Home Economics

I had an interesting conversation with one of my nephews yesterday. After arriving at my home, he asked me, "Aunt Liz, can I ask you a question." I accepted. "Why don't you ever have your air conditioner on?" Not realizing that it was possible to have had it on, I replied, "Because we po'." I then corrected my statement and was a bit more honest and serious with him. "No. Actually, I'm just cheap. It's comfortable to me, so we don't run the AC because it costs so much and it isn't necessary." We then had a conversation about conserving energy and money.
What an important conversation! A few months ago I taught a lesson at church about the same concept. It takes time and maturity to learn this principle. However, just because you can have something/do something/pay for something, it doesn't mean you should. This is another form of what the scriptures refer to as "bridling" our passions.
How many of us have a passion for having "just the right" temperature in our homes? We have to have new clothes or a certain brand of clothing? We have to drive a certain type of car or live in a certain type of house? I think a lot of these things have driven this country to the point of the economic issues currently facing our generation. It's a sense of entitlement rather than reward for working and saving for something. This sense of entitlement has driven so many of us to purchase before saving or, at times, researching to know a good deal on a planned purchase.
My daughter loves watching School House Rock. One of these is a segment about interest. You can either have interest pay you or you pay interest. Either way, interest is working constantly. You just have to choose which end of interest you want to be on. It takes hard work, patience, and a lot of sacrifice, but it is worth it to be on the side of interest paying you.
Another movie I will cite is "Confessions of a Shopaholic." Such a funny movie with such an important message. If you haven't seen it, I apologize for the spoiler. However, the message is important. In the end, no one can bail her out of her huge debt. She must take control and sell everything she has to pay back her debt. When she realizes her self-worth is in no way entwined with the items surrounding her, she is able to break free from the cycle and take control of her financial freedom.
It is so extremely important to learn from this time of economic downturn. We can all be more frugal. We can all spend more wisely. Be wary of the traps of "sales" and offers. Take time to think about your purchases (contracted or uncontracted) and evaluate the true necessity of the item/service. Find ways to do things yourself. Know your limits. These are all keys to financial success and the way to bringing our society out of the hole we have decidedly jumped into.