Most pagans have a lot of respect for the environment. A large percent follow the reduce, reuse, recycle lifestyle. Many of us compost and garden, often eat and buy organic, use reusable bags when we shop, practice alternative medicine, and so on. So what do we do with all the catalogs that come in the mail? The pressure of the season to spend, spend, spend? Or, better yet, what about the lure of the crystals and wands and candles and books, all of which would look so wonderful in our collection?
It is very easy to give in, to spend more than you can afford, either because it is such a good deal, because it is the perfect gift for so-and-so or because whatever just caught your eye would be so great to have. Buying and selling fuels our economy, but there comes a point where too much stuff is simply too much stuff.
There are simple questions you can use try to help curb your urge to splurge:
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Decide if it is a need or a want. You need food on the table. You want the $10 bar of chocolate.
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If it is a want, does it fit in your budget? If it doesn't will buying it cause you hardship?
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Whether a need or a want, is it over packaged, single use, low quality, bad for the environment, or farmed or gathered in a cruel or non-sustainable way?
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Is it something so-and-so (or you) will love, but will put away and never use?
If you can answer those questions to your satisfaction, then go ahead and buy it. Also remember that gifts don't have to be things. They can be experiences, tickets to an event for example, donations of money, time or goods to an important cause, or gifts of time like babysitting, going on a hike, going to dinner, and so on. Memories will never be donated or, worse, thrown away.
Local places to research paganism and consumerism:
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