sherrillee

A Challenge for the Future:

Ive learned a thing or two from our roller coaster economy over the past two years. The most valuable lesson of all: It's time to start focusing on the life lessons we've learned along the way and throw off this mantle of materiality that has smothered us for so long.

I hear my friends talk about diminishing expectations ahead - as they struggle with cutbacks at work that have conflicted with the demands of their children and their own wants and needs. I have found myself going over the monthly bills and asking that question - Do we really need this?

I felt that cutting back and living with less would help us focus more intently on the people and experiences that make life truly full (and less on the stuff that's piled in our closets and garages).

A few short years ago, I could smell a great sale from miles away. When we wanted something new, whether we truly needed it or not, we simply bought it. I was happy, my husband was happy and life was good. But with having to relocate numerous times and having to store most everything in storage, forced us to come to the realization that not only did we possess too many things - we were being tied down by our possessions.

Then one day, I woke up to the realization that shopping wasn't as enjoyable for me as it had once been, and that we were getting lost in superficial pursuits. I realized our spending habits were shaping our attitudes. We were spending too much time thinking about what to buy, buying whatever it was we thought we needed, and not appreciating what we had just acquired. I found myself wondering, When is enough going to be enough?

I had to convince my husband (a gadgets geek, just as much as I am) to make such a drastic change, so I spent some time coming up with specific rules. I was inspired by a fashionista co-worker that had come to her own AHA moment and had decided that she was not going to buy any new clothes for a year.

Here's the rules for mastering thrifty but richer lives.

RULE 1: We couldn't purchase anything (except food related, cleaning products, and personal hygiene products) for one year. No clothing or gadgets. Nada.

RULE 2: All gifts would be in the form of homemade items or trips.

RULE 3: Broken items would not be replaced. (i cried when my washing machine died - but hung tough).

RULE 4: Any form of together entertainment was allowed and encouraged.

Instead of growing our possessions, I wanted to grow our relationship. Instead of collecting things, I wanted to collect memories. And although we would be spending less, I wasn't focused on saving money I wanted to enhance my relationship with my husband.

Only a couple of weeks into the project, Dev and I started noticing an increase in the amount of time we were spending together.

Items broke. Our motto became, "make it work," and we realized we almost always had everything we needed. In the past we had just gone and bought new items instead of using substitutions, and we realized how wasteful we had become.

Perfect timing, since the economy started tanking right in the middle of our "fast".

Well, it's been a year, now. And, my new project for this next year - is to identify what we have that we can do without and sell it. And with those proceeds, we will sit down together and decide how best to spend it.

You know how there may have been someplace you always wanted to go to - but there never seemed enough money to do it? Well, hopefully, when we are done - we will have enough to go someplace really special - with no regrets.

Simplify.