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,
Note: This is a guest post written by Tim Brown, pastor in the ELCA serving parishes in Chicago, IL and Raleigh, NC. He currently serves in the ELCA Office of the Presiding Bishop as Director for Congregational Stewardship Support where he creates and curates relationships and resources to help Synods
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
In my regional area, a local radio station has a segment that they do during peoples’ regular morning commute called “Ghosted.” Someone calls in who recently went on a first date and inexplicably hasn’t heard back from their date (they were “ghosted”), and then the hosts of the show call
Ah, the new year is here. Whether you are making New Year’s resolutions, assuming natural changes that will happen solely because it’s a new year, or stressed out by another year, it’s here, and it’s already started. Most people start the new year with good intentions, only to find themselves
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,
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
Stories are a part of the human experience. Jesus often used parables, or stories, to teach us deep theological concepts that would have been hard to grasp otherwise. Below is a modern-day parable that touches on the minimalist lifestyle. This story is a folk story found in many places, and
For those of us who live in North America, a big event last month was the total solar eclipse on April 8th. Folks who lived in areas in which the partial eclipse (or the full eclipse, called the path of totality) could be viewed– or could travel to an area
Every year as a child and teen, my extended family got together on Christmas Day. We would eat, laugh, play games, open presents, and spend time together as a family on the holiday. Plans and preparations for this event started months in advance, with each family unit contributing food, drinks,