A day late and a dollar short… Or in this case two days late.
We typically don’t make new posts on Sundays. That meant nothing posted on January 17 which was the first day of National Thrift Week 2021. Have you heard of it before?
If you haven’t we won’t bore you too much with the background here other than to say that the start day, January 17th is Benjamin Franklin’s birthday. You know the guy on the hundred dollar bill. He was pretty big about promoting being thrifty and it was a recognizable week up until the 60s.¹
So what was this whole thrift week about? Was it poor people should stay poor so screw changing the minimum wage? Was it a thinly veiled push to support and uphold capitalism and promote more consumerism? Not necessarily. In fact if you visit AmericanValues.org you can read their pdf where they’ve included a number of Franklin’s quotes, including one dissing the choice of the bald eagle as the national bird because it’s a robber and “very often lousy.” Sounds like many a corporation nowadays.
No, the four basic principles that thrift week can be boiled down to are all about things each of us can do to move towards and maintain financial freedom, to not be a gear in the capitalism-induced sucker cycle of living paycheck to paycheck with no end in sight.
- Work hard and honestly.
- Spend less than you earn.
- Give back as much as you can.
- Have a plan.
However, those four basic principles can be broken down further as seen in the throwback flyer below.
Work hard and honestly
Don’t have a job right now? Our first tip would be to broaden your view. So often we limit our job searches because we want to stay in the same field or we want to receive a certain pay. In “normal” times we’d be all for that, but right now the best course of action might be to take what’s available to achieve some income while continuing to look for the connections and position that will move your career the direction you want it to go.
Spend less than you earn
This one seems so easy but a lot of people still don’t know how much they’re spending each month. So start simple by adding up your receipts and looking at what came out of your checking account each week. (Because we know you’re smart enough to not be using a credit card right now if you’re trying to free yourself financially.)
Give back as much as you can
This one seems counterintuitive but it’s not. We could go into quoting scripture and citing karma but the plain facts are if you’re focused on giving then you’re not succumbing to the push to buy, buy, buy as much.
Have a plan.
Wanting something is useless without a clear plan on how to get there. So make one. Need help making one? We’ll help you for free.
Schedule an appointment today.
¹ Bring Back Thrift Week (Opinion) – Education Week https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/opinion-bring-back-thrift-week/2010/01
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