Money, Money, Money

One of the things that I've already noticed in this first week without spending is how often conversations revolve around money, whether things we want to buy, things we want to do and how much it costs, having or not having money, how much or how little someone makes, etc. I could go on and on. We all do it, myself included. It just seems to be in our nature.

Just yesterday:

• I attended a meeting where we discussed a $1 million dollar budget cut to a government agency with whom we work, which will mean layoffs for their agency employees and a more challenging work environment for all of us. 
• A colleague received a phone call from his wife regarding a purchase they were going to make for their child. They debated if it was okay to go with the more expensive option since the cheaper option wasn't available.
• In a later conversation with coworkers, we discussed an end of the fiscal year purchase that was made with our budgets, and who could decide how the money was spent and what was appropriate to buy. Work conversations constantly revolve around money, especially in education.  
• While bingo-ing, friends discussed different spa packages and who had the better deal. We also discussed recent Groupon purchases, other activities we wanted to do, etc. And obviously the whole event was geared towards winning money.

I don't necessarily think it is a bad thing to talk about money all the time. I think it's more a reflection on the consumerism in our society. It's what we know. It's what we see on tv. It's is the American way. Look at my Wish List...I'm still thinking about and talking about spending. 

I plan to continue to reflect on this throughout the year.