I am guilty. I was incredibly guilty of this.
I remember when I was younger and had to understand money at a young age. I understood there were times when we paid for gas with our change cup or we saved up some money to enjoy a pizza for a summertime lunch. I enjoyed how simple our childhood was and never really thought about how much money our parents made. I remember when I started working and was proud to make my own money. I felt a sense of pride for paying for things on my own. As I grew older I fell into the trap of consumerism. I thought I needed a name brand this or a name brand that. I would spend and spend. Luckily I cared so much about my credit score that I never racked up any debt but I didn't have any savings. I was influenced. I wore the same Carhart sweatshirt every day but had a closet full of clothes from Nordstrom or Zara. None of which made me feel better. Then I gained weight and kept all the clothes for when I would lose it again and well felt worse. You see consumerism affects your wallet and your gut. One of the deadly sins is gluttony. You continue to spend or continue to eat in hopes that it will make you feel better. Instead, it leaves you surrounded by stuff and you feel more alone.
I was a glutton. I was incredibly guilty of this.
Now the people a step above me on the consumerism rank are the people that spend money just to spend money. This is to show that you have everything that everyone wants but you don't have the means to live like that. As Dave Ramsey would say, rich people drive Toyotas. People are rich because they don't buy everything they see in Temu. Now I do think it is a little rough that he says the only time you can see the inside of a restaurant is if you are working there, but I guess he is right. Money can be saved by spending it towards the good and not the glutton.
I saw this Instagram reel the other day. The guy does a day in the life. He gets into his car (fully paid for) which drives him from A to B. He drinks his cup of coffee (which he made at home) because it provides him the caffeine he needs for the day. He gets ready to call it a day (by getting into his very small bathroom) to take a shower that provides him warm water. The intent was yes he might not have the newest vehicle on the block or the biggest house. But this place provided him everything he needed to save money to get him to the next step/goal in his life.
Normalize that. I think if we all normalize feeding our body with good food, having a reasonable amount of clothes to get us through the 4 seasons, and limiting our amount of stuff. I think that would take a great deal of stress off of people's plates. Parents could provide the basic means to provide food, shelter, clothes, and love. Young adults could save money for houses/college. Young kids could understand that sometimes you can't get that candy because the change cup well covers gas today.
My husband feels bad sometimes that I don't walk around with a $10k wedding ring on my finger. I say two things 1) I got you a pack of silicone rings from Amazon and 2) Do you know what we could do with $10,000?!
Love is not defined by the amount of money you give or the amount you receive. If you feel that way then you have never read the bible. If you think you are entitled to someone's money then you have never read the bible.
What you are entitled to do is help out others when you can, treat others the way you would like to be treated, and find peace that you are never alone.
Food for thought.
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