The start of the year is a good time to make resolutions to improve your life. In 2024, why not simplify it in order to become more relaxed, happier and at the same time improve the functioning of the whole society while relieving the planet.
The first thing to do is to develop or review your budget in order to save money. Indeed, we can adopt critical behavior in relation to our consumption, in order to reduce it to what corresponds to our real needs.
“Living according to your needs rather than your means” is an adage that can guide us. We must learn to resist the dictates of advertising, fashion, appearance, and comparison, which often lead us into a whirlwind of endless consumption and stress that poisons our lives.
To achieve this, a good tip is to wait seven days before buying something you like. Often, our desire will fade and eventually disappear before the end of the period. It is also possible that we satisfy our desire by borrowing the object from a loved one or by renting it. After seven days, if the desire remains and becomes a need, you can try to satisfy it in the second-hand world (resource stores, flea markets, classified ads, etc.). This way you will pay much less and you will make a positive gesture for the environment.
There are also other more radical ways to reduce, by opting for a home of appropriate size (often people live in oversized houses that date from the time when they had a family), by purchasing a car of minimum size (the mode of SUVs and light trucks lacks common sense). We can limit long-distance travel (we visit Asia when we don’t know the North Shore and Abitibi), limit our fashion-related purchases (the fast fashion brings a real deluge of clothes that even second-hand stores cannot sell), reduce meat consumption for health, environmental, economic or ethical reasons.
These more radical ways of reducing can lead to considerable savings without requiring great effort. Reducing consumption in general reduces the amount of money needed to live, which often eliminates the need for credit. A good resolution for the new year is to reduce or even eliminate your debt, which will reduce the stress linked to repayment deadlines and frequent family conflicts linked to money.
Reducing the need for money also opens up the possibility of reducing working hours. Thanks to this freed up time, all kinds of activities become possible allowing development and personal fulfillment.
Resolutions to develop one’s knowledge, one’s personal and spiritual growth, one’s artistic development, sports and outdoor activities, communion with nature, and resolutions for community involvement (volunteering in non-profit organizations, political implications, etc.) can be considered.
These resolutions to live more simply, in addition to increasing the chances of personal happiness, will improve the life of the community and ultimately that of the entire society, while giving the planet a chance to “breathe” better. We also understand that we are getting closer and closer to the time of last chance for its inhabitants.