W
eallknowthebenefitsof
spending wisely and living
debt-free,butitcanbehardto
remember them in the run-up
to Christmas. As we’re
barraged by adverts and the
presenthopesofyoungerfamilymembers,thepressure
tobuymorebuilds,andgoodintentionsareforgotten.
Andthat’sjustatChristmas.Inthisageofclick-to-
buypurchases,itcanbeashardtokeepspendingin
checkeveryotherday,too.Thismonthseestheannual
shoppingscrumthatisBlackFriday(23November),
withitsscrambleforcheapgoodsandirresistible
bargains.Thedangersofbuying-without-thinkinglurk
oneverycomputerscreen–thesirencallofaquick,
mood-boostinginternetpurchaseishardtoresist
whenyouareboredatworkorfeelinggenerallylistless
andneedsomethingtobuoyyouup.
OnewaytocounterthecrazinessofBlackFridayis
to embrace Buy Nothing Day (buynothingday.co.uk),
whichencouragesusto‘switchofffromshoppingand
tuneintolife’byspendingnotasinglepennyon23
November.Thisspend-freeinitiativemayjustbefor
oneday,buttheorganisershopeitwillencourageus‘to
makeacommitmenttoshoppinglessandlivingmore’.
In her bookL’ArtdelaSimplicité(Trapeze),
Dominique Loreau recommends combating
consumerism by shedding unnecessary purchases
andonlybuyingandkeepingwhatyoutrulyneed.
Thiswillgiveyouspacetothinkandcreate.
“Opulent luxury brings neither grace nor elegance,”she writes. “The magic word is enough. Enough to
live, enough to eat, enough to feel content. Finding
your personal definition of what enough means is
asurepathto happiness.”THE FRUGAL FOLK
Living with less is a way of life embraced by financial
journalist Faith Archer, who moved with her family
from London to a village in Suffolk. Frugality was a
necessity to begin with while her husband looked for
a job, but it has since become a habit and a joy. “Even
though our income has picked up, now I genuinely
want less,” she says. “It helps if you strip out some of
the pressures to consume – so I have opted out of direct
mail, unsubscribed from marketing emails, and avoid
scouring Pinterest and going to shops.”
Faith, who blogs about her pared-down life and how
she saves money at muchmorewithless.co.uk, points
out that it is all too easy to fall into a cycle of earning
money to buy things hoping they will bring happiness,
only to find they don’t, then buying more. How freeing
instead, to step off the consumer conveyor belt and
focus on the things that really make you happy.
“Rather than lusting after more stuff,” she says, “I
focus on enjoying what we already have. We only shop
for things we really need, and that frees up so much
time, energy and money.”
Dominque Loreau agrees: “An excess of things is
invasive, overwhelming. We feel constrained; unable
to move forward, we are not living. Simplicity
means clearing the way for the bare necessities,
the quintessence of things. Simplicity is beautiful
because it brings hidden joys.”
Spending in a considered and careful fashion could
also mean that an early retirement is a possibility.
In the US, and increasingly in the UK, the Fire
Movement (‘financial independence, retire early’)THE NEW FRUGALITY
IT’S HARD TO RESIST THE ITCH TO SHOP. BUT EMBRACING
A LITTLE THRIFTINESS COULD BOOST YOUR HAPPINESS,AS WELL AS YOUR BANK BALANCE
PHOTOGRAPHY: TOPFOTO“The magic word is enough. Enough to
feel content. Finding your personal
def inition is a sure path to happiness”
Words: CLARE GOGERTYTHINK (^) | WELLBEING