Feeling pleasure over material things is not a bad thing and in fact natural, however if your personal happiness depends a lot on the acquisition and use of material things then you belong to the ever growing number of victims of consumerism.
According to National Geographic consumerism has been existent and is pretty pervasive among Americans and Western Europeans for decades now and sadly they do not have a monopoly on it since developing countries are rapidly catching up with the “trend”. The problem with this is that it has a lot of far reaching negative effects ranging widely from the personal lives of the consumer trickling down to the environment. Just to illustrate the impact that consumerism brings let me list down a few of the personal problems it contributes to.
1. Overspending – Specially a big problem for shopaholics. Note though that thanks to the advent of credit cards even the average person (non-shopaholics) makes purchases that are not in their budget and that they have to scramble to pay for.
2. Debt – Obviously a result of overspending.
3. Self-esteem issues – More and more people are falling prey to having their self-esteem tied to brand names and other expensive status symbols.
4. False perception – Number three is actually linked to this false perception problem because people’s self-esteems are affected since they tend to believe that the more expensive the better something is. Just recently the Tyra Banks Show did a segment on “Label Mania” which showed how “label-obsessed” people felt better about themselves wearing ordinary off-the-rack clothes simply because they thought they were wearing an expensive designer label clothing.
As you can see overcoming the pull of consumerism is important because not only will it help your self perception but also because it will help save your wallets!
On my next posts I will list some of the environmental impacts of consumerism and also give some tips on how to beat it but still ensure that you live a fulfilling life surrounded by beautiful things you love – both material and not.
Sometimes it takes really inane things to force us to see things the way they really are. Take the movie Idiocracy, for example. This movie was released a couple of years ago but I didn’t hear of it till last week, when a French friend of mine told me about it. The movie is all about a “career military desk jockey of average intelligence is cocooned in an experimental hibernation machine for 500 years. (By accident, of course. It’s the military we’re talking about here.) When he awakens, he finds himself in a world populated and run by complete idiots — the result of 500 years of reverse natural selection, where the stupid people fornicate the most, and the smart people stop having children. (Sound familiar, anyone?) The result of it all? A tabloid quality, corporate-controlled world of idiot consumers whose thought processes are limited to the three-word phrases pounded into their heads by relentless advertising campaigns. Phrases like, “Money is good” or “Plants need electrolytes.” (Thanks to Mike Adams for this summary.)
So how is this movie related to consumerism? Well, practically everything about it focuses on the topic! When Bauers (the main character) wakes up 500 years in the future, he realizes just how idiotic the world has become. Corporations have come to control the world, with the aim of feeding those with “consumeristic” tendencies. The result? A world of idiots.
The movie may be funny to the verge of being stupid but it does highlight the stark truth – that we may very well be headed towards this kind of world. If we do not do something about our ways of life right now, we might as well expect the worst for the next generations.
There is no better time than now to reexamine ourselves and the way we live. It seems that over the years, so many changes have occurred. Some of them we are aware of, some of them we are not aware of. In terms of consumerism, I believe that a lot of changes have not been positive and that we might not have been conscious of these changes. To revert to a better position, however, we really need to make a conscious effort.
With everything that is happening in the world – wars, famine, and economic turmoil, isn’t it about time to examine our values and our lives in general? I ran across a very thought-provoking e-book on Natural News today and I think that it is a good starting point. Titled “Seven Words that Can Change the World,” the book details how we can look at our way of thinking and perhaps change for the better.
It was written by Joseph Simonetta, who once ran for Congress but didn’t make it. The book first takes a look at the problem and different aspects are examined – religion, business, education, means without goals, and so on. He then presents a solution, which considers context, perspective, and time frames.
There is so much to be learned from this book in terms of consumerism. To sum it all up, he quotes Edward R. Morrow in his preface: “The obscure we see eventually, the completely apparent takes a little longer.”
Perhaps we can use this book to help open our eyes to the obvious.
Every year, I see these articles about the most expensive places to live in. I do not know why I feel the need to read more about this topic. Do I want to know if I live in one of the most expensive places? Do I want to know which places are expensive so I wouldn’t even consider buying a house there? I don’t really know but these articles sure make for an interesting read.
This week, I read an article at Yahoo, detailing some of the most expensive cities in the country today. Unsurprisingly, New York City is at the top of the list. How much do you pay for rent in The Big Apple? A whopping $4,500 a month for a 2-bedroom luxury apartment. Oh, and that does not come with any furniture, mind you.
Next on the list is another “unsurprise” – Los Angeles. Though rent and other costs are to blame for the label, one other reason for the high cost of living in this city is the commute that many residents have to go through. Add to this the ever increasing price of gas and you will understand why it is number 2.
So how did they determine which cities got into the list? The Yahoo article states:
To determine the U.S. cities where the cost of living is highest, the London office of Mercer, an American human resources consulting company, measured the prices of the same basket of goods in 253 of the world’s cities. The basket is composed of over 200 products, representative of executive spending patterns and including everything from rent for a luxury apartment to the cost of a fast-food hamburger.
With the waning economy you can bet that more and more people are thinking about and actually holding yard sales. This is the best time to get rid of your junk and also give those who need them the opportunity to get something they need at a cheap price.
Those who have experienced not so successful yard sales might, however, feel a little skeptical about being able to actually sell most of the items they put out. If you are one of those who feel a bit skeptical about holding your own yard sale remember that there are great benefits to having one including:
Making some money – This provides enough motivation for most people!
Cleaning up your house – IF you do clean up after the yard sale. At the least it will lessen the number of junk lying around.
Getting a jumpstart at beating consumerism – I’ve posted several times on consumerism. Holding a yard sale should make you realise how much unused (which means they’re not needed) stuff you have. If you’ve got that much stuff then why go one acquiring more stuff you don’t really need?
Helping the environment - Selling off all your extras means that they wouldn’t go to waste. They’ll be re-used, which is what more people need to do.
Family time – If you have a family the yard sale can be a family project. This will allow younger kids to learn more about responsibility, could be a time for you to instill goo values, and of course will be good quality time spent with everybody.
On my next post I will be giving some tips on how to get people to come to your yard sale.
Leaving your credit card(s) at home – If you are on a tight budget and have a clear amount of money you want to spend when you go out to shop or dine leave your credit card at home intentionally. Bring a little extra cash but make sure you do not have too much in your wallet. This way even if you encounter a product on sale that you don’t really need you won’t be able to buy it since you only have enough in your wallet. Even if you do end up buying that product you’ll end up not buying something you don’t need in order to make ends meet.
Invest – If your money is tied on (profitable) investments you will have less money to spend whenever you want to. In addition to this by making wise investments you will be ensuring that your money will grow hopefully at least enough to offset inflation. Remember to stay away from risky investments though because even though promised interest rates may be high if the investment falls flat you’ll lose your money.
Make it a family effort – Educate your kids about consumerism and its negative effects. Help them find new ways to enjoy themselves without having to rely on things, whether newly bought or not. This way you’ll be reaping several benefits such as more family time, decreased expenses, and an educated next generation.
Budgeting – Though most of us have a loose budget in mind not many actually take the time to write out a detailed weekly/monthly budget. Having a budget should help you lessen impulse buying because you know exactly where your money should go and what important things you’ll need to sacrifice if you don’t stick to your budget. If you don’t have a budget there’s a bigger chance of blowing your money on things you don’t really need or even want that badly without even realising it.
Acquire a cheap but rewarding hobby – If you love to wile your time away shopping on the mall or even online then you simply have too much time on your hands. Find other hobbies to spend your extra time on that wouldn’t tempt you as much to keep on buying things. Examples of fun and meaningful but cheap hobbies include: volunteering at a pet shelter, home for the elderly or something similar; walking/jogging; gardening; taking lessons (If you always dreamed of learning some skill now would be the time to invest in it. You will still end up spending money but you’ll be spending in on a skill and a new skill is always a good thing.); starting or joining a club (Just make sure it isn’t a shopping club or something that encourages consumerism); and blogging (You can even make money from this!).
Here are more habits you should cultivate so as not to be a victim of consumerism. Note that most of them will not only help you save lots of money some can even potentially make you some money. And lets not forget the positive effects to the environment as well!
Reuse – Instead of buying new stuff reuse some of the old stuff at home. This is important for non-biodegradable products. If you really have no use for something any more but it is still serviceable give it away to someone who can use it. You can find reuse centers in your area to give away your things to.
Keeping things neat – Doing this will help you keep track of what you already have and what you don’t. As a practical example, how many times have food stuck at the back of your refrigerator gone to waste? By keeping things in order you can inventory your stuff at a glance so you can plan your meals more easily, know when you have to buy stuff, know when you need to use or give away something before it is wasted, etc.
Give to charity – If you already have too much stuff than you actually need you might want to give some (or even a lot) of them to charity. If you haven’t used something for a couple of years what are the chances you’ll ever be using them again? You can also sell old stuff on eBay and then give a percentage of the proceeds to charity. This way you get to clean house, make some money, and help those in need.
I couldn’t help but write this article. You might get the wrong idea that I’m a horrible person but basically there are ways to Celebrate the holidays then just prancing around and spending money on consumer items. The Homeless for example are in great need of help. Money spent there is a great karmic investment.
Or donating to a local chapter of Habitat for Humanity is another great way to spend Christmas with the family. Instead of opening lots of gifts buy one for the family like a donation and then maybe one neccesary item for each person.
It’s about sharing and caring and remembering family and certain religious traditions if you have them. The money you save on consumer items can be reinvested back into the family and small housing and home improvement projects.
