I Have My Coach Bag, I Am Officially Done

Call me crazy, but my one guilty pleasure in life is my obsession with my infamous Coach bags.  It has been a lost tradition of mine, due to my own personal recession, to treat myself to a brand new Coach Bag annually.  Although, I have always been money concious about this splurge  of mine by selling the old one to put money towards the new shiny replacement, as well as shopping the Outlets only for a discounted purse, I am well aware that $300 plus purses are ridiculous.  But guess what?  I DON’T CARE!!  I WANTED IT AND I GOT IT!!

Don’t get me wrong, I had much anxiety along with excitement behind this purchase.  I know my partner in crime is going to speak her mine big time about this one.  I also know that I cry broke every other day and this purse is definitely going to hit me hard.  I have visited the Outlets on numerous occassions this year and passed up the temptation to spend.  This time around, I had it all planned out the moment I knew I was headed to Gaffney, GA.  I was so excited that I practically dragged my 3 year old from the car through the outlets, to (music in my head)  the  COACH store. $200.00 later and a savings of $377.00, I left the store with my bag.  YES!!!  I know I preach overspending and never ending overconsumption in this blog, but this is IT for me and I am going to be so happy going to work tomorrow with my brand new bag and my year of “No New Things” has officially begun.

This is my magical bag that is going to get me through a year of frugal living and no new things.  Some of us need a coach, some therapy and there are those of us that turn to numerous of ther people and things for support.  I turn to my bag  that is large enough to store all of the money that I will be saving in 2010.  So the journey begins.

Good Morning World!

What better time of year to examine the terribly broken cycle of consumerism that we Americans so heavily contribute to? If there is a true spirit of Christmas in America today, it’s overconsumption.  Overconsumption of goods, food and gifts that NO ONE wants.  I am clear that I can easily fall in either of these traps, due to my constant desire to fill voids and gaps in my life with various new items and food.  If I am not shopping I am eating.  It’s the American Way.  While, it is so easy to say we are going to do something about it, but how do we break the cycle and kick these habits?  Our lives have been set-up in a way that makes hyper-consumption not only a seemingly necessity, but also easy to maintain.  So to start for me, the credit card and debit card that is always so quick to jump out of my purse and swipe for all the little things that add up, are now officially on punishment and staying home.  Statistics show that half of the world lives off of $2 a day, let’s see how well I do.  As a disclosure to set myself up to win, I do have plans this weekend, which may require a little more than $2, but I guess that just means that I won’t be spending my $2 on some of my other days.  Think  you can handle the challenge?

I Could Be A Millionaire

Why not buy anything new in 2010??  The statistics speak for themselves.  It’s called hyperconsumption.  Not only are Americans loosing their jobs, homes, cars and retirement savings, but we have lost our minds!!  Check out these statistics.

• 12 percent of the world’s population lives in North America and Western Europe and accounts for 60 percent of private consumption spending, but a third of humanity that lives in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa accounts for only 3.2 percent. WorldWatch Institute
• Half the world lives on less than two dollars a day – source: GlobalWatch. 
• In 1950, the global population was 2.6 billion people. We had 53 million cars- which works out to be one car for every 50 persons. Today, there are over 6 billion people and 500 million cars-more than one car for every dozen inhabitants. Sierra Club (lots of fascinating facts on that page)
• If the Chinese consume resources in 2031 at a level that Americans do now, grain consumption per person there would climb from around 600 pounds today to around 2000 pounds needed to sustain a typical western diet. This would equate to 1,352 million tons of grain, equal to two thirds of all the grain harvested in the world in 2004. OneWorld
• In 1950, Americans consumed 144 pounds of meat and poultry per person on average. In 2007, that shot up to 222 pounds. Factory Farming Campaign.
• Global oil production is currently about 81 million barrels a day and is predicted to fall to 39 million barrels a day by 2030 due to diminishing resources (see Peak oil). Source: Energy Watch Group via Guardian
• In 2003, gasoline consumption per capita in North America was 1,593.1 litres per person, whereas in developing countries it was 59.2 litres per person. World Resources Institute.
• Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels in November of 1958 were at 313.34 parts per million. In March 2009, levels were at 387.41 parts per million, an increase of over 20%. Carbonify.com
• Industrialized nations, representing only 20% of the world’s population, consume 87 percent of the world’s printing and writing papers and global production in the pulp, paper and publishing sector is expected to increase by 77% from 1995 to 2020. The pulp and paper industry is the single largest consumer of water used in industrial activities in OECD countries and is the third greatest industrial greenhouse gas emitter, after the chemical and steel industries. Co-op America
• The average American buys 53 times as many products as someone in China and one American’s consumption of resources is equal valent to that of 35 Indians. Over a lifetime, the typical American will create 13 times as much environmental damage as the average Brazilian. Sierra Club via CNN
• South Australia is the driest state in the driest continent in the world, yet it’s water consumption is 445 litres per day per person (2001/2002) according to Environment SA. Australia’s average per person water consumption was 493 litres per day.  In the USA, average water consumption per person in 2008 was 575 litres daily. China’s daily per capita consumption in 2006 was 86 litres according to Data 360
• The world’s annual consumption of plastic materials has increased from around 5 million tonnes in the 1950s to nearly 100 million tonnes today. WasteOnline
• The USA’s electricity consumption per capita is 12,343.098 kWh per year and 71.4 % of that electricity is generated via fossil fuel. Australia’s consumption is 10,252.432 kWh per capita, with 90.8 % fossil fuel dependent. German consumption is 6,366.428 kWh per capita with only 61.8 % of that fossil fuel generation dependent. NationMaster
• Between 2000 and 2005 around 10 million acres of forests were lost per year in South America, which incorporates the might Amazon forest. The land is cleared primarily for cattle ranches and soybean plantations. Only 20 – 25% of  Brazilian soybeans are used domestically; most is exported overseas for use in food, textiles and increasingly – cattle feed. Choices Magazine and Monga Bay
• The food we eat now typically travels between 1,500 and 3,000 miles from farm to our dinner plate (also known as food miles). The distance had increased by up to 25 percent between 1980 and 2001. Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University
• To grow a pound of wheat requires around 130 gallons of virtual water. For meat, depending on the type – multiply that by five to ten times. Water Footprint
• Global coal consumption in 1980 was 4,129.498 million short tons. In 2006, it was 6,743.786 million short tons. Coal consumption is projected to grow at about 2.5% per year over the next 20 years. US Department of Energy

Simply put, we could learn alot from other countries.  Sounds to me like we are the richest, poorest country and we are quickly diminishing our resources.  I could truly be a millionaire if I adopted greener and more resourceful habits. How about you?