Present day society is an interesting paradox: on one hand, we have never moved faster. With the development of technology, cars, trains, aircrafts which allow us to move to ever greater speed. The computer allows us to perform still more tasks in a snap. Yet on the other hand, we never have time to do anything. Funny, right?
Who has never had the impression of being a bee among others in the hive? Who has not felt that their life was passing by without them being able to do anything to stop it? Who has never been literally overwhelmed with work? Who has not been stressed by the fast pace of life? Who has never regretted not devoting enough time to his/her own projects, or family?
Get up early, take the kids to school, run (or rather, drive) to work, eat on the run, gulp down cups of coffee to keep up during the day, go back for the youngsters when school closes, go to the supermarket for shopping (after listing products that could help you discount codes play bumper cars with shopping carts, go to the kitchen, put the brats to sleep, and flop down in front of the TV, finally, to free your mind.
Who has not experienced such a day? Is this the perfect day? This kind of life is presented as the absolute model of success, “Mr. and Mrs. Everyone’s life,” the ultimate result of millions of years of evolution.
There are those who are content. Good for them. And then there are the others, those who aspire to something else: who do not want their life to boil down to the metro-work-sleep routine and who refuse to be slaves of the economy; sacrificing their time to keep the capitalist civilization running. Let’s look at how to make life less stressful and more fulfilling.
Some General Tips
Not to foolishly spend money, paradoxically, it is better to spend more, but focus on quality, than buying chicken feed at the lowest price. Poor quality products often have to be replaced, and rarely possible to repair. In the long term, by wanting to save money cutting corners, you will spend much more.
Try to be as independent as possible. Be a fan of “do it yourself,” whether cooking or plumbing. It is virtually possible to do everything yourself, cooking, gardening, crafts. Of course, it is not necessarily possible or even desirable to live in complete autarky. But remember that autonomy = savings.
Food: back to basics
After housing and transport, food is the third item of expenditure. Food accounts for a more low of the total budget. We went from 28.6% in 1960 to 13.1% in 2013.
Let’s be clear, I am resolutely against saving on food! After all, what you eat is what you are. It is the fuel of life. We cannot hope to be healthy without proper feeding.
Nevertheless, it is still possible to eat better for less. How? No more ready-made meals, full of fat, full of salt and sugar and over-packaged. Leave room for fruits and vegetables. Goodbye, cakes, biscuits and sweets. It is much more profitable to cook by yourself (flour, eggs, sugar, oven, that’s it). And eat less meat. Meat is expensive, and it pollutes!
Eat seasonal and local produce to be sure they have not traveled thousands of kilometers before landing on your plate. They will have better taste and nutritional quality.