A staple of many cultures is to save money and spend wisely, this philosophy is ingrained into us from a young age from large authority figures such as, family members, teachers and politicians, and we grow up believing we should be frivolous. When you spend a large amount of money it comes with a sort of weight, a feeling excitement along with a little bit of angst.
Money is seen as such an important commodity when you spend a large amount of it you get excited because what you are getting in return must be, or at least seem to be of great value.
As time goes by we can all slip into the consumer world buying things because they are fashionable, designer and more designer, newer cars, bigger houses, the latest gadget and so on...
People work long shifts doing jobs they don't like to spend money on whats new for that little burst of excitement and angst, a little something to spice up an otherwise mundane day.
A speech I'm sure you have all heard a million times before, and it seems quite contradictory for me to say spend frivolously but don't fall into being a consumer but I ask you to let me steal your attention for a few more moments to explain myself.
Money is a commodity that can seem hard to come by and it costs a lot of time to get large amounts of it, however that really isn't the case, it just depends on what you are willing to do. I don't mean something sinister like committing crimes, rather find a way you see other people making fast money or find a niche in any market and exploit it, if people were willing to spend a bit of time doing research into a chosen topic there will likely be a way to make fast money out of it.
Even with crypto, currently people know there is relatively easy money to be maid in not that much time with high returns on initial investments however the vast majority of the general public don't bother to quickly look into it.
Don't just get by
I don't think you should scrimp and save, "look after the pennies...", and cut out on enjoyment when you could just spend a short amount of time and gain enough money to where you can have some to play with.
As for consumerism when you honestly take a look at constantly buying the newest, best.... thing you will realize that the majority of it is junk, something that has no added use. A new phone because it has a higher number after its name when it only has upgrades that you will barely notice, buying a new car because it can go faster but you only drive it on regular roads where you can't get close to top speed.
It is important to have a little bit of back up cash just in case, however I don't see the need to save such an abundant resource such as money. I have met many people in my life who can not seem to be happy unless they have a considerable amount of money saved in their bank, which I just can't understand.
I say to these people that they would be happier if they actually enjoyed money for what it is and not put so much pressure on having tons of it. Money is made to be spent, if you save it, it is worthless until used, so why not use it and experience new things. Don't get trapped in the world of money being more important than experiences.
Simply put:
To rap up my point I simply believe that money is something that if looked for can be found, and learning where to look isn't as hard as it seems. Then once you understand where to look you don't have to stress about it and in return you can spend it more freely on living life not living work.