It seems in this day and age and in our culture we have a difficult time distinguishing between needs and wants.I hear people saying” I’m broke” or” I can’t make it from payday to payday”.I hear “I need a raise” On friday’s people are running to the bank to deposit their checks so they can by grocerys and get gas.It disturbs me that upon closer investigation these same people are paying $80-$100 or more for satellite T.V. $80-$100 or more for a smart phone plan $50 -$80 for internet and have a subscription for a movie plan.$10 dollars a month.The same people regularly go out to eat$10 t0 $20 buy coffee drinks$3 or $4 and cocktails at a club on the weekends$4 or $5 .Some smoke $5 a pack.
Now the problem is that the thinking is I need all this. It is the bare minimum to live life! People that are on public assistants are paying for these things let alone the working people.It isnt just those WANTS that they are paying for it’s the car payment and the credit cards and the high rent or house payment too.We are out of balance .We think we NEED all this when really we WANT it .Did you know that at the turn of the century the wealthiest people in the world (I’m talking about multimillionaires when a million dollars was a lot of money) did not have any of this! Today poor people quote unquote have more luxury than that.People at or below the poverty line enjoy a higher standard of living that the wealthy did then .They have running water flush toilets ,cell phones,heat and air conditioning,cars,electricity higher life spans (double) access to health care and more.
What we really have here is a money management problem and a perspective that we need all the luxury and really we just want it.
But the bigger issue is we trade our biggest most precious and valuable possession for all of these things with reckless abandon.Our TIME.We have a finite amount of TIME on this planet and we waste a tremendous amount of it in the pursuit of wants disguised as needs.We even trade our second most precious possession our HEALTH .It gets damaged by our lifestyle and eating habits that we create in the pursuit of needs that are only wants. we work too much and sit too much then we eat too much and trade our health as a result of it .
So what is the solution to all this sobering and depressing conversation anyway. Well for starters a good hard look at wants vs needs and getting present to what they are costing you in terms of your real quality of life.Become present and mindful of daily life and what really makes you happy .Get out of and stay out of debt! cook from scratch .It is healthier and less expensive than packaged and processed food. take a walk it is good excercise that costs nothing and gives you time to think about whats important.less cost of living means less need to work and more time to spend as you wish.Cut your cost housing ,transportation the two biggest and really look at wants and get that that is just what they are .The only things you really need are food clothing and shelter every thing else is luxury and vanity.At what cost are they really acquired ?
Kevinsmicrohomestead Blog 