What Would You Give Up

It’s a bit late, but my eleven year old has just heard of the credit crunch. I don’t think she clearly understands what it means but she knows enough to realise that consumers have to give up things we would’ve otherwise had.





She came into the kitchen while I was cooking and asked me a simple question. ‘What would you give up?’ I have to admit I was stumped. Not only did I not have an answer, the question had not even occurred to me before she asked it.





What would I give up.



I thought about my shopping and realised that I haven’t been putting anything in my shopping trolley that I could actually leave out. I considered the clothes I’d gotten for the kids and there was nothing I would return to the rack, was I given the choice.



I already save on electricity and gas. Entertaining the kids is always done sensibly. In my mind I wildly tried to find something I could easily do without. I don’t like wear make-up unless it’s put on me for work, my hair is a wash-and-go mode that needs no styling, and our social circles are made up of people who specialise in ‘everyone-bring-a-pot’ parties.



I still can’t answer the question, but it made me realise one thing. Living well and comfortably takes a lot less than most people think. We have a good life. Like most people we have a mortgage and bills, and live within our means. Our lives, comfortable though it is, hasn’t come from buying more than we need. Comfort for us has been getting exactly what we need and just the right amount of what we want.



Overspending has been a curse for so long, that it took this current economic downturn to make us realise that a good living can be had for much less than we previously thought. It’s widely believed that we’re on our way out of the recession, but if it were to get worse and you had to tighten your belt further to keep spending at a minimum, what would you give up?



Read more in my book, ‘How to Spend Less.’ Details on this page.