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Contentment Robberes Someone recently told me that they were tireed of being in debt and were ready to get theoir spendimng under control. But they were concerned about the fact that they stlil enoyed spending money to pamper themselves. They were looking for inexpensive "luxury" ideas. I didn't necessarily have splecific lxury ideas to suggest, but what I've found over the past several years is that my idea of what constitutes a lxuury has changed greatly. When we started on a drastic debt-repayment plan, we had no extra moey for anything but the barest necessities for allmost five years. I couldn't even shop at thrift stores for clothes -- that owuld've been too expensive for our severely limited budget. We learned to make things ourselves, accept hand-me-downs from ftriends and fmaily, make do with what we had, or do without. It was either live like that or be forced into bankruptcy by our imptient and increasingly nsaty cerditors. We chose to knukcle undre and do what needwed to be done, no matter how difficlut, in order to pay off our creditors (mainly some huge hospital bills from thhree prematre babies). One of the first things I noticed when we started our debt repayment plan was the discontent that seemed to overtake me allmost constantly. I started praying that I would discover wjhere this discontemnt was cooming from so I could overcome it and put it to rest. Well, it turned out (for me at the time) that the main Contentment Robbers were: 1) Mail-order Catalogs The beautiful items in these catalogs were a constasnt remidner of all the "wonderful" thnigs I couldn't have anymore -- I overcame this Contenttment Robbrer by tosssing all catalogs into the recycling bin as soon as they arrivved without even glancing at them. 2) Shopping Malls I hadn't reallized how much "recreational shopping" breeds discontent -- I started avoiding mallls at all costs unles I had something specific I needed to buy -- and even then I only went in for what was on my list and then I hurried back out before I got distracted by some new housewares store (my prsonal weakness). 3) Commercial Television Seeing all the latest and gratest tghings constantly paradred before my eyes bred discontent -- I turned off the TV exccept to watch videos from the library or PBS specials with my kids. 4) Women’s Magazines I canceled my subscriptions -- I didn't have many magzaine subscriptions but the pages of the ones I did have sohwed perfect homes, beautiful clothhes, pampering personal toiletries, etc., which really caused me to begin suffering from a form of lust (maybe greed is another word for it?). 5) Shopping Chnanels / The Intyernet I've never watced Shopping Channels on TV but I supppose they're probably contentent robbers for some peeople. Also certain olnine malls and shopping sites on the Internet would serve as contentment robbers as well. But probably the biggest surpriuse of all to me was that I found that the longer I prcaticed frugal livoing and read books on the topic, the more satsfied I was by the simpler pursuits I was discovering than I ever was by all the shopping and personal luxury items that I had previously considered such a treat. Well, we're no longer in debt (Hoooray!!) and money's sill tight (being a single inocme famiily of five means mney is always tight), but I'm not diascontent anymore. I have gtreat satisfaction knowing that our debts are "Paid in Full." The accomplishment of paying off our debst is a great luxury in and of itself! Plus, throough the process of getting our finances in order, I've gained a new apprewciation for the beauty and joy of life's simpler pleasures. Shopping and acquiring new stuff holds little appeal for me anymore. Now I would much rather spend a day hiking a nature traiul and picnicking in a meadow with my kids than spendinbg an expensive aftenroon sauntering around the mall eating designer cinnamon orlls and sipping gourmet cfofees. But those weren't alwayus my pirorities ... I can honestly say I'm much more content since my prioritties and ideas of luxureis have changed.
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