Another good reason to buy less

Less consumption - less waste. Better for my wallet BUT ALSO better for our planet. For yet another reason to buy less, read "Spending More, Enjoying Less" by George Loewenstein: http://www.aarp.org/bulletin/yourmoney/money_for_life_sb4.html

My plan for spending less today is to go home and "reinvent" some of the leftovers in the fridge. Leftover turkey will become mock chicken salad for dinner. Chop cooked turkey, add one part Marzetti's Coleslaw Dressing to one part mayo or salad dressing; stir in toasted pecans. yum!

Every little thing counts

The less we can spend on the things that are of no lasting value, the more money we have to spend on things that are important to us. What would you rather spend your money on: bottled water, toilet paper and toothpaste, or your home, travel or even clothes? Squeezing the last bit of paste out of the tube has become a challenge for me. Others may find that ridiculous, but I am not out to subsidize a fine lifestyle for the makers of Colgate, I'm trying to fund a rich life for me. A few extra squeezes of toothpaste do matter in the long run, when those savings are added to all the other little savings. When I was a teenager, I just filled the soap scoop to the top when it came to laundry soap; now I realize it takes much less to get my clothes clean. And it's not even good for the clothes to use more soap than is needed! Then there's the environment to consider...if I squeeze the most out of every packaged product, less empty packages will go to the landfill, right?

Make do; Make over; Do without

In the book Microtrends, author Mark Penn contends that it would take only 1 percent of people committed to a single idea to change the world. Here's hoping there are at least 1 percent of the people out there with a growing awareness of the need for ecological stewardship. Unnecessary, rampant consumerism leads to bigger bills, bigger debt, more marital dissatisfaction, more anxiety and deep-seated insecurities. Small steps lead us back to a healthier financial outlook. Think SMALL; think LESS. For instance, for my daughter's 1st Christmas, she got a wooden puzzle and a little wooden rocking chair. Two gifts but she was so excited! The bounty of her 2nd Christmas consisted of a small child's table and two chairs (scavenged from the trash pile in front of a neighbor's yard, then cleaned and new contact paper applied to the surface) and a little tea set. Again, two gifts but she was thrilled! As a stay-at-home mom, it worked for my budget too, but the point is that SHE did not need more to have a happy Christmas. Parents are usually buying for themselves somehow, don't you think?