Midlife’s A Trip

Can You Live Better With Less?

Posted on 04. Feb, 2008 by Karen in Misc

For those of us who grew up with Depression-era parents, the message was “have enough, have enough”.  I didn’t realize until recent years that my mother’s strict adherence to this concept played out in the overstocked pantry and chock-full freezer of my youth.  Of course, the fear of not having enough came from my mother’s childhood reality of hunger and poverty.   And she passed that on to me even though my reality was entirely different.

But as I’ve rolled into my Baby Boomer years, I’ve started to embrace the idea that you can live Better With Less, the topic of a recent AARP article (yes, they got me, I’m a member).  It’s been playing out in recent years with the “live simple” movement that has us questioning the conspicuous consumption we learned in the 80s and turned into an art form the 90s.  And it’s starting to play out in my life as I look at how I can live better with less—and still be happy.

So I’m passing up the extra 2 pairs of PJs and the 3 cans of tomato sauce on special or the many other not-quite bargains that confront me at that big-box store with everything you never knew you needed until you saw it—you know the place I’m talking about.  And I’m planning for a small hybrid car when my current lease is up this year.  And I’ve already started making some of the gifts I want to give others instead of heading to the mall.  All small steps but I’m proud to say that I’m in action–on the path towards a simpler life. 

What about you?

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