What Do You Consider as Excess?

Spending lots of money on gambling and alcohol, having 4 TV’s, going out for $100 dinners, or holidays overseas twice a year?  It’s all a matter of priorities and choice, a very personal decision. 

Many people may think that we are excessive for owning 3 cars when there are only 2 of us. I can justify that decision by saying the bearded wonder and I live 20 minutes from our jobs, with each of us going in opposite directions. I drive a relatively newish little petrol savvy car which I bought to replace my rather ancient, little petrol savvy car. Now rather than get rid of that little car, I gave it to the bearded wonder to drive to work, knowing that I would only get $500 if I tried to sell it. This car replaced a moderately aging, dual cab ute in being the “drive to work” car. The ute, when driven to work, used loads more petrol than the old little car. But why do we need to keep a ute? Because we are renovating our shack and need to carry timber, cement sheet etc and we tow a boat with it when we are at the shack. It gets used one weekend a fortnight, when we visit the shack.

Now we have the shack, we do not take holidays elsewhere, as we absolutely adore being down by our beach. We do not smoke and the bearded one only drinks his own home brew. I drink water. We go out to dinner once a year, if that, and then we share a meal as I can’t eat a full meal on my own. My meals fit on a bread and butter plate. We do not have Pay TV as I can’t see the point in most TV programs and the ones I do want to see, I can see for free. I had fake nails once in my life, about 3 years ago and was horrified at how the wrecked my own nails for 2 years after, so would consider them unnecessary and ridiculous. I do not use make-up or beauty treatments, only sorbeline  on my hands after gardening. I refuse to buy bottled water as we live in Australia, not a third world country (or Adelaide) where the water is VERY drinkable, especially here in Tasmania. I do not colour my hair and I have embraced my grey hair with joy. We have NEVER been into designer brands and often get clothing from the op shop. I am not a reader of magazines, so save a fortune on the gossip mongering that happens with those, about people I have no interest in.

 I prefer to read blogs of real people who are doing useful, creative and interesting things with their lives. I also love reading books and I have a THING, that is, I love to spend money on books, non-fiction in particular, however this has been curtailed almost, during this NO SPEND YEAR.  I have been writing myself a list of books to get from the library instead.

As a teacher, I see the amount of little packets of junk that children come to school with in their lunch boxes and think that is excessive, but that is not my choice. Often these are the people who grizzle first about not having money to do this and that. Sometimes I feel these parents lack the ability to stand up to advertising, peer pressure or pester power and they fall into the same old traps always getting the same old results.

I guess my point is……….if you can’t afford it, then it’s excessive, if it’s bad for the planet, then it’s excessive , sometimes we need to sacrifice now to achieve long term results.


Deb