Shoe Shine

On Thursdays, I share my thoughts on Family Finances.

I'm a spoiled girl - I'll admit it.  Along with my many familial and spiritual blessings, I live in a nice home with a husband who has a relatively recession-proof job.  I read accounts of so many families who are facing troubling financial times and feel almost guilty for the fact that we too sometimes struggle near the end of the month, despite our fortunate situation.

So I've been trying to be cognizant of ways I'm wasteful in my life, especially financially and when it comes to stewarding our family resources.  I've been trying to be acutely aware in the past few weeks of my spending, and my urges to consume. 

I caught myself Sunday morning in a classic "materialistic" moment.  Reading to go out for the day, I pulled out my favorite pair of black loafers.  The are the perfect shoes - comfortable, able to be dressed up or dressed down, and well worn in.  I put them on, and then looked down at them and realized that they were badly scuffed and had seen better days. 

Making a mental note that I needed to ditch them and replace them with new shoes, I set them back in my closet.  But a few moments later, I saw a mental image of my husband and his "shoe shine" kit.  Many times, I've seen him take a pair of shoes, sit in our bathroom, and renew them with this little kit.  Greg is a frugal guy, and he also hates shopping - so shining a good pair of shoes back into spiffy-ness is second nature to him.

Pulling the shoes back out of the closet, I took a second look at them and realized that they are still in very good shape with the exception of the scuffed leather.  Their soles are still solid, the leather looks good, and most of all they are so comfortable.

So I asked Greg for his shoe shine kit and sat on the bathtub edge shining the loafers and adding "shine all of my shoes" to my to do list for this week.  We're about to enter boot season, and rather than buying a new pair I'm sure I can bring last year's boots back to life with a fresh shine.

Shining shoes is not a big deal, but changing a mind set of "new is better" is a major attitude shift for me.  I'm going to continue to seek out occasions to reduce waste in my life.  I'd love to hear your suggestions for little ways you control both spending and over-consumerism in your own life - remember, I'm spoiled, so I can really use your help!