The Effects of Consumerism on Your Life:

Maybe a better title this posting would be, "The Effects of Advertising on Your Budget." Over the memorial weekend I was talking to a friend who has been studying up on non-western ways (subjects like Buddism) as a means of simplyfying his life. He explained to me that for many years he was caught up in having "lots of things." He liked to own the latest gadgets. He owned a big home in a nice area, drove a new car, went on great vacations, and enjoyed many things others cannot because he made "really good money." Despite his monetary success, he felt like something was lacking in his life; all these "things" didn't seem to make him feel like he had really "made it" and he discovered that his happiness was not tied to the material things he enjoyed accumulating. With all that said, I turned the topic to consumerism and that is what this posting is about. I would like to remind my SMTM! students, and other readers, that advertisments and salespeople (as dedicated and needful as anyone) are in business to take away your hard earned money. Everyone wants to convince us that we need a newer cell phone (because the one we have is so inadequate - LOL), that we need to see a movie the first week it comes out, and that all good parents take their children to McDonalds to eat weekly. Dollar stores are popping up on every corner, as are payday lenders, and storage facilities! Why? Because they are GREAT businesses that feast on our percieved needs. We buy more stuff (that we often really DON'T need), then we need more money to cover our debts and bills, and lastly we need a place to store all the stuff because we ran out of room to show it off. We have stores for spending, for lending, and then for storing...that's America! A student from Caracus, Venezuela once told me, "Coach, only in America can someone go to a store (like PetsSmart) where everything in it is for animals!" I concur - we have everything we need, and much that we don't. I wonder how many people "think" they can't budget because they "think" they don't make enough money? I want you to consider that advertising affects each of us, more than we know, every day of lives. TV ads and big signs tell us, "You earned the right to drink a $3.75 latte!" The first fix is simple: Take a moment to ponder over what you can do to keep more of your money working for you, than for someone else. Go to David Bachs Latte Facotr site and see how much all your extras add up to - then let the online calclautor show you how much you spend on your extras in a year...and how much it would be worth to you to set that money aside by investing it. This is your challenge - if you don't know how much money you waste, find out! One of my students was shocked to discover that his energy drink fix was going to cost him about $1200 a year. Before you question me, "No, that is not a typo." Yes, advertisers pay big money to hire focus groups (an ordinary group of poeple) who tell the company marketing directors what they need to do to get people to buy their product, even when they know people don't need "a new phone." Why do you think celebrities get all those freebies? Exactly! They get photographed with the newest Coach handbag and then every teenager wants one. Yep, that's how it all begins. Consumerism at it's finest. Personally I prefer to make my own choices, and save the rest of my hard earned money for myself; retiring at 52 sounds like a good plan to me. Do you have a plan for the rest of your life?

Are You Tired?

When we get tired, many things begin to happen, most of which are NOT good! We eat wrong, sleep more (or less), we stress out about little things that probably won't happen, and both our personal and professional livelihoods may suffer. When you are tired, what is the first thing you give up? Is it "doing the dishes", walking the dog, skipping breakfast, or perhaps you buy fast food instead of cooking an actual dinner? Do you skip seeing your family or friends so you can stay home and rest up? If so, then a really important thing to do when you are especially tired is to simply be mindful. Be aware of when you are about to get overly tired, and be prepared!

1) FOOD: Hit the grocery store and stock up on healthy food - prepare them and keep them ready to go so instead of ordering pizza, you will have something ready at home. Keep healthy snacks at your office to combat being tired - if you don't know the ten healthiest snacks, go online and find them. Prep your breakfast at dinner time...and have it waiting for you to take on the run come morning commute time. If "bad dinner food" makes you feel all warm and cozy come nighttime, then make a meatloaf ahead of time (or other comfort food, but avoid anything fried) - this way you will get all the mouthfeel of what you want, without all the extra fat and calories; make sure to add good colorful veggies to your grocery list. Like apples, but don't eat enough of them? Slice them up, add some lemon juice, and keep refrigerated. Fruit and veggies go bad at your house? Buy some "green bags' - they have clay infused into the plastic which absorbs the ethynol gas that causes spoilage (these bags keep things fresh up to 3 weeks - the commercial produce market has used them for years).

2) SLEEP and EXERCISE: These two things go hand in hand. I was reminded of this when I saw my girlfriends' husband drag himself into the gym the other morning; recently diagnosed with M.S. at only 37 years old, he has just began taking medication. But the drugs that are supposed to help slow down the progression of the disease have turned him into a walking zombie. Hair uncombed, clothes sitting askew, he was still coming to the gym for 15 minutes on a bike; he knows that the ramifications of not getting up, no matter how tired and awful he feels, is the worst thing to do. I figure if he can get going, so can the rest of us. After work, put on your sneakers, grab a bottle of water, and go for a walk - anywhere! Those extra 10 minutes of time in the outdoors making your heart work a little extra is better than nothing - right? If you plop down too soon, make yourself get up during a TV commercial and walk around the block. Take heed though - exercising too heavily can cause you to not be ready for sleepytime until midnight. About 2-3 hours before bedtime, take a really warm bath. Both exercise and bathing will kick up your core body temp a little bit, which, as your body cools off later on, will induce sleep (BTW...showering wakes you up). Another tip - don't nap if you are not a good sleeper; you are just training your body to want sleep whenever it wants. Set a time and stick to it best you can; develop a routine and your body will respond within 21 days.

If you can eat right, exercise a little, and sleep well, you will find yourself much more in control of your life. Control equates to saving money, and that is why I felt a need to remind you, today, to be ready for those hectic times. P.S. Excuse any typos - my computer is creating a problem for spell check so I'm typing this off quickly without much proofreading.