SPENDING HABITS-HOW SIMPLY SHOULD WE LIVE?
JOVYLYN D. VALENCIA
Many of us are caught in what I call the “trap of increasing consumption habits”. The more we earn, the more we spend; the more we spend, the more we have to earn. It is a vicious cycle of earning and spending. A case in point: for a person earning Php15,000.00 a month, it would appear somewhat difficult to make ends meet. The same person would think that if he made Php20,000.00 a month, he would have no more money problems. Since he is hardworking, he gets promoted until his income rises to Php25,000.00 monthly. But now his spending habits changed. It seems that he needs new clothes, bags, shoes, new model of phone, he also buys more groceries. Because of these emerging desires, again he feels his income is not enough. Through the behavioral pattern established, it would be safe to infer that it would be the same problem though he earns Php30,000.00 a month. No matter how much he makes, it would not be enough. All because his spending habits keeps pace with or even exceeds his earning capacity.
The solution to this problem is a conscious effort to limit our spending, to live simply as possible. Does it mean then that we should spend only for the barest necessities, and not for, say, ice cream and other goodies? Not really, we have to enjoy life too. So, how will we know we’re no longer living simply?
Consider the following. The survival level is a lifestyle where basic needs are barely met. The affluent level is a lifestyle where a person can have whatever he wants. A simple lifestyle is somewhere in between, but should be closer to the first. A practical way to maintain a simple lifestyle is to practice a lifestyle of enough. Even when our income increases tenfold, we must be contended with what is enough. This means being free then from the worlds ‘expectations which define human worth in terms of material gain and status. As William Diehl said in the Episcopal Ministry Development Journal, “By practicing and talking about the lifestyle of enough, we are ministering to those who are captives of a demonic philosophy that requires them to prove their worth”.
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The author is Teacher III at Pulung Santol Elementary School