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financial hardship

We’re NOT all in the same boat…

I heard a great quote yesterday – not sure who said it first but it was along these lines re the current pandemic:

“We’re NOT all in the same boat,

we’re all in the same storm,

but in different boats.

Some are relaxing in luxury yachts,

others are in rickety old rust buckets, letting in water, having to bail it out

and, of course, everything in between …”

The truth of this really struck me in terms of how differently we’re each experiencing this current situation. Continue reading “We’re NOT all in the same boat…” →

Black Friday Blues?

What did you do yesterday?black-friday-2901754_1920

Now known internationally as ‘Black Friday’.

Were you out at the shops searching for bargains?

Surfing the web?

Suck(er)ed into buying something you didn’t want or need by a carefully-targeted and tempting enticement from a previously-visited or a favourite website?

Are you experiencing ‘buyer’s remorse’ about any of your purchases?

Whilst the timing of this message is targeted towards those of us who celebrate, mark or ‘suffer’ Christmas as we know it today, it is part of the much wider movement that asks us to each reflect on our consumerism overall and its effect on not only the environment, but also on our own personal finances and happiness – and how what we do affects other people, too.

Whatever you did or didn’t do yesterday, we all have the choice today to do something different(ly) in the run up to Christmas this year, and from hereon in… Continue reading “Black Friday Blues?” →

Why I Like Watching Christmas Movies

christmas films.png

If you’ve read any of my previous blogs relating to Christmas (such as ‘Christmas Presents an Issue’ or ‘Something they want … or an IOU?’) you might be somewhat surprised at the title here.

I do struggle with the commercialisation, the social/emotional pressure to be with people with whom we might not choose to spend our time, to do things (in a way) that might not sit comfortably, for everything to be ‘perfect’, the false ‘bonhomie’, and so on….

So why do I enjoy watching Christmas films?

I think I’ve finally peeled away the layers and figured it out – and what I enjoy about them actually has little to do with Christmas as such… Continue reading “Why I Like Watching Christmas Movies” →

“Get off the gift-giving treadmill…”

So says Martin Lewis in his latest post on the subject of unnecessary Christmas presents (it’s only 3 minutes and worth a view):

“Zero sum giving”, “tit-for-tat giving” where, as he says, we end up with less money or in debt – and with ‘tat’ we don’t want or need….

This is just the right time to start having those conversations, before you go off to the shops or online to buy them.

If you need any more convincing, see also my previous blogs such as:

Christmas Presents an Issue?

Something they want … or an IOU?

‘To Wrap, or Not to Wrap?’ – that is the question...

Wonky Winners

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I’ve written about food waste before (War on Waste and Hugh’s War on Waste: The Battle Continues) because I think it matters.

These days it’s so easy to be drawn into buying only the fruit and veg that look ‘pretty’, that conform to a standardised idea of what they ‘should’ look like.

So I was really pleased to read at theguardian.com this week, that sales of wonky fruit and veg have been an important element in the current success of the UK supermarket, Morrisons.

Continue reading “Wonky Winners” →

‘Life Stripped Bare’ – another chance to see it

movers-24403_640I wrote about this UK Channel 4 Series back in 2016 in my blog How Much ‘Stuff’ is Enough? The Naked Truth!.

If you missed it and you’d like to see it, it’s being repeated – starting tomorrow, Monday 28th May, at 11pm.

Enjoy!

Simply Enough

How much – or, how little – do we need? How much do we want?

How much (of anything) is ‘enough’?

Last year I wrote about the UK Channel 4 programme ‘Life Stripped Bare’. Simplifying and de-cluttering are topics that crop up fairly regularly these days and we might think they’re a recent phenomenon fuelled by trends inspired by TV programmes and self-help books.

But not so – I found this in ‘On the Shortness of Life’ by Seneca, the Roman philosopher and statesman (c.5BC-AD65) translated by C.D.N. Costa: Continue reading “Simply Enough” →

‘Spat on and ignored’

forsaken-1273885_1280I was really moved by an article in the Guardian this month about medical student James Beavis who spent Christmas 2016 on the streets of London to raise money for Crisis (the UK national charity for single homeless people) and in order to better understand homelessness.

He reminds us that “… homelessness can affect anybody. The number-one cause is relationship breakdown … And the number of rough sleepers is rising …” Continue reading “‘Spat on and ignored’” →

Something they want … or an IOU?

gifts-152432_640Struggling to make decisions about what to buy friends and family for Christmas this year?

With less than three weeks to go, the pressure may be mounting – and funds running short.

On BBC Breakfast this morning there was a discussion about ‘The Four Gift Rule’ and I found a BBC article online about it, too. Continue reading “Something they want … or an IOU?” →

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