Spending Less, Spending Wisely, and Enjoying More

I get tremendous satisfaction from spending less and enjoying more.

A story comes to mind of when I lived in Mexico for the winters in the early 80’s. My partner at the time was a nutritionist and we decided at one point to live on the food budget of the average Mexican family. In doing so, we thought we might then help members of our community look into spending less and eating healthier, with more enjoyment.

muffins

Soon after, we decided that we would try another experiment and try earning some money on the side that we could use to buy selected treats for ourselves. We came up with the idea of making and selling healthy muffins. Each day, we got up at the crack of dawn and went to work in our kitchen. We then delivered our little “masterpieces” to a few local merchants.

We kept a metal tin to hold our profits and every two weeks or so we accumulated enough for a nice meal out on the town. I don’t believe many meals prior or since have tasted as good!! Being able to celebrate the fruits of our labor was incredibly powerful!!

To Buy or not to Buy
There was a great show on PBS in 1998 entitled “Affluenza”. The show offered some great advice on purchasing that rings even truer today.

Here are principles from the program that I still follow when considering a purchase:

Do I need it?

  • What is the cost to have and maintain this item?
  • Could I instead borrow or share a purchase from/with a friend, neighbor, or family member?
  • Is there anything I already own that I could substitute for it?
  • How many hours will I have to work to pay for it?

Splurge consciously

  • A few luxuries can be delightful, and they don’t have to be expensive

Keeping Up

  • Pretend the Joneses are the thriftiest, least wasteful people on the block
  • Then try to keep up with them!

Q: How are you spending less, with more wisdom and enjoyment?