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| The consumer economy is on the downside. |
People want to believe that the consumer thrill ride is a roller coaster that only goes up. That defies reality, and the laws of physics - throwing something up in the air and expecting it to stay there.
"What goes up, must come down." And in many parts of the world economies based on unchecked consumerism are coming down. This global ride is over the top. It seems like a good time to me to prepare for the ride down the other side.
There are many reasons not to buy a ticket for a ride on the rickety consumer trolley car . Right now one good reason is to save money, use it to pay off debt, and prepare for the possibility of continuing tough times.
Most of what people are shopping for today are wasteful distractions. If I were to buy anything right now it would be something that would help me live more self-sufficiently. My current list includes things like a hand-cranked flour mill.
And since we pretty much gave away everything we owned before moving from coast to coast two years ago, we could use some gardening tools, a large soup pot, and canning equipment.
We are not planning any spending on travel, electronics or shopping for things like clothing. We are getting ready for continued, if not worsening, tough times. If nothing really adverse happens, then at least we will be ready for anything, and some sort of economic change must eventually transpire as we use the planet up.
What goes up, must come down, and it never hurts to be prepared.
This ride does not have to go from AAA to AAAAAAAAAA! If one is ready to take care of the basics, hopefully with the help of a strong family and community, the ride down the other side can be enjoyable - like life was before the wobbly consumer thrill ride laid tracks over the whole planet.
Hold on to your hats. A post consumer world is at the bottom of this slope.
Blogs like yours, as well as numerous articles and websites about anti-consumerism, seem to be helping more people to make the change to the debt free, money saving, self reliant, save-the-world type of people they should have been all along. Hurray! And keep going with these posts. They're helpful to everyone.
ReplyDeleteNow about that hand crank flour mill. They are hard to do on a regular basis and I would strongly suggest getting the bicycle attachment to save your neck and shoulders. They do make wonderful flour though and help if you're off grid.
Deva,
DeleteThank you for acknowledging the importance of what we are doing here. I love your idea of using a bike attachment for milling flour. It would be easier as legs are larger than arms. Great idea that I will be looking into.
Thanks for taking the time to comment, and enhance our post.
Speaking of physics, the downward slant of that roller coaster track means those riding will hit the ground about 3 g's. That's a strong gravitational force going down. It is wise to be prepared for self-sufficiency.
ReplyDeleteThe things I own tend to be practical, useful items. I'm still de-crapping items that don't meet that criteria in between working odd jobs in preparation of relocating.
A hand cranked flour mill sounds like something you and Linda would get a lot of use out of since you bake your own bread.
Good post. Thank you.
I love your calculation. It is looking like it will be a hard landing. Some will be better prepared than others.
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