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does not consist in the abundance of
the things he possesses. A truly
happy person has learned to be con–
tented in whatever state he finds
himself.
The apostle Paul in the New Tes–
tament said, "1 have learned to be
content, whatever the circumstances
may be. 1 know now how to live
when things are difficult and
1
know
how to live when things are pros–
perous.... l have learned the secret
of facing either plenty or poverty"
(Philippians 4: ll-12,
J.
B. Phillips).
But most still have to learn such
mental control. And so, whether
rich or poor, in debt or out, material
possessions do not make one happy.
Once a person has reached a men–
tally, emotionally and spiritually
satisfying way of life, he knows bet–
ter than to equate happiness with
the acquisition of more possessions.
If you and your family are willing
to give real happiness a try, chances
are that you can save from ten to
thirty percent of your income, now
being misspent, and actually make
your life more fulfilling and satis–
fying.
Take lt Easy!
Let's look at how this can be
done.
The world's smokers spend 10
to 20 billion dollars a year on to–
bacco. This may not involve you
personally, but many families spend
5 percent or more of their yearly in–
come on cigarettes. Any use of to–
bacco is not only detrimental to
health, but it can also be dangerous
and expensive in many other ways,
not the least of which are burned
boles in clothing and house tires. If
tobacco were eliminated entirely, an
average smoker could save several
thousands ofdollars in a lifetime.
Personal expenditures on liquor
are even greater than for tobacco.
Most of the money goes into the dis–
tilled spirits: whiskeys, rum, gin,
vodka, etc. While wine (especially
natural wine)
is
a valuable food in
moderation, and beer and stout do
32
have limited food value, you should
for your own good never consume
any form of liquor in large amounts,
especially because of its effect on
the liver. And certainly nobody
should be dependent on it as a
source of "happiness."
If you must escape life every
night
in
"happy hour" cocktail par–
líes or long beer stops at the pub on
your way home from work, then
something is wrong. These are ex–
pensive roads to a false happiness
and should be cut out of any new
"true happiness budget" to the ad–
vantage ofboth health and savings.
Needless to say, expenditures on
gambling and other such habits
can't bring happiness. Many - too
many - Australians, Britons and
Americans are gambling addicts.
And a majority of Australians and
Britons spend quite a bit of their
weekly pocket change on office
pools, footbalJ pools, lotteries, gam–
bling machines, T.A.B., etc.
The problem is especially severe
in Britain, where 86 percent of all
Briti,sh males annually waste two
thousand million pounds in over
15,000 belting offices and countless
prívate betting pools. In Las Vegas,
Nevada, you can watch mothers
feeding the week's food money into
the slot machines instead of buying
food for their ch ildren's hungry
stomachs.
If
gambling is your weakness, re–
alize that it is only a psychological
crutch that will never bring you real
happiness or wealth. When you
leam to be truly happy, you'll re–
move gambling from your budget.
These savings in tobacco, alcohol
and gambling won't atfect every–
body. But if the affiuent Westem
nations as a whole applied these
simple methods of saving, a tidy 5
percent or more of the disposable
national income could be freed for
better uses.
Trimming Three Basic N eeds
Clothing:
If
you plan your ward–
robe around classic, timeless styles
rather than current fads and fash–
ions, you may be able to save a sig–
nificant percentage of your clothing
budget. If you use fashion as a so–
cial crutch, this may be another at–
tempt to buy happiness.
Of course, it is possible to buy
clothes
"in
style" that will be in
fashion for a long time and have a
quality whicb will guarantee that
they willlast.
A good way to save money on
children's clothing is to watch the
advertisements for rummage sales
and to check local opportunity
shops and used clothing stores.
Often very fine quality clothing can
be purchased at a fraction of its
original cost and still be in good
condition. Since children outgrow
clothes so rapidly, your savings can
quickly add up.
Even if you bave the money,
avoid avant-garde fashions, which
are often "here today, gone tomor–
row." Anything that looks foolish a
year later is really foolish to begin
with! Keeping these principies in
mind, you may be able to save two
percent or more ofyour yearly bud–
get on clothing.
Automobiles:
In transportation,
most families can save substantial
sums if they try. Sorne could save by
keeping an older car if it is in good
operating condi tion, rather than
succumbing to the temptation to
buy a new one. The new one may
have more "prestige" value, but its
monthly payments will drain away
available cash.
Those who must have a newer car
can even save hundreds of doUars
by careful shopping - and careful
driving:
Or perhaps you could sell your
car and take the bus or even ride a
bicycle. That "radical" move could
save many a city-dwelling family 10
percent of its yearly budget. Sorne
people, of course, must keep their
cars for distance driving.
You can save money
in
the area
of car insurance. Its cost is deter–
mined in part by your age and acci-
PLAIN TRUTH February 1973