I recently read a thread on Ravelry's Simple Living group that mentioned a book I'd missed along the way (hard to imagine, that a simple living tract would get by me, but they do! *wink*)
I found it at the library and read it over a few evenings...savoring her thinking as I went. It's called Not Buying It: My Year Without Shopping by Judith Levine.
The thought of not shopping at all for an entire year (other than food and necessities) strikes terror in my mind - I am a retailer, after all. But the concept of being very aware of my purchases, being certain that what I buy is useful, beautiful, and fills a specific need? That I can buy...and determine not to buy unnecessary, un-useful STUFF for the sake of buying? Yes.
So just for the record, since I'm determined to eradicate most of my debt and also to make "catch-up" funding of my retirement account a priority, getting clear about what's an important purchase and what's not is pretty critical. I've already decided that I'm notorious in the grocery aisle. So I'm instituting a plan to take cash out of my paycheck each payday and put it in an envelope and when the money is gone, I eat what I've got, or perhaps go hungry (but don't bet on that, there's food in the larder!) - and shopping with a list and doing some menu planning. The idea, of course, is to buy what's needed and not what isn't. To reduce waste (yes, I do waste food, and it makes me very unhappy)...
(oh, and just for the record, there will be no participation in the CSA this year, because it just was too much food - it's a good deal for large families, or even for those with a chest freezer, or canner, but it's not a good place for my money. It taught me much, and for that I'm grateful...not the least of which is that I LOVE Swiss Chard!! *wink*)
Hmm...you might see more about all this in upcoming posts.
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