Money and Stimulus

I had one of those moments this week that showed me how much I have strayed from the American 'norm'. A well meaning guest on a morning news show was giving advise on how to save money. Fairly helpful and informative, right? She was showing us plebeians how to save on cell phones, groceries, etc. Then came clothing. There is a new trend nowadays (not really new, but I'll let that be) that's called swapping. You bring an armload of clothing to either a set location or a friends house, and you all trade clothing so that you can add some 'fresh new look' to your wardrobe. She estimated that you could save a boat load of $$$. Wanna know why? According to a national survey, the average American spends over $1700 in clothes per person a year. That stopped me dead in my tracks on my way to get cereal. Seventeen HUNDRED dollars??? Holy cow, I don't even spend that much TOTAL on my family of five. AND I have two teenagers. Granted, I'm definitely not a fashion plate. Give me sturdy, well made comfortable clothes, two pair of shoes, and a warm jacket, and I'm happy and don't give it a second thought. Clothes are such a disposable item, why would you want to pay good money for something you're going to throw out or give away anyway?
So that got me thinking about the American financial situation in regards to your average Joe, and how I differ. I realized that all those years living under a very strict financial thumb, first at home, then with the Navy, taught me needs vs. wants. I need a house. So I never never rented or bought something I couldn't afford. It put me in some less than perfect neighborhoods, but I had a place to rest my head. And gave me some really interesting neighbors. I need food. So I learned how to cook, old school. Take your less than choice cuts of meat, do what you can to spruce them up, tender them up, and get more than one serving out of a package. Do what you could with what you can afford. And really TRY. Put your best effort into it.Made my own bread for years, not because I liked to, but because it was cheaper to buy flour and yeast. Made the children's baby food from scratch. Turned out it was actually better for them, and cost almost nothing. You see, I spent so much time yanking on the ends to make them meet, I forgot to care about what everyone thought of me. So now all the accouterments that many people think are 'needs', are so far down on the list of 'wants' for me I forget about them. I can afford so much now, but I still don't buy. Because I dont really want them anymore. I've found the beauty of simplicity on the outside, complexity within.
So here are my thoughts on stimulus. Instead of trying to throw money at a problem, hoping it will go away, how about we start learning how to be still with ourselves. I'm not spouting a New Age mantera, but more of a sit down and shut up idea. Why do so many Americans think that shopping is an integral part of being happy? Why has it become a pastime? Shopping is for the aquisition of goods, not for the soothing of the soul.
How about every family, every day, come home from work/school, and STAY THERE. Eat at home. Talk to each other about how your day was. Share silly things. I tell my kids that friends are mutable, family is forever. If you can't get along with the people you share a house with, then maybe you ought to rethink your living arrangements.
And here's a novel idea. Use what you have. We have so much stuff that there is an entire industry centered around the storage of the stuff we cant' find a place for in our homes. Ridiculous. Absolutely mind blowing.
Stimulus. To me, it would be better if we as a country were given a reason to live and love beyond buying things. There are more things in heaven and on earth than we know. Go find some of them. And guess what--you cant buy the most precious things out there. Diamonds might make you happy, but they don't hold you when you cry.
Oh, and before I lose the thought completely, how about the prices on the necessities come down a bit? That's somewhat out of a regular persons realm, but maybe if we're loud enough for long enough, they stop telling us to EAT CAKE.

Dating Angst

Since when have my two oldest children, and I use the word loosely, been allowed to take notice of the opposite sex? I don't remember giving them permission to do so! I demand a recount!

*sigh*

They must grow up, I know. And part of getting a set of wings to fly is wading naked into the bloody pool of dating and significant others. So far, I've been lucky. I didn't have to lay down the law and say 'no dating till you're 16 (15,21 35), young lady/man'. So my luck, such as it is, seems to have run out. Both my oldest daughter and middle boy have expressed the desire to make connections beyond friendship with others. I vacillate between serious angst and excitement at this point. There will come the day when I find out about things such as:

*First Kiss (pretty cool)
*First Breakup (sad, but this too shall pass)
*Other girls/boys making cow eyes and passes at significant other (silly, but I'll try not to laugh)

and the dreaded one

*My First TIME

I wasn't a very good girl once I started down that road. Granted, I started down it fairly late, as far as my contemporaries went. But I sure tried to make up for lost time. And I was EXTREMELY paranoid about pregnancy and viruses. There's only so many talks a parent can have, slide shows included (thank you internet!) before you have to let go of the apron strings and trust that they have enough good sense to do the same. Oh please oh please let that be the case!! But talk about your giant can of worms. Not to mention on top of all of this, my oldest is thiiisss close to getting her drivers license for real. A whole set of new and terrifying experiences await me there. I don't know which one I'm dreading/looking forward to more. Quite a divided mind I have here! Yes/no, stop/go, do/don't, fly/crawl. I had no idea what I was getting into with this whole 'kid' thing. They never told me that they would grow up to be people, with wants and *gasp* DESIRES that went beyond Pokemon and stuffed animals!!!!

{aaarrgghhhpp}
=strangling on conflicting thoughts=

And to make it worse, like I said before, it all comes down to who they are NOW, and what I've taught them in the past. Nothing to do now but keep a weather eye on the horizon, checking for storm clouds and waterspouts. Avast ye mateys, here there be monsters!