatural levels of consumerism. We needed to shed some off. We need more to go away. No, I don’t want people to lose their jobs, but as a society we need to realize that we have created a monster.
Next time an advertisement tries to convince you that you need something, realize they are hoping you will be clueless enough to believe them. Think about where you could spend that money: Save it for your kids, give it to a charity, buy someone food who really needs it, turn off the tv and buy a book to read to the kids.
Also realize that our materialistic mind set often encourages bad health and hence higher medical costs. Spend time outside. Kids need it. And even babies who spend their early years in front of a tv don’t advance as well intellectually. So that’s another problem.
So the next time someone tells you need what they are selling - whether it's a product, service or activity - tell them no by putting your money towards something else. -D
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