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Out of the blue

What can't you live without?

10 July, 2008
All of us have been forced to ask ourselves this question over the last few months. The effect of rising interest rates, as well as the rising cost of fuel, electricity and food have forced most of us back to the drawing board with our monthly budget.

Maybe you are one of the lucky ones who’ve never needed to draw up a budget to ensure that you make ends meet, but I doubt whether there is anyone out there who hasn’t felt the effect of the above increases in their pockets.

Over the past few weeks I have heard of many cost-saving strategies that people are implementing to make ends meet. These range from giving up luxuries (less eating out and shopping) and expensive habits (smoking), to considering different modes of transport (lift-clubs, public transport or moving closer to work or changing jobs to work closer to home). For the first time in years, there are families clubbing together to buy groceries in bulk and the weekly supermarket specials are turning into the most popular newspaper supplement in our office!

Which brings me back to the question… what can’t you live without? Looking back at past online surveys done on this topic, it actually gives you quite a wake-up call. With the tough times that we are currently facing, will we still answer this question with “essentials” like an i-pod, Playstation 3 or wireless internet? Or has this tightening market brought us back down to earth? With necessities like fuel and food becoming luxury items due to the price increases, surely this will mean that a drastic change in mindset is necessary for all of us.

Maybe I am being over-sentimental, but will this mean the end of an era? Consumerism (defined by Wikipedia as: People purchasing goods and consuming materials in excess of their basic needs) has caused us to regard things like earning large salaries, luxury cars, electronic equipment, designer clothing or expensive jewelery as the new “things we can’t live without” and a guarantee for happiness.

Since most of us are now forced to minimise this “more is better” pursuit, now is a great time to downshift back to things that used to be regarded as “things we can’t live without” like quality time with family and friends at home and in your community. Now, more than ever, the home will become the central part of daily life as we adjust our lifestyles to the changing economic times. Hopefully we will also be driving around in battery-operated cars soon… that will certainly be a great help too!

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