Before I discovered minimalism and connected it to my faith life, I would often make purchases based on who I wanted to be in the future. I wanted to get outdoors more, so I bought hiking boots, a tent, and camping gear. I wanted to present myself as more put-together,
Note: This is a guest post written by Ashley Glader, wife and mother to four. When she’s not nannying for adorable toddlers or playing taxi driver for her kids, she enjoys writing and speaking about the dancebetween suffering and faith. My mom used to make the best birthday cakes. I
It’s no secret that marketing and advertising folks use psychological strategies to get us to buy more stuff. One of the ways they do this is something called price anchoring. What is Price Anchoring? Price anchoring is when a price for a product is shown with higher prices around it,
I was scrolling through social media recently, and I came across a method of cleaning called “Pile Cleaning.” If you’re wondering what Pile Cleaning is, it’s pretty much exactly what it sounds like. When a room is overwhelmingly messy and needs tidying, you basically just throw everything into a big
The Italians have a saying: dolce far niente. It means the “sweetness of doing nothing.” Basically, it encourages people to spend time not doing much, just enjoying themselves. This concept may seem completely foreign to those of us who live in the United States. Consumer culture and productivity culture are
Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have, for [God] has said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5 When I was a child and into my teen years, my family didn’t talk much about money. I grew up
We are now into the Christmas and holiday season– and for better or for worse, gift giving is often a part of celebrations. Simple gift giving can be, well, a gift. When consumables, experiences, charitable giving, or limited material gifts that have been mentioned as wanted or needed are given,
While living our lives, there are so many things that feel super important in the moment– but when we look back later, we realize those things weren’t that important after all. On the opposite end of the spectrum, there are things that we don’t think are that important, but then
I was doing some work on my laptop recently, and an ad for a clothing company popped up: “Hey, shopped 30% off yet? Our generosity won’t last forever. “ Seeing that ad, my work came to a screeching halt. Not because I wanted to run to catch that sale, but because
Note: This is a guest post written by Cassandra Roberts, self-proclaimed hype girl, recovering perfectionist, and kindred spirit of curious people. Growing up impoverished with wishes granted by March of Dimes and Angel Trees, I dreamed of having “enough” stuff. Then, my problem became the collection of stuff. I’d said no