What Are You Paying For?

• 💡 Wisdom

• ✏️ Illustration

• 💬 Saying

• 📘 Explanation

• 📝 Reflection

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes, 43 seconds

Before making a purchase, ask yourself:

What am I really paying for?

This visual might upset some people.

But please allow me to unpack this visual before casting judgement.

Today’s quote comes courtesy of 1 of the people behind The Minimalists:

What JFM shares here is an interesting point, right?

Today’s newsletter is not about judging anyone that wears Nike.

It’s not about judging anyone that wears any brand.

Instead, it’s about reflecting on why you wear or buy certain brands.

Do you support what they stand for?
Do you like what they communicate about you?
How do you feel about the community that they make you a part of?
Why do you wear the brands that you do?

In fact, this sentiment doesn’t stop at clothing.

Consider the phone that you use, or the car that you drive.

Anytime we make a purchase, we are saying that those things are worth the money that we paid for them, and that we support the brand that made them.

But we’re not just communicating that to ourselves, but all the people that see us with these products.

We’re giving these brands free advertisement space on our bodies, in our hands, on our driveways and much more.

So, before you make your next purchase, consider who you are buying that item for.

Is it for your benefit?

Or is it to communicate something to other people?

Take some time to complete today’s Reflection, and if you want to continue the discussion, reply to this email here.

Now it’s your time to reflect on today’s wisdom.

Consider journaling your responses to the following questions:

• Why do I support certain brands? What do I feel that they communicate about me?

• Do I buy these items for myself, or is it for other people’s approval?

• Could I benefit from spending less this Black Friday?

Want to journal? Join Journal Wiser today!

If, like many people, you’re finding the stress of acquiring more this Black Friday overwhelming, you may benefit from exploring the world of minimalism.

Even though I wouldn’t consider myself a minimalist, I have experienced much more peace since adopting some of the principles of living a meaningful life with less.

If you’re interested in learning more about this, The Minimalists have loads of helpful resources to get you started.

In particular, check out their free e-book called Minimalist Rulebook here:

If you have any feedback on the WISER Newsletter, I would love to hear it! Simply reply to this email, and I will get back to you. Alternatively, just DM me on social media.

You can find my social links and learn how to work with me here.

Catch you in the next issue!

Thanks,
Michael