Try this awareness activity: list all the commercials on TV in a one hour period. Label each item which the commercial was promoting. Then, label each as necessity or luxury. Keep in mind that air fresheners, hair coloring, and prepared foods are all luxuries.
Our impatience hurts our wallets when we see the items advertised on TV and in magazines. Lures like no money down and deferred payments make the temptation even worse.
Important to your answers is the influence of the media upon your desires. Ask yourself if you recently saw an ad on TV or in a magazine for the product for which you're longing. Did someone you know just purchase it? What made it pop in your head as the newest want on your list? By realizing the catalyst for your desire you may be better able to understand your spending habits.
Ultimately, the goal is to control and curb spending. Not only does overspending hurt a bank account but it clutters a home and takes a large chunk of time to deal with it. Instead, focus on the true needs of life: happiness and the basic essentials needed to live. There are so many in the world without these things. If you take the time to look at them you'll realize that the designer sweater isn't all that important; the one you have is more than what others have.
About The Author: Kelly Ann Butterbaugh is a freelance writer who regularly contributes to a variety of magazines and has written a history book for middle readers. Visit her website for writing help, lesson plans, history fun, or work for hire at http://www.kellybutterbaugh.com
By
09/26/2006
I think the most important thing is to develop our own minds and our own good taste. I wonder at the folks who hunger for a baronial lifestyle. I have a taste for old things,too - but my things are really old & BARGAINS - rather than knockoffs. (And they retain their value, too.) We all should try to make our homes comfortable and pleasant places - but extraneous electronic gadgets at premium prices won't do it...And what's with DVD "collections"? How many times can you watch a movie, anyway? Most of this is what used to be called "keeping up with the Jones's" - or conspicuous consumption - "I spend because I CAN - ha, ha!" It used to be snidely called nouveau riche - because older money knew how to maintain their fortunes!
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