Written by Kodie Axelsen
We live in a fast-paced world where instant gratification is becoming more of a baseline for our lifestyle. If we want something we get it straight away and we pay for it later.
Gone are the days from past generations where we saved up for what we wanted, and we bought it with the cash we kept in the sock draw.
It is so relevant, isn’t it? The world has got so fast paced that people do not wait for anything anymore. If you want it, you want it now. Lavish lifestyles and materialistic things are thrown in peoples face every day through marketing and social media, Instagram and Facebook.
People then want to “keep up with the Jones” and find themselves in mountains of debt trying to live up to the lifestyle they feel they deserve or want. At what point did materialistic things become so important that people have lost their ability to be grateful for the things they already have? I see it often in my profession. People taking out personal loans and credit cards that are solely used to keep up with their spending habits to buy more ‘things’ or live a lifestyle they simply can’t afford.
We are a lucky bunch living in Australia. We live in one of the best countries in the world. Our families and friends have at some point in their lives utilised the Medicare system or Centrelink whether it be during Covid-19 when people lost jobs and businesses or when they have had a baby and applied for maternity or paternity leave.
As much as people complain about either, it is these systems that support our way of living that people should be grateful for. Until you need it you will never fully understand the need for it.
If there is anything Covid-19 has taught us it is that we need to support the local small business owner. They are the life of small towns like Hervey Bay and Maryborough, and they are the conscious community members who support local because they appreciate the business themselves.
I come from a family who has owned small businesses and I see the customers that can complain about prices and this and that, but they do not see the expenses that go into keeping that business open.
They do not see that the profit margin is minimal, and that business is barely staying open. How many businesses had to shut during COVID and then could not reopen because they did not have strong enough financials to borrow money, and they did not have enough money in the bank to support the loss.
We have been brought back to a reality that has grounded many individuals into realising that ‘things’ don’t matter. Our mental and physical health matter.
The fact that we have a roof over our heads matters. That we have access to food and water and amenities. There are people now living homeless due to the losses they have incurred through the last year.
Showing gratitude is a kind head nod to the life you have. I practice it myself and with my children often. At the end of the day don’t worry about ‘things’ and ‘stuff.’ Don’t put yourself and your family into a bad financial position to just have ‘things’ and live a lifestyle you can’t afford.
It doesn’t mean you can’t strive to have them, but as I will always say, make sure you make an informed decision and use your money wisely. You trade so much time for money in this lifetime so make sure you spend it well.
There are many local businesses that would love to have you. Take your family there for a nice meal and throw some of your own gratitude out in the world for the lovely place we live in.
After all what goes around comes around!