We have a problem of epic proportion here in the United States. Literally.
Last night I was out having dinner at a diner-style restaurant with my good friend whom I had seen in quite a while, and when the waitress came by to take our orders I asked if I could order off the kid’s menu. The menu clearly states that it’s only for kids age 10 and younger, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask. After all, that kid’s meal had everything I wanted in my breakfast for supper meal anyhow: pancakes, bacon, and eggs.
If I was able to order this off the kid’s menu rather than the “regular” menu, I’d save some money and I wouldn’t be wasting any food. The kid’s meal was only $3.99 vs the $7.50 of the adult version and still had about 80% of the amount of food. The adult version is always too much for me anyway.
To my surprise, the waitress said I could order off the kid’s menu!
What does this have to do with personal finance (besides my $3.50 savings)? Well it got me thinking about the portion control problem we have in the United States.
We have a huge problem with portion control in our country, and I don’t just mean with food portions. Our cars, houses, and need for “stuff” has grown out of control. This constant need to acquire more, bigger, and “better” stuff has led to our other portion control problem: debt.
Don’t believe me? Research shows that the total of U.S credit card debt is around $739.1 billion dollars. No, that’s not a type-o, it’s billion with a B. The average credit card debt per household is $15,799.
So what do we do about it? Here is an idea I came up with while I was pondering all these facts.
Stop Buying So Much Stuff
Seriously. It’s that easy. We just need to get our portions under control again. We need to put the credit cards in a block of ice, or cut them up and quit buying stuff we can’t afford. We need to ignore the constant pull of the Jones family next door. We need to move to the country and get a whiff of real life outside of our competitive bubbles.
There’s more to life than going to work to afford the consumer lifestyles most of us have adopted. Instead, we should explore the possibilities of life after financial independence. We need to asses what our life goals truly are and then we need to make sure every decision is in-line with our plan to get there.
Yes, it’s way easier to give this advice on financial portion control than to take it. After all, I thought of all of this while I was dining out, which is not the most frugal decision ever. But at least I did have a frugal and portion-controlled plan for my meal out. Frugality and financial freedom isn’t about never treating yourself to a meal out or enjoying your money. It’s all about portion control!
Do you have a problem with financial portion control? What are you doing to fix it?
Photo courtesy of: Colleen Proppe
WELL SAID, my friend!!! The more we learn about our macrobiotic lifestyle, the more we are aware of the portion control issues in this country, with everything!!! We used to have huge issues with portion control ourselves, so I get it. However, the more we work at it, the easier it is to eat and spend light. 🙂
It is hard sometimes, but it is getting easier all the time! 🙂
Portion control is a great analogy! I think it’s so liberating when people realize they’re working jobs they don’t like to buy stuff they don’t need–all you’ve gotta do is stop the cycle. Having goals in life that aren’t consumption-related is incredibly valuable too. It helps remove that ongoing desire to buy more and more.
Thanks Mrs. FW, I’m glad you like the analogy. 🙂 I’m working hard to move toward what I’d really like to do, and not spending so much money in order to keep the job I don’t even like is definitely key. (Spending to commute, spending to have lunch, spending to buy new work clothes, etc.)