http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1nTZ3o/www.thesimpledollar.com/2009/09/03/21-ways-to-reduce-your-spending-without-making-your-life-miserable/
I have recently discovered this fabulous website, The Simple Dollar, which I recommend to anyone trying to save money, live more simply, retire debt, and build wealth. The above post providing a laundry soap recipe, and another post on this website got me thinking. One point that the writer makes is this: that Dave Bachman's idea of "the latte factor" might encourage people to deprive themselves of things that enhance their quality of life. Trent Hamm, instead, suggests thinking of "the laundry soap factor," meaning that it might be better to cut costs in areas that either do not significantly enhance one's quality of life, or that one feels neutral about, which for him included laundry soap. I agree with his concept: if you are happy just to get your clothes clean and can save over $60 a year by making laundry soap on your own and are happy with the results, that's great.
What this discussion calls to mind for me, however, is how personal all of these trade-offs can be, and how each person rather than following various suggestions for saving money, needs to really look at what is important to him in the process. For example, I live in south Florida, which is beastly hot most of the year. The interior of the car at the end of the day was not a pleasant place to be. I noticed that switching to an expensive scented laundry soap, however, changed that and made a big difference in how our clothes (and car) smelled at the end of the day. In other words, it noticeably improved our quality of life. This was something that I really sat down and thought about, however, after reading Hamm's clear and easy step-by-step laundry soap recipe.
This also speaks to the reality for me at least that since I have been spending less, living simply, tracking expenses, and essentially changing everything about the way I live after encountering the Daves (Allen & Ramsey: see earlier post on this topic), I see habits and possessions in a new way. When life slows, money is spent cautiously, the car driven infrequently, and possessions few, everything that remains takes on a startling clarity. I see much more easily what means something to me and what doesn't, and why. I have made peace, in other words, with Gain. After seeing how expensive it is, and wondering whether I would buy another bottle when this one runs out, I have now seen that this product does make a difference in our quality of life, and that I am at peace with paying for it, just as the latte drinker who values that item and experience, might consider making peace with that.
That said, I use the product consciously. I wash only large loads, and rewear clothes before washing them, when possible. I use only as much soap as I need, ignoring the suggested fill lines on the measuring cap. I buy it on sale and use coupons for it when I can find them. In other words, in the same way that I have used this conscious intentionality to jettison products and habits from my life that no longer serve my financial goals, I have used it to keep this one, and will, as Hamm suggests, look for those areas which are not quality of life enhancers in which to save--that is to say, my "laundry soap factor."
