In the April issue of Canadian Living is an article, written by me, based on my family’s 30-day consumer detox, during which we tried to avoid any purchases that weren’t considered necessary — ie. perishable foods and medicine.
You can read it in the magazine (at your library, doctor’s office or hair salon — please don’t buy it. It’s not necessary.)
I received this letter in response:
LOL. I was about to write a comment that reflected my disgust with this artical. Then I saw the dates of the comments, April 1. You got me. And saying that your “Husband” was in finance was the cherry on top, seeing as people in finance these days are seen as the very people who caused the current “economic downturn”. Playing the part of the Stepford wife was genius. A whole 30 days and you couldn’t even do it. So close. And the longing for designer cloths but writing a cheque instead…it brought a tear to me eye. I guess thats why it’s called charity.
You really don’t get it, do you? Your “expeariment”, that you failed, is how most Canadians live. Try raising your kids on less then $28,000 (gross) a year for 15 years then write about it. My Mother did it by her self. Tell me, in your 30 day stint did you only have potatoes for dinner because they were $.99 for 10 lbs? When your family has to do that twice a week inorder to make ends meet then you can write about “living on nothing”. Until then you should really just stay inside your bubble and keep your mouth closed. Most people live off of what your husband pays in golf memberships. But they don’t get to write it off as a tax deduction. I don’t care that you and your husband make six figures. Good for the two of you. but YOU shouldn’t “try living like the little people” just so you can make your deadline. You have offended many people. Thank you for reinforcing our image of “The Haves”.
While I take issue with some of the letter writer’s assumptions (Stepford wife? M’mmmm….don’t think so), it has made me wonder if my social experiment, aimed at making us all more aware of how many meaningless purchases we make, seemed an arrogant comment about our lives of privilege.
I’d love to hear others’ comments. Please weigh in with your thoughts…
After having read Leslie’s article in ‘Canadian Living’ and then the letter sent, I need to comment. I believe the message in the article was to point out that many of us so often make purchases that are not necessary, without even realizing it. I did not read (as the letter states) that Leslie was flaunting her ‘life of privilege’ (which, by the way, is an assumption by the letter’s author), nor is she attempting to ‘live like the little people’ (LITTLE people??!?!). I believe that by making an effort to be aware of what we are buying, this will teach our children about the difference between “needs” and “wants”. This is a lesson that many of us need.
Kudos to Leslie and her family for trying this experiment. I don’t know many people that willingly give up some of the ‘extras’ that they are accustomed to.