Eat it up, wear it out, make it do, do without.
This is our final installment in a four-part series. You can see the other posts here. And here. And here.
Doing without? No, thank you. How depressing, you say? No, actually, this part of the phrase may just be my favorite.
During the hardest parts of my financial life, I probably would not have said that. When you have to do without is when you sometimes want things the most. I can remember after we made the decision for me to stay at home full time with our young children, we purchased very little except the basics — food and diapers. Those were the days when the advertisements screamed the loudest.
I remember deciding at that time that the time I got to spend at home with my babies was far more valuable than the “stuff” I thought I wanted. Some days my attitude was better than others, but I can look back on those days with some fond memories.
If doing without things is a struggle for you, these tried and true tips may help with the constant need for more stuff:
- Unsubscribe from email lists that try to sell you something. When we could not afford any extras, these lists (or catalogs and ads in the mail) would taunt me. So I just got rid of them! As soon as I received something in the mail that might tempt me, it went in the trash. When an email came through that made me wish for something more, I went straight to the end of the email and hit unsubscribe.
- Make a wish list. This might sound like it could backfire and make you want more stuff. However, I have found that when I write something down, it frees me from thinking about it anymore. As time passes, I realize that the things on the list really aren’t that important to me anymore. And if they are still important after a time, the list serves as a great place to go when extra money appears (birthday money, anyone)!
- Make a blessings list. I remember a time when we were pretty strapped and maybe feeling a bit sorry for ourselves. The hubs and I sat down and made a list of all the things in our life that we were thankful for. This list included “stuff” we owned as well as intangible things that don’t have a price tag. We wrote those listed items on strips of paper and placed them in a basket. Anytime we were feeling down about money, we simply pulled out a blessing and were reminded that life is more important than what we can buy.
- Give money away. Or give something away. You may think you read that wrong. Nope. You didn’t. In the times when we were doing without the most, we got the most satisfaction out of giving to someone else who needed more. You see, it’s easy to give when you have plenty, but the giving becomes so much more significant when you also have little. The hubs is very good at this. I remember a time when we had little. But we did have two working cars. I was at home during the day, so I only needed a car to run errands and other mom/kids activities. Upon hearing of a single mom with teenage girls whose car needed some repair, the hubs offered one of our cars to help them through a couple of weeks while their car was in the shop. Was it a sacrifice? Sure. Could we make it happen? Absolutely. Yes, I had to be car-less some days or I had to take my husband to work and pick him up. But that act of giving from what we did have helped me realize that we were not deprived. We still had something to give!
Doing without helps us realize that what we have is enough.
It may be that our grandparents had it right when they used this phrase or at least lived it out. Eat It Up, Wear It Out, Make It Do, Do Without. Maybe it will make a 21st-century resurgence.
Anyone on board to give it a try? Let me know how it goes!
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, remembering that as members of the same body you are called to live in harmony, and never forget to be thankful for what God has done for you.
Colossians 3:15