Air Force wife revelation…
About to get real:
I escaped Materialism.
I am not excessively concerned with material possessions as much as I was a month or two ago. This change has happened, I am aware of it, and it happened fast.
Americans are spenders. Now that I live in Portugal, I cannot believe how HIGH PRICED life is in America. I cannot get over how cheap everything is over here. From eating out, to groceries, to shopping, to traveling- including flights. We have saved the most money we ever have in a month.
I know, I know… I can hear people saying we are getting paid more because of being over seas. Blah blah blah, mumble under your breath all you want about this blog post. But, we are saving more than ever because of 1 thing.
We are less Materialistic all of a sudden.
…PLUS, I would rather buy a trip rather than possessions...
It’s a black hole in life. And everyone gets sucked in. You become dissatisfied with your current possessions and want to buy new things. You purchase these new items to be happy and get rid your old products. Or even… the things you don’t like anymore just start piling up in your house.
Cars, clothes, house goods, cell phones, hats, shoes… everything.
This is very very relieving to me because I no longer base my happiness on my possessions. When I sold our house in Virginia, the day after we were under contract I had a massive garage sale and sold everything. Boy- that was the changing point.
Down sizing felt like a drug high lol! I didn’t need 3 wreaths, I didn’t need 3 pairs of knee high boots, I didn’t need 5 mirrors as decorations. I didn’t need… I could go on forever. GET RID OF IT.
Decorations are my down fall. You DON’T need them. You WAN’T them. Sad to see them go but it feels good.
Whether my bank account has a lot or a little money, it doesn’t change the way I feel about myself. I am going to survive tomorrow. Whether I’m wearing fancy or simple clothes, it doesn’t change how I feel about myself. Half the time, I’m in my favorite yoga pants from Walmart that I wash every other day. Yes- Walmart. Regardless of what I wear or what I have, it doesn’t affect how I feel anymore.
The thing that mind boggles me the most now that we are over here is…. vehicles.
Long story short, I wrecked my husbands truck when he was deployed HAHA! Of course, everything happens when your airman is gone. I felt absolutely awful about his truck. So I bought him a new one. A brand new Chevy. We had $800 in car payments for two newer cars when I was the only one home at the time. What was I thinking. Doesn’t matter if he was home or not… car payments are MATERIALISTIC. There’s really no way around them; however… You need a vehicle… But we went from this gorgeous truck to this little beater volkswagen golf:
… and are happier than ever on our little island. Saving tons of money. We could have shipped vehicles here for free though the military. But we decided to go the less materialistic way. We don’t need something to show that we are making good money. Should we even ship the golf to Germany? WE MAY!
Even though this picture explains why being materialistic is TOUGH in military life… Yikes, want your prized possessions on that boat… Jokes aside.
Things that have helped me while Ive been here:
Limit television… SO HARD. But I really haven’t had an option. We don’t get TV in Portugal. Ad’s aren’t reaching me. I am not becoming less satisfied with things I already have.. comparing my things to new things.
Limit magazines as books/reading material… Omg. WHY was I buying $5 magazines that I would read in one night laying in the bath. Just to make myself feel awful of the things I already had and thinking about new products I wanted.
Don’t go to the mall or walmart. You know you end up with too much. Every. Time… Order things on an app.
Declutter. Throw away everything in your attic. Im serious. Throw away all but 2 jackets. Throw away the 6 cooking spoons when only 1 will do the job. Throw away extra things. AND DONT HAVE YOUR HUSBAND HELP. DONT TELL HIM YOU’RE EVEN DOING IT. Throw it away.
I wish before this move, and before learning it through experience, that someone told me to change. Maybe after you read this you can make the change if you think you’re materialistic, like I used to be. Just remember, at your funeral, NO ONE is going to stand up and say “She had a really nice couch and car and clothes”. Don’t make life about stuff.
Ciao,
