Downshifting

[Maarit]

1. Downshifting.

You might try to limit the number of services you purchase. Anytime you can do something for yourself instead of paying someone to do it for you, you can save considerable amounts of money. You could do your pedicure yourself or ask if your spouse or friend could do a massage for you.

You can try to eat out only infrequently, if at all. It is easy to get in the habit of stopping for a quick meal instead of taking the time to cook dinner, but this is one area where there can be really big savings, plus the real food you cook at home is always much healthier. You could also ask your children or spouse to prepare meals with you and then it is much more pleasant.

You could change the way you shop for groceries. Comparison shopping and buying to restock your pantry and your refrigerator when items you use regularly are on sale results in huge savings. It helps you as well because then you do not need to do the shopping so often.

It could be possible to live green. Recycle clothes, start composting, and limit what you throw away. Conserve gasoline, electricity and other resources to help reduce your carbon footprint. You could buy a pair of thick woolen socks which are very warm and after that the temperature could be lower in your house. Perhaps you could sometimes leave your car home and walk or travel by a bus.

Kind regards Maarit

[Admin]

Excellent suggestions Maarit. How many of these things do you do? One thing I always do is eat at home. Because I love cooking, it's relaxing to slowly chop and fry some onions, or whatever, after hours staring at a computer screen!
Has it snowed yet in Finland?
See you,
Pieter

[Maarit]

Hi Pieter,
Thanks for your message. Nice to hear that you love cooking.

I have done my pedicure myself many times because it is quite easy to do. Sometimes my husband has massaged me and I try to have much physical exercise so that the massage is not so necessary.

I prepare often meals with my children and my husband is also very interested in cooking. He loves to prepare Italian, Chinese, Nepalese… cuisines. I make quite traditional meals.

I do not like to do the shopping and therefore I really buy a lot of everything when I go to shopping. Therefore my husband more often shop groceries.

We have a fireplace at our home and we burn paper waste and firewood in it. I love bicycling and in summertime I do not drive by car if it is possible to walk or bike. In addition I have many pairs woolen socks.
It has been quite cold there in Finland. Especially in the north part of Finland temperature has been about -10 C degrees for the latest two weeks. It has snowed also but not very much. Perhaps it possible to ski quite soon.

What about your autumn? What have you done or have you some plans to next winter?

Best regards Maarit

[Admin]

Hi Maarit, it's actually quite satisfying to do things yourself - aside from being cheaper! I actually enjoy painting a room, or fixing a window and so on, unfortunately lack of time sometimes prevents me from doing these things. So I leave something that needs doing for months, until it becomes clear that it's not going to happen. So then I phone someone to do it for me...
One suggestion Maarit,
my husband more often shop groceries= The expression is: My husband does most of the grocery shopping. To do the shopping.
Autumn here ahs been very unusual: no rain for weeks and the temperatures have been really high. The other day it was around 27º and people were lying on the beach. It's quite nice, especially after we had a very wet summer. But now we need some rain again!
Have a good weekend,
Pieter