When marketing is in charge of YOUR spending!!

Oh my goodness -- I was misting up when I read Elle's comments this morning. It's funny how our parents can teach us things in different ways. 

Both her parents died young, yet it sounds like they had some great times in their lives. But by chatting with them, you learn things. 

My parents are both still alive, and I have learned so much from them by what they do, but in some cases, I learned what NOT TO DO by what they are doing. I hope that makes sense. 

I think one of the most important things that we tend to forget is TIME. Time is a precious commodity, yet we are happy to squander it. I don't know how many people I've heard remark that they are busier now (retired) than when they worked. What the heck are they doing with their time? It's great to be busy when you are retired; it's just, are you busy doing things you want to do or things you feel obligated to do? 

I know some of you could turn the tables and say I am super busy, and I always will be; that's the nature of my background. BUT I am happy to take time for myself, and I'm happy to take time to visit with family and friends.

The three days I spent with my aunt while we packed were well spent. The time I spend visiting my parents is time well spent, and I feel that I've gotten to know them so much better as an adult than when I was growing up. OK -- that's a given - we all know that. 

But take time to do nothing. Take the time to read those books you always wanted to read. Take the time to learn a new hobby (but not too many!). But whatever you do, DON'T overload yourself to the point where you are unhappy or no longer free to do what you want. 

We are talking about the final years of our lives (not trying to sound morbid), and if you are rushing from one meeting to another, or one hobby to another, are you really enjoying it? 

I will admit that there are times when I have multiple events/trips booked back to back that I'm not happy about. Thankfully, I know it's temporary, and it doesn't happen that often. I know some of you are laughing at that, but it's true! My life is a lot less complicated than it used to be. 

I did take on one class too many this fall, but that's OK. I know not to get excited and do that again. And so far, I've managed the homework and presentations just fine. Except for the travel this week, which thankfully was shortened by two days, I'm doing OK. 

Whatever I do going forward, I'll always make sure I have free time so I can turn on a dime to visit a friend/family member if the opportunity arises. I will NOT volunteer or serve on a committee because I know my skills aren't appreciated (experience), and I refuse to participate in anything that doesn't give me pleasure. 

Can you believe that I've read 71 books this year? Some of them are fiction, and some are not. Some are audiobooks, and some are not. I finished the Shari Lapena book this morning, and at the end there was a Q&A with Shari and January (the narrator). One thing they discussed is that some people do NOT think listening to a book counts as reading it. Seriously???? That's just nonsense. I can tell you the storyline and the characters as if I read it! 

I work out at the gym three times a week, and each time takes two hours! So I am taking time for myself. I no longer belong to any guilds or organizations. No, I don't belong to the puzzle association; I have offered to volunteer for packing days (3 days a year) if I'm available. I need to get out of the house and do something with people, and this is a different group from quilters! They are obsessed like quilters! 

I walk every day, and I think I'm managing my time just fine. Believe it or not, my weekdays, Monday to Friday, are almost completely clear except for appointments, the vet, the doctor, physio, or whatever. I don't have a ton of stuff going on, and I'm certainly not running around like a crazy person. 

So yep --- I have loads of personal time in my schedule. Where I'm busy is trying to clear up the crap in my life! Decluttering, trying not to buy anything else. Speaking of which, I found this online last night, and I had a good laugh, but it's so true. 

OH MY ---- this is so true. I notice they don't have hobbies on there. Thank goodness!! 

OH, I just had a thought. Maybe Elle and I need to do a "get your shit together" podcast!!!! We are so similar in many ways. Wouldn't that be a hoot!! Except, neither of us wants to take on a commitment like that! 

But speaking of buying, DH pulled this article from The Economist for me a while back, and I was waiting for the right day to talk about it. It's all about buying and how the marketers market products to us. 

You see, there are many things in this world that we MUST buy. Not because we want them, not because we think they are useful, but because the marketing department has made the product so enticing that we feel we have no choice but to buy it, because the marketing department said so! 

The article's example was about a kettle. You need to boil water; you buy a kettle. Yes - you could boil water on the stove, but it's not practical. A kettle is, for the most part, cheap and a basic kitchen necessity. Right? WRONG!!!!

The article starts off by calling the fictional kettle a Brewmaster, and the tagline is "if you want boiled water, you need a kettle." That's boring, and who is going to get excited about buying a kettle? 

But let's say they call the boiled water "Eau Chaud" and highlight its qualities and how precious water is. You are no longer buying a kettle, but a luxury item to get hot water. I'm sorry, I didn't do nearly as good a job as the article's writer did. 

Now what if you call the kettle some crazy made-up name, like a Kettol (with an accent over the o). You give it a beautiful silhouette that looks striking and becomes an icon in the design world. The kettle now sports the latest color and material trend; it shows consumers how beautiful it is to boil water, and all the fun you can have with your friends using your distinct kettle. That's called Premium, design-led. 

For those early adopters, what about the KETGPT kettle? Why not connect the kettle to an app so it can start boiling your water for coffee before you get out of bed? Then, with the app, you can communicate with the kettle to check on its progress. 

Or what about the Keco, the environmentally friendly kettle that preserves heat, so it uses less power to boil and retains heat longer? 

What about the Vintage Kettle for the Gen Z, which reminds you of cozy times with family at the cottage? 

A heritage kettle, the one you put on the stove with a whistle. Remember those? Let's call that one the Stove Top. 

There's the Kato - the wellness kettle. Staff is available 24/7, so you can ask all kinds of questions about your kettle, including the scale that builds up in the bottom and whether the steam is really good to breathe in. 

And why not buy the Boiler, a big old kettle that does nothing but boil hot, scalding water all the time? 

So I paraphrased all of that, but I used the fake kettle names from the article. But the idea is that if a product isn't selling, the marketers will sit down and figure out who they want to sell the product to and then attack with a vengeance to make a new design, a new style, a new lifestyle to MAKE you covet that kettle, so you buy one for every room in your house and then for all your friends and family. 

It's hilarious how many products and gadgets (even in the quilting world) are made to sound like the best thing ever, and we have to buy them! I would say that small items and gadgets (especially gadgets) are the worst! 

You know what's funny, and I have mentioned this before: when I was in Grade 7, and we had social studies, I do NOT remember the teacher's name, but they drilled this phenomenon into our heads in marketing. Seriously? In Grade Seven? I don't know why - was it part of the curriculum, or was it that teacher's thing? But why the heck are they not teaching that today? 

Think of all the kids' toys; those marketers get to the kids before they are even born. And we fall for it!!! Almost every single time. How many things do you buy because you have to, and then don't even use? We just WANT it because it will make us smarter, prettier, happier, etc. 

So while you are out buying, be very careful. When you see an ad for anything, try to decipher the message the company is sending. If you want to see how they do this in the food market, read Michael Moss's book Salt, Sugar, Fat. Companies make it so compelling to buy these terrible products by fudging the product itself, but the marketing department has much to do with it as well. 

Buyer beware!!!!!!

We had two good events yesterday. I'm at Cindy Bee's in Espanola, which is about four hours north of my house. And we have another two events today!! I have to laugh because if you look at the storefront picture on Google, the quilt hanging up is one of my patterns from when I worked at the fabric company!!!

I had a good chuckle because the daughter just bought a new vehicle and it's ORANGE!!!! Yep, in a world that seems to be going neutral, she has an orange vehicle. I love it!!! It's not brilliant orange, but it's very harvest orange. 

I had to laugh because that reminded me of a young couple that I'm watching as they rebuild a house. OK, have you noticed that's a HUGELY popular trend these days? A young couple buys an abandoned home, a chateau, a row house, an old schoolhouse, and MANY, MANY more. Then they rebuild it, and they make good money with their social media accounts to make it happen. The more dilapidated, the better. I wonder how HGTV feels about this? 

Anyway, one ot the couples is having a baby, and they are starting to work on the nursery. They have a lot of wood in the house. She said she is going to put some wallpaper on the walls and wants some color. I almost died when I saw her version of color - it was the palest "deep" rose I've ever seen. It was virtually just a muted beige. Seriously???? Where has all the color gone? 

I must get myself moving. There is no restaurant in this motel. Yep, way up north, there are no hotels, just motels, but this one is nice. But even this little spot has two Tims. Crazy!!!!

Have a super day (and think before you buy!)

Ciao!!!