I read an interesting article over the weekend which at first looked like it could be helpful to me in my Penny Pinching quest. It started off well talking about how rampant materialism is so last year and how a plucky bunch of people have pioneered the newest trend for this year- spending less and living more.
I’ve already tried and failed to give Compacting a go, my pitiful attempts to de-clutter my life and only buy what is deemed necessary to survive only just scratched the surface of the Compact lifestyle but it still made me feel I was living like a monk and was not a way of life I could adapt to easily, so becoming a New Aspirational looked promising.
These New Aspirationals have found a deeper kind of fulfilment by cutting up their credit cards and redefined gracious living, but there was a catch, a very big one, as I read on I realised that these people are all rich and most probably bored with their well-kept lives- how utterly frustrating (for me). They are all swapping their 20 bedroom country mansions for seven bedroom city penthouses because apparently we (the public) are not into extravagant expenditure anymore- which I guess is true but not for the reasons stated in this article. We are spending less but it’s because everyone is poor, people like me who earn under £18,000 a year are almost £200 worse off thanks to this government- wage increases do not reflect inflation, the credit crunch or the ‘wobbly’ financial market.
The more I read on the more I became infuriated by these people and what they were advocating, they wanted to become less motivated by material possessions by looking for fulfilment elsewhere implying that this was a healthier outlook on life than focusing on their next pay rise. Which I have to admit I agree with in part but it’s easier said than done especially when you are not loaded and without a financial care in the world, although I did agree that spending money on just one treat a month instead of every week is helping me to appreciate and respect the value of money more, but unlike the Aspirationals who buy less because they are prepared to pay a little more for quality products I am buying less purely because I'm skint!

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