LiveDifferent Challenge (27): More on Others, Less on Me

It’s no secret that Americans are trying to figure out how to spend less in our current economic crunch.  Good! It’s about time.  We’re in our current debaucle because of our own greed (but more on that later), so things that make us wake up and take inventory of our spending are welcomed in my opinion.  Since money’s on the mind, it’s no wonder that two different major magazines ran articles this month featuring experiments on spending no money for a certain length of time.  The first artcle (click to read) was featured in October’s Reader’s Digest . (The large print edition was in the doctor’s office lobby while I waited for an appointment with a friend.  It was that or the Smithsonian.  Large print RD won out.)  In it the Hochman family goes an entire month without spending any dispensable income. They pay their bills, etc. But no food (other than milk and fresh fruit), no gas, no parking meters, nothing.  Apparently they had been a family that was out of control in spending.  It was staggering to see how much they could go without, and their experience surfaced the moral that they became richer living on less.  They went for walks instead of movies, cruised Costco for free samples and left without purchasing a thing, and went to the libarary instead of hitting the local Blockbuster.  A few lifesavers, like neighbors whose wireless wasn’t password protected, carried them through a few times, and they were blessed by what they learned. 

The second story surprised me.  This one, featured in Real Simple (click here to read), told of a man who went one week without spending a cent.  The difference was that this man was already a cheapskate.  And he took the challenge alone–his wife and daughter were exempt, so already there are some big differences.  The moral of his story was surprising, he realized how miserable he was being able to do nothing, buy nothing, give nothing to the people he loved.  He realized it felt horrible to always have to ask your buddy to pick up the check, to drive by the homeless person and have nothing to give, to tell your wife happy birthday but give her nothing (yes, ahem, he could have had a little more foresight and planned his no-spending week around his wife’s birthday!  This man apparently has other shortcomings…).  But he soon realized that his motivation for his thriftiness had been selfish, and that restricting himself in such a way that made it impossible to give and bless others, was miserable.

Interestingly different outcomes from two similar experiments.  The neat thing is that both experiments surfaced the issue that really needed to change: overspending and selfish stinginess, respectively.  And what’s the key?  Spending money was fulfilling when it was spent more on others, less on oneself.  Living within our means is the overarching key, but within our means, we have a choice whether we’ll use what he have building our kingdom or GOd’s kingdom.  Blessing ourselves (which is one of the most depressing things to do) or blessing others.  I have been so richly blessed by others’ generosity.  My surprise maternity wardrobe, lunch yesterday from a friend, hand-me-down clothes from my neice, an entertainment book from my aunt…little things that have blessed me so much. 

So rather than just make the goal, “spend less”–let’s evaluate how we spend less.  By cutting back on generosity?  Not so much.  By cutting back on self? Sure.  When our goal is building God’s kingdom and blessing each other, I bet we’d be surprised by how the resources we have go farther than we ever imagined…funny how that works.