Sunday links - Budget edition aka "How to Get Rich Quick"

The Australian Government announced its 2013-2014 Budget this week, which led to the usual flood of analyses in the mainstream and social media. With inevitable spending cuts announced, there were a lot of cries of "poor me". There are certainly many Australians living under the poverty line, but the ones that cry poor the loudest always seem to be those with large incomes - large incomes but large expenses. These stories from my local paper are just two examples. (Blogger Nathan Lee has a term for these types of complainers - the "Plasma Proletariat".)

This article gives a good idea of where your income sits compared to other Australians, based on income and household size (and both families mentioned in the articles above are in the top 20%) - We Are All Dead, via @kylie_pc

We tend to live nearby and socialise with people who earn the same amount as us and, increasingly, high earners marry other high earners. This gives us a skewed perception as to what classifies as an "average" income. - Peter Martin

Want to see where your income sits on a global scale? An Australian earning $100 000 net pa is in the top 0.14% of earners in the world. An Australian earning $21 000 net is still earning more than 90% of the world's population. - Giving What We Can, Care Global Rich List

Meanwhile, some of the world's poorest people will be affected by the Australian budget. - Oxfam

Rachel Hills writes about The Privileged Poor this week - "When you're declaring social bankruptcy over drinking cleanskin wine instead of $17 cocktails... there is a little less room in your heart for those for whom poverty means having no choice at all..." "The result is a false dichotomy: either you are 'poor' and poised on the edge of bankruptcy, or you are 'comfortable' and you never have to think about money at all. But being middle-class doesn’t mean never needing to make a choice about what you spend your money on. It means having the wiggle room to choose in the first place." - The Daily Life

So, now that we've established that we're rich (based on the fact that most of the traffic to this blog comes from my Facebook page, which means we're Facebook friends, which means we probably have similar incomes and standards of living - see the Peter Martin article above) how can we feel rich?

I have a few ideas that I'm trying.

Not trying to keep up with the Joneses is a start. As Roosevelt said, "comparison is the thief of joy." If your salary increases, do not feel compelled to buy a bigger house, drive a flashier car and accumulate more gadgets (and more debt). Think of government benefits (eg the baby bonus) and tax cuts (eg private health insurance rebates) as privileges, not entitlements. Measure richness in concepts other than income, possessions and status - like friendships, health and freedom (including the freedom to make poor financial decisions). Spend time with people out of your income bracket - volunteer with newly arrived refugees, or old age pensioners.

I was reminded of this video today, the High Price of Materialism, which is relevant to this theme. - Center for a New American Dream

I hope you feel rich now.

Disclaimer: I am a rich single, employed home-owner with no dependents and I have never been poor.

March - April update

This is a regular update where I summarise my progress with my 2013 ethical resolutions.

I'm doing pretty well with some of my resolutions. I've kept up regular charitable donations and made additional one-off donations, I'm doing my best with Michael Pollan's food rules and my meat free days, and I only buy free-range or organic meat. I don't always stick to this when I'm dining out and someone else orders - this is somewhere I can improve. I continue to use my Shop Ethical! app whenever I am buying an unfamiliar grocery item or brand.

However, I definitely need to eat at home more often (and I'm hoping for some inspiration from the new Michael Pollan book, Cooked). I am yet to host a clothes swap party or have another self-inflicted "Buy Nothing New Month". I still need to buy a bicycle (which my parents are giving me as a birthday gift). I haven't tried growing anything on the balcony and I obviously haven't been blogging here once a fortnight. I have had a guest staying with me the last couple of months so my electricity use has actually doubled and presumably my water consumption has also increased. My exercise levels have stayed pretty stable and I continue to suck at getting enough sleep.

I still have piles of things to give away but I haven't managed to move them out of my apartment. A friend has asked me to join her in a garage sale so I might try to sell some of the more valuable items and donate the proceeds to charity.

I feel as though I have been buying less but it still looks like a lot when I list everything I bought in the last two months. My (non-food, non-medication/-hygiene) purchases for March and April include:

• scarf by Otto and Spike (on sale, from one of my favourite local stores, William Topp).  Otto and Spike use surplus yarn and wool from industry to make gorgeous knitted accessories in the Melbourne suburb of Brunswick. They have a wonderful story that you can read here.
• cut flowers from the farmers market. I love having cut flowers in the house but in the hot Perth weather they don't last very long. Native flowers are the best, especially when from my mum's garden.
• a new ball point pen. My other pens had all disappeared and I need a pen for work. Mainly to write prescriptions, it would seem. It's probably made in China but I didn't have time to shop around for an ethically sound pen. My consolation with this one is that it takes refills and that it's from an Australian company.
• cleanser and eye serum from Aesop. I've written before about my love of Aesop. The cleanser I use every day and will probably last me a year. The eye serum was a more questionable purchase - I didn't check the price before I bought it and I have only used it a few times (due to my sucky sleeping habits). I will try to use it more often and justify the expense. I will write about the beauty industry and anti-ageing products in future.
• Aussie-owned, Aussie-made organic laundry detergent and some NZ-owned, NZ-made stain remover. The former unfortunately has an overpowering lavender scent. Again, I must take the time to learn how to make my own cleaning products.
• Aussie-owned, Aussie-made products to combat silverfish that I have been finding around my bathroom (not the wardrobe, strangely). Obviously, I don't want silverfish to shorten the lifespan of my clothing. The Hovex products are not nearly as nice as my clothing protectors from Thurlby Herb Farm, which is a Western Australian company that supports its local community in South West WA.

I also bought a few gifts in April but as I have been too slack to wrap and send them, I had better not list them here in case the recipients read this blog post. 

Sunday links

• Have you seen the "Dove Real Beauty Sketches" ad that's gone viral? In less than two weeks, it has more than 32 million Youtube views. Superficially, it has a touchy-feely message that all women are beautiful and we are all too self-critical. However, the campaign has been criticised for its focus on thin, blonde, conventionally beautiful women and the fact that Dove is owned by Unilever, which also owns brands known for ad campaigns that objectify women (such as Axe in the USA and Lynx in Australia). Worse, Unilever has a reputation for human rights abuses. See more feminist responses to the Dove ad here. (Rachel Hills)
• More than 360 people were killed (and the search for bodies continues) in a building collapse in Bangladesh this week. Garment factory workers were reportedly forced to stay and work in a building that was known to be at risk of collapse. As usual, this tragedy has had little cover in the Australian mainstream media. You can follow the international news feed here.
• We've all heard of Make Poverty History. What if we aimed to Make Inequality History? (Oxfam blogs)
• Is access to water a human right? The Nestle CEO thinks that's an "extreme" view held by NGOs. (True Activist via @ONeillJazz)
• The interaction between the medical profession and Big Pharma is often questionable (for a great book on the topic, see "Bad Pharma" by Ben Goldacre). This Global Mail article looks at a new marketing tactic being employed in Australia.
• One of my favourite food writers, Michael Pollan, has just released a new book, "Cooked." I look forward to reading it and also checking out some of these other food books he recommends. (Barnes & Noble via @michaelpollan)

Sunday links

I enjoy it when bloggers post lists of recommended reading, collated from recent online articles and blog posts. Often these lists have fanciful names. Mine doesn't. Enjoy.

• Rohan Anderson of Whole Larder Love on food, health, climate and why he can't find any fucking mushrooms
• A nice Australian summary of the Slow Food movement - (The Conversation via Slow Food Perth)
• Advertising is designed to make us feel bad so we buy more - duh (mnmlist)
• I still haven't found any ethically made bras with under wire. Maybe I can try to make my own chimera - or as I prefer, Frankenbra (The Double Life of Mrs M)
• If you use disposable wipes or cotton rounds to remove make-up, consider these reusable, recyclable cloths for removing make-up (Wardrobe Oxygen)
• Ever wondered what to do with your old, unwanted mattress? This article (and the accompanying comments) give some suggestions. (Sarah Wilson)

February update

In February, I was busy living (ethically, I hope) rather than blogging. My resolution to blog here at least fortnightly was over-ambitious. However, I will continue to summarise my progress with the other ethical resolutions.

I increased my regular charitable donations to keep donations at least 5% of my income.

I am doing fairly well with my food-based resolutions (eating less meat, eating only free-range meat, buying from independent grocers and farmers' markets, following Pollan's Food Rules, using the ShopEthical! app) except that I started a job that involves a lot of driving and subsequently started buying a diet cola, sparkling water and takeaway coffees. To combat this, I purchased some coffee to make in a plunger at home (Organic Frida by Republica) and a water bottle that will keep my water icy cold, even after being left in the car on a 40C day.

Speaking of purchases, I made a few this month (as well as food, drink and medication). These were:

1. A vintage beaded blouse; 
2. Three make-up items from Aussie brand Australis (I will post about make-up in future), for a burlesque-themed party I was attending;
3. My new S'Well water bottle (from one of my favourite local independent stores);
4. Dishwashing liquid (must learn how to make my own);
5. A vehicle logbook (Australian-made by an Australian-owned company) for my new job, for which I am driving up to 200km per day; and
6. A baby-blue, second-hand pushbike car.

That's right - I was supposed to write about choosing a bicycle and instead I spent my vehicle-buying energies choosing a car.  Ugh. That's another post altogether.

Did you make any ethical resolutions for 2013? How are they going?

Buying (nearly) nothing new - January 2013

I recently read that all social media, especially blogs, are inherently narcissistic. I will be doing a narcissistic post at the end of each month this year in an effort to make myself accountable for my "easy, ethical 2013 resolutions". This month I will focus on "stuff" because that is where I made the most change.

I have purchased two new "things" this month (not including food, drink, services or medication). One was a light globe to replace a blown globe in my storage room, which receives no natural light. I make no apologies for that. I am really proud that I resisted buying anything at the local handmade markets (my shopping Achilles heel), bookstores and post-Christmas sales.

My other purchase was a modem, after my modem stopped working last weekend. I tried to use an old one of my Dad's but it didn't work. I had no idea how best to choose electronics from an ethical perspective, other than avoiding them. I should have chosen to do without a modem. I could have looked for one for sale secondhand or on Freecycle. However, I use my broadband for work and study (plus watching TV and narcissistic blog posts) so decided to replace my modem within a couple of days of it dying. My first instinct was to head to the discount electronics superstore across the road. Instead, I paid a visit to a family-run computer store in the next suburb. The advantage? I saved time choosing which modem to buy, as they only had one model in each speed. I didn't waste time searching product review sites on my phone. I received great service. The whole transaction took about 5 minutes, instead of the 30+ minutes I would have spent agonising over the choices at the chain store. I supported a local business and I saved 30 minutes of my time. (I still have the two useless modems sitting around, waiting for electronics recycling collection time.)

I have been working at my "giving away 7 items per week" goal. I've only given away a few items but I've identified dozens that will be given away shortly. I am in the process of clearing out my wardrobes (that's right, I have a completely unnecessary TWO wardrobes for one person) that are shamefully full of clothes I had forgotten I owned and shoes I have not worn for years. Some of the shoes have only been worn once. I even hoarded some of the empty shoeboxes! I discovered bags full of clothes that I had intended to donate to charity in 2011 and had shoved in the top of my wardrobe, awaiting the annual charity collection. The charity collection never eventuated and the bags are still there, of no use to anyone. Most of the items will go to the Red Cross and I hope some will find a new home at Ready to Work, a local charity that helps disadvantaged women find employment.

Some of my sad, unloved shoes. They want a new home.

I have also been clearing out the kitchen cupboards of tools I never use and discovering products that I should use. It is helping to make my little kitchen work more efficiently and will help me cook more and follow Pollan's Food Rules.

I feel that I haven't challenged myself in January and will try to make more of a difference in February. My parents are getting me a bicycle for my birthday and that will be the topic of my next post. Yippee!

Give it away, give it away, give it away now

I have been asked to clarify one of my New Year resolutions:

  

Give away at least seven items per week

How is this an ethical move? It is not just about making donations - if so, I would be better off donating cash to help those in the developing world who would benefit most, or selling my items and donating the proceeds. It is not about getting rid of all my possessions and replacing them with "green" or "ethical" items (that would defeat the purpose). It is more about simplifying, having less "stuff" and thinking more about what I consume. It is about changing my priorities from "stuff", to "deeds". It is about having more time (because I am not spending as much time cleaning or looking for lost items or deciding what to wear) to do more important things. My home is not going to become minimalist - just less like it could appear on Hoarders.

Slow Your Home's "52 Reasons to Simplify Your Life" include these reasons that resonate most with me:

• Less time spent cleaning
• Less impact on the environment
• Less time organising your belongings
• Less likely to inadvertently support child slavery and unfair work conditions through buying cheap, disposable items
• Feeling more content with what you have
• Less time (and money) wasted shopping for things you don’t need
• You need less furniture, which gives you more space
• No more dreading drop-in visitors

There are endless blogs on the topic of simplifying, downsizing, minimising and generally consuming less. Some of those that I follow include Becoming Minimalist, Be More With Less, The Simple Year, The Clean Bin Project, Simplify Your Life and Buy Nothing New for a Year.

My first item given away for 2013 was my copy of "The 100 Thing Challenge: How I Got Rid of Almost Everything, Remade My Life, and Regained My Soul" by A Guy Named Dave to my friend (also a guy named Dave) and his wife who are embarking on their own quest for a simpler life.  I will periodically update this blog with details of the items I have given away.

Have you tried simplifying your life? Do you have any reading recommendations on the topic?