Artist, horticulturist and author Annie Raser Rowland shares how spending less can enliven us to a magnificent spectrum of pleasures.
- “Getting” feeling really satisfying for people, find ways besides consumerism to fill that need, like learning something or getting a new story
- Offer up cheap alternatives as ways to gather, like watching the sunset or grabbing snacks and walking around instead of dinner at a pricey restaurant
- Pick a high target for what proportion of things you buy used versus new, like 95%, so most of the time you won’t even consider new an option [side note: I’ve found it much harder to get used items during the pandemic since I don’t want to browse and shipping often makes vintage unreasonable]
- Pay close attention to the urge to treat yourself, and how much you rely on money to make yourself feel better
- Don’t think of days with lots of admin and adulting and crap you wish you didn’t have to do as days to get through to “real life” – seek out the flavor of life even during these less than ideal days, like through noticing details and sensory experience
