Saving Money & Wasting Less
Lesson 5: Getting around
Entertainment, and false economies
Many people are spending a fortune on entertainment these days, and it is easy to save money in this area of your life. When considering the big purchases, get into the habit of asking yourself the basic questions (see the previous section).
Do you really need a plasma screen television set the size of your living room wall? Is there anything on television worth spending that amount of money to watch? How long is a television of that sort going to last anyway? And so what if everyone else you know has one?
Is it really good for your kids to be spending so much time in front of a screen or computer monitor? The latest surveys show that households in the USA now have a television on for more than seven hours every day, and children spend more time in front of the TV than in school! (see the Atlanta Parent website, for example).
I know of one father who lives near me, who in a recent fit of rage at seeing his three children in their separate rooms each glued to a television or computer night after night, has thrown the lot of them out! (The computers and TVs, not the kids.) He says he wanted some quality family time back, and I don't blame him. I'm not suggesting you do the same and become some kind of modern day Luddite, but it can't possibly be healthy for people to spend so much time isolated from each other and glued to a screen of one description or another. There are other things you can do.
There are many other ways to entertain and be entertained, and many ways to involve the whole family. In 'Back to Basics', Readers Digest there is an excellent chapter on 'Pastimes for all the family', which might reintroduce you to games you played as a child, games that cost almost nothing, and which children (and adults) have enjoyed playing for centuries. (See also the Atlanta Parent website.
It isn't true that children are different today. They've simply been brought up to be different, and you can change the way you bring them up. It is so easy and convenient to use television as a babysitter, but perhaps actually taking the time to play with your kids might be beneficial for the whole family.
Instead of watching television every night, (which is costing money and exposing you to hundreds of subtle commands to consume, as well as killing your imagination), here are a few ideas:
- Play a board game together.
- Read a book.
- Learn a new card game.
- Play a ball game together in the back yard (baseball, cricket, soccer are all good).
- Go for a walk and watch the sunset.
- Build a kite.
- Have a debate on a topical issue.
- Learn to play a musical instrument.
- Make simple puppets and have your own puppet theatre.
- Play charades.
- Bake a chocolate cake.
- Make up a story, a line at time.
We have been brainwashed over the last few decades into thinking that we need technology to entertain us. The fact is, human beings have been entertaining themselves for thousands of years with no help from multinational corporations.
Remember, if you want to save about 10% on your electricity bills, if possible, turn off televisions, DVDs, CD players, VCRs, and anything that has a remote control, at the power point. Anything that has a standby function is costing you money even when it's turned off. Of course, it's convenient to be able to reach for the remote and press a button to turn the appliance on, but you might save on gym fees if you moved more at home! How hard is it really, to walk over to a wall and turn the power on when you want to watch your television?
Tip If you have battery-operated radios or other appliances, and garden solar lights, check if they're using the same size batteries. If they are, you can use rechargeable batteries in your radio or appliance and recharge the batteries for nothing by putting them in your solar garden lights for the day.False economies
It is false economy to skimp on car maintenance because you will pay more in extra fuel. Poorly maintained cars are less efficient, and it will cost much more in the end through bigger repair bills. Poorly maintained cars can also have safety problems, and your life is more important than saving a few dollars. There are plenty of other ways of saving money.
If you can't afford to get your car maintained regularly, you may be able to find a mechanic through a barter system (as explained in Lesson 1), or you may be able to do a course yourself, especially if you have an older car.
It is also false economy to use second hand or retreaded tyres, because new tyres are much safer. Using the old parachute analogy again, you wouldn't want a second-hand parachute!
It is often false economy to buy cheap new clothes, because their workmanship and materials are often inferior, and they won't last as long as good quality clothes.
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