The Story About The Multi Level Marketing Event and Me.

I hadn’t talked with my college roommate, Tami, in probably a decade. I’m the one who keeps in touch. It’s just not her thing. So when the pandemic locked us down, I started a zoom gathering every week with my sorority sisters. Tami really hasn’t participated in our group activities for over 25 years, so I figured it was time to track her down. 

I used all my super sleuth skills and found her. (Luckily, her sister had quintuplets, and lived in Colorado, so through Googling that, I followed the names and threads until I found Tami in a remote part of Idaho! 

In that first phone call, I found out she helps people save money.
I said I would be interested in hearing about it, and after a month or two of catching up, she invited me to an informational online presentation. 

By now you have guessed that her business involves multi level marketing.

What I learned from that presentation is this:
I don’t spend money like other people. 
There’s no right or wrong way to spend. There is just spending.

But there wasn’t a single thing they mentioned where you could save money that I was in the market for.
 I’m not in the market for diamond rings, insurance, flooring, windows, cell phone service, furniture, or a bevy of other awesome things. 

It made me take a look at myself.

Am I missing out on the American dream? (I am still waiting for my engagement ring. But after 25 years I think chances are slim.)

Should I be buying new furniture and stuff?
What I think I have figured out is this:

I want meaning with my stuff.

Because in case you think I lead a minimalist’s life, you would be wrong.

We have only ever bought one new piece of furniture, and it was this year, and it was a couch. The couch before that had been my Grandmother’s and I knew its history.She had it recovered in 1977 with a fabric that was so industrial it hurt your face to nap on it.I recovered the cushions in cool coordinating fabrics over the years, so it was in part my own creation… a combined creative endeavor with my Grandmother even though she isn’t here to appreciate it. (I know she would.) 

There are the living room chairs I love ithat we first saw at an eclectic bar and restaurant… Tupelo Honey… where I admired them. And my boyfriend at the time (now my husband) went back later and bought them from the restaurant and surprised me with them. Swoon. 

I could go on, but you get the idea. I buy our insurance from a man who, with a quiet generosity of spirit, helped my son through the Eagle Scout process. I never knew what he did for a living but heard from mutual friends he was in insurance. So I sought him out because of his character, and his company has that same character.
They take care of me. 

For me, it’s about the meaning.

Sure, there are times I run out and buy an air purifier without being in love with it. And my way of buying takes more time and sometimes more effort. 

But I’m not doing it because I should; I do it because that brings me joy. 

It turns my “stuff” into stories.It brings another layer of depth to my life. For other people, it would be torture to think that much about a purchase.
And that’s okay too. 

What I want to suggest is trying it a different way.

I am planning to buy some things on my list with very little planning or attachment.I want to see how that feels.
 I think it will feel a little frivolous in a good way.
And a bit out of control.
Which could be good too.

We’ll see how it feels. 

If you spend without much thought, try making your next purchase one that goes a little deeper into the fabric of who you are. Or if you are like me, try buying or doing something everyone else is trying.

It’s a spending experiment.

t’s about being present with how money leaves your life and what you are really getting in exchange. 

See you at the checkout!