Could you give up many of your material posessions including the television and computer and spend a simple week at home with your family? That's what Oprah Winfrey wanted to find out with her "living with less" experiment. She recruited 2 families to give up their usual luxuries, stop spending, and start cooking cheap and simple meals at home.
Candace and Teenage Sons Stop Spending and Start Communicating
Oprah viewer Candace and her two sons Darrien and Derek are used to living the good life with a large home, designer clothes, and eating every night. Since her husband's death Candance has spent money trying to compensate for the pain her family is experiencing. She decided to take the Oprah challenge and for one week spent nothing except a $100.00 budgeted for groceries.
She and her teenage boys gave up TV and Internet, ate home cooked meals together, and the boys started walking to school instead of being driven. Candace decluttered her home and made a shift in her thinking. The family grew closer as they prepared meals together and began communicating. Her boys loved the new simpler lifestyle just as much as their mother.
Kay Jean Learns To Give
Kay Jean is a mom of two who stocks up on food and toys. She and her husband Jon took the Oprah challenge and began to simplify their life. Her children, especially her young son Carter was resistant to giving up TV, computer, and his excess of toys. He also didn't appreciate having to walk to school two blocks away for the first time ever. Carter and the rest of the family adjusted quickly and enjoyed spending quality time together in the evening painting, reading, and playing games. Kay Jean donated some of her food stock to a local family and need and realized how much she had and what a difference she could make in someone's life. She also says that she is accountable for all of the stuff that's she's bought her kids and what she's created.
Former shopaholic Mary Carlomango decided that she needed a changed and learned to find balance my simplifying her life. She has written a book "Secrets of Simplicity
Country Club Mom Gives It All Up To Find Hapiness
The Oprah Show ended with the moving story of Kristen, a country club mom who had it all. Kristen was so unhappy with her life that she spent six weeks in bed before deciding she had to give up her materialistic lifestyle to be who she really was. She moved to a small cottage in the forest where her and her two kids have learned to find happiness in nature, bike riding, climbing trees, and spending time together as a family.
If you're interested in finding out more on the subject of frugal living check out today's Dr. Phil episode featuring America's Cheapest family and their tips on how to live on less money.
I loved this episode! Although we don't have kids, there are a lot of ideas from the show that we should use.
Posted by: saverchic | March 09, 2009 at 06:02 PM