Think Outside The Piggy Bank

black friday or buy nothing day?

Have you heard of Buy Nothing Day? Started a number of years ago, the event tries to make us more aware of our spending habits by refusing to consume on this particular day. Black Friday on the other hand (not held in Canada by the way), tries to encourage consumers to begin their Christmas shopping by offering big discounts. Hmmm, kind of hard to observe both at the same time, isn't it?

Having a huge anti-consumerism streak myself, I'd opt for Buy Nothing Day anytime, and admire what the organization is trying to accomplish. Having said that, I can see how Buy Nothing Day would be a bad joke, or even a slap in the face for those who literally can't afford to buy anything. Or for those who have to string several buy-nothing-days together and perhaps even stretch it out into Buy Nothing Week. Having been in that position myself at one point, I can tell you that simplicity isn't necessarily fun when it's involuntary. And of course for those people who have oodles of money to spend and waste, Buy Nothing Day probably doesn't mean anything either. But I still think this is a worthwhile event (even though there are those who argue that spending is best for the economy), and hopefully one that can help us to remember the difference between needs and wants.

So what did you end up doing today? Did you shop? Or drop out?

an attitude of gratitude

It's Thanksgiving in the United States (Canada celebrated it in October already), so it's a perfect day to talk about gratitude. And notice how the word attitude (with the exception of one letter) is practically embedded in the word gratitude? Fitting really. Gratitude is having an attitude of gratefulness for everything that you have, for everything that is going right in your life. Or wrong even depending on how Zen you happen to be feeling at the moment. A long time ago a wise man said:

Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others. --MARCUS T. CICERO (c. 106-43 BC, Roman orator and politician)

And, not quite as long ago:

The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished than these who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving. --H.U. WESTERMAYER

Enjoy today, whether it's Thanksgiving for you or not, and be grateful for whatever you can.

money, veganism, and animal rights

As some of you know I turned vegan this past summer (no meat, fish, eggs or dairy), and am increasingly focused on trying to clarify where I stand when it comes to animal welfare and animal rights. That may help explain why posting has become more infrequent of late as some of my time has gone into developing blogs on those two topics (see sidebar for links if interested.)

But what does that have to do with money you ask? Why am I talking about that here on TOTPB? Well, money has more to do with it than you may realize. First, and to my delight, I've discovered that veganism has greatly lowered my grocery bills. Although it cost a bit to initially stock my cupboards with vegan fare, the basic staples of beans, rice, pasta, bread, fruits and vegetables (I picked up a 10lb bag of carrots for $1.50 the other day) are relatively inexpensive when you compare them to processed foods. Plus you don't have to buy them as often. Items like soymilk and soymilk coffee cream do cost more than regular milk and cream, but overall I definitely don't spend as much on groceries as I used to. And on a more macro level I'm convinced that if most people switched to a plant-based diet, then a lot of money could be redirected by feeding grains to hungry people rather than trying to fatten up about-to-be slaughtered animals first. Veganism could be one pivotal way to help combat both hunger and poverty. But more about that in later posts or on my other blogs.

And when it comes to animal welfare and rights, money actually plays a key role here as well. While I don't necessarily believe that money is the root of all evil, I do think that money is at the root of a lot of animal cruelty. Dog fighting, racing, rodeos, puppy mills, just to name a few, are all enterprises where making money regardless of the effect on animals is the bottom line (not to mention the mammoth dairy and meat industries who don't care how inhumanely animals are treated as long as they earn more dollars). Because they are "just" animals, some people believe that they can do with them what they like. Even in instances where cruelty may not always be at play, money is. Take the phenomenon known as foreclosure pets in the United States. Now while I have certain opinions about what level of commitment should be required before people provide a home for pets, the reality is that many are abandoning them because they believe they can no longer afford them. Money then, is not as unrelated to these topics as may first seem to be the case. So while I'll continue to post on the topics you've come to expect, don't be surprised if my three blogs overlap at times.

Have a good weekend everyone!

lost one of my jobs yesterday!

Which is why I'm such a firm believer in having more than one of them. Multiple income streams, eggs are not meant for baskets, and all of that. Yes, I was taken aback at the news (the job I lost is the one where I provided before-school care as the custody arrangements in that family have changed), but I certainly didn't panic, as it wasn't my primary or largest source of income. I also kind of sensed that this position might not last that long so squirreled away some of the money for later. And the beauty of multiple income streams is that when one dries up, you focus on another one while working on adding more. In this case that means getting back into selling on eBay while I figure out my next move. There really is no job security these days (although my weekend job in the rest home is about as secure as they get), and in a sense everyone has to think of him or herself as self-employed. As they say, the only constant is change.