Saving Money & Wasting Less

Lesson 1: Starting out

Countering the bombardment

We saw in the last section that we are all under enormous pressure to consume. Estimates of the number of adverts we are exposed to vary, but as many as 3000 advertising messages every day is not an uncommon estimate. How do we counter this pressure? And is it even ethical to do so? After all, don't they tell us the economy would collapse if we all stopped consuming?

Do you remember, after September 11, 2001, George W. Bush went on television and said:

"Americans, go shopping."

He did that because frightened, shocked people don't go shopping for non-essentials. People in their millions had stopped their excess consumption overnight. America's economy, and to a slightly lesser extent, economies of all Western nations are tied to consumption, especially excessive consumption. If everybody stopped shopping at the same time, as they did in the US immediately after September 11, 2001, the economy would indeed collapse.

So, is it ethical to try to reduce our consumption and save money? Yes! Even if we all tried to cut our excessive consumption (and the majority won't), the change would be gradual and Western economies would have time to adapt. Also, excessive consumption in the West is possible only if a majority of the world's population remains poor. As poorer nations become richer and consume more, we will quickly become acutely aware that Earth's resources are limited.

There simply are not enough resources on this planet for everyone to consume at the rate Westerners in general, and Americans in particular, do. (See the Article on Economic possibilities for our grandchildren).

To find out how many Earths there would need to be for everyone to consume at the rate you currently do, calculate your Ecological Footprint. I guarantee you'll be astonished at the result.

So the economy won't collapse if you start saving some money, the environment will be better off, and you'll be contributing less to keeping the poor nations poor. I hope that helps you sleep better!

How then do we counter the pressure to consume? That's easy:

THINK

Most advertising targets the subconscious. It aims for those doubts we all have about not being quite as good, quite as attractive, quite as thin, quite as wealthy as the next person. It makes us want the thing being advertised without knowing why we want it. You have to counter advertising by bringing it to a conscious level. Think before you go shopping. Think before you buy anything. Think about alternatives. Think about why you need to have product x.

If an advertisement makes you want to buy something you didn't know you wanted, study it. What is it in the advertisement that is attracting you? What are the images? What are the subliminal messages it is giving you? How does it make you feel? If you study the advert and you still want the thing, especially if it is a big or expensive product, then WAIT. Let the idea settle for a while before you go out and buy the product. Ask yourself why you need it. What will it give you that you don't have now? Why do you want it? What psychological need would it satisfy? If you've lived this long without it, why do you need it now?

If you see something on television and reach for your credit card. Stop! THINK first. If they say it's a bargain and you only have five minutes or you'll miss it, that's probably because it's a product nobody in their right mind would buy if they thought about it for six minutes!

Most advertising uses models who are attractive, and who look healthy and happy. The message is, if you want to look like these people, then buy product x. Well, here's the truth: product x won't make you attractive, healthy and happy. No product can do that. You need to eat well, sleep well, and look after yourself.

Print this page

  1  2  3  4  5  6