Quitting Consumerism – Some Final Thoughts

Something has changed.
I just turned down an opportunity to go to the “Clear the Rack” sale at
Nordstrom Rack.  Crazy!!!  I decided that working on my goals for 2013 –
which will be my next blog post – was more worthwhile then shopping!  Before experimenting with quitting
consumerism I would never, ever, turn down an opportunity to attend a sale at a
discount store.  Maybe that’s progress?

 

When I started my three-month attempt to quit consumerism, I
didn’t know what the outcome would be.  I
certainly didn’t expect to be blogging about God providing for me in seemingly
inconsequential ways like having my hair done, and getting free workout
pants.  

 

I also learned a few interesting things about my self in the
past few months. 

 

My motive for shopping was the conquest.  I love digging through bargain bins to find
hidden treasure at rock bottom prices. 
In my world, buying anything at full price is considered the 8^th
deadly sin. 

 

There is nothing
wrong with saving money, but how much is the time I spent searching for the
best discount actually worth? 

 

What I realized is that my time and intellectual energy is
more valuable than any possession.  The
more I can simplify my life, and focus on the things that really matter, the
better.  Going on the occasional bargain
bin treasure hunt, or romp through the thrift store can be fun, but doing that
once a week, or even once a month is not worth it.  It’s like gambling, when you add up the
results over time, the loss is always greater than the gain.  (Photo was taken at an outreach Mexico last week.) 

 

Through this journey I learned what, for me, is worth spending
money on and what’s really not.  I
realized that…

 

·    Bad food is not worth it.  On the rare occasion that I spend money on
food, I want Sushi, Thai food or maybe a burrito.  Subway, Panera, BJ’s and any restaurant that
makes food I could cook at home has no value for me.

 

Warning
here comes a soapbox rant.  I’ve
started to struggle watching groups of people walk out of church and hit
restaurants two or three times a week.  The
check is always a few hundred dollars.  It
adds up pretty fast.  What would happen
if a group of friends who went out twice a week decided to buy food and cook
together at different houses for a month. 

 

A conservative estimate:

 

10 people  x  9
meals a month  x  $15 per meal = $1,350 per month. 

 

That same group could buy food and cook it
together at different houses for $350 a month – that would leave $1,000 a month! 
That money could go a LONG way towards feeding orphans, funding
missionaries, or making meals for homeless people.  I think going out is a great thing, but as a
treat, not a habit. 

 

·    I love books and music!  I found out that David C. Cook has a free book download every week and they are good reads. 
On one of the first days after my three months was up Amazon had a sale,
$2 or $4 for certain MP3 albums.  I might
have spent $26 on music that night, but it’s so fun to have new tunes.

 

·    In the past buying new clothing was a bad habit
for me.  I can’t resist a bargain and
when I find a dress for $10 or shoes marked down from $80 to $8 I think that I
have to have them.  Here is the truth I
realized.  Cheep does not mean worth it, especially if it’s not something I need.  I’ll admit it; I still love to have new stuff
every once in a while so I haven’t turned this conclusion into a spending
formula or come to some soapboxey rant. 
If anyone has ideas, leave a comment! 

 

One of my huge accomplishments was managing to put some old
clothing in the give away pile. 
Previously every time I went to clean out my closet that little voice
started in, “you might need that someday,” or “that might fit right again at
some point” so I keep it all!  Seriously,
I run a nonprofit where we take people’s donations and none of my stuff makes
it out the door.  Maybe soon, my give
away pile will actually make it to Fill-A-Belly.  Baby steps, right?

 

One of my original goals was to use this fast as an impetus
for generosity.  For example, one day I
was at In and Out with two amazing high school girls who wanted to go into
missions.  Normally I would grab my food and let them pay for their own.  Since I
hadn’t spent money on food for my self it was easy to offer to treat them and
have the finances to do it.  They were
stoked. 

 

In the past I was NOT a good giver.  I’ve always been a little on the stingy side
and my inclination is to put my needs above the needs of others.  So, when I share that quitting consumerism
made giving a lot easier, I’m NOT taking pride in that fact.  I’m just stoked that God could get through to
someone as hardheaded as me in the area of finances. 

 

 

What does it look like to swim upstream in a consumer driven
society? 

How do I make this a lifestyle choice? 

What do I need to let go of? 

 

…And maybe this week I’ll take that final step and actually
give my “give aways” away!