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Austerity – Understanding & Practicing It!
During the major economic crisis caused by the OPEC Oil price hike in 1973-74, when everyone and his cousin was going overboard extolling their own definition of Austerity and running around pointing fingers at everyone else who according to them was not Austere enough, a voice of sanity was that of Lt. Gen. A. M Sethna, Padma Vibhushan, PVSM, AVSM, who advised the young Army Officers at the College of Combat, Mhow, to properly understand Austerity.
‘Austerity: he said, ‘does not mean that if you today have 3 suits that had cost you Rs 500/- each and the replacement now costs Rs 1500/- each, you now replace them with 3 suits of lower quality costing Rs 500/- each and so you would still spend only Rs 1500/-. That would only serve to convey a picture of poverty and inability to maintain standards. ‘True Austerity: he said, ‘lies in managing to do what one must with less, not in reducing the standards. It therefore means that you still continue to wear a proper suit now costing Rs. 1500/- but learn to manage with ONE suit instead of THREE. It also, means that if you earlier had a good evening out with your family at a decent place every weekend, you still go to such a place, but perhaps now only once a month, and not that you now decide to go to a road side eatery or Dhaba every week’.
Let not COST be the measure of the VALUE of the EXPERIENCE. It is the experience and the memory of that experience that counts and remains even long after the cost is forgotten. With due care, the cost can be reduced without losing out on the experience.
Austerity is a mindset that balances needs and means and it is clear that reduction in means must not lead to a reduction in the standard of the needs Do not confuse stinginess or miserliness with Austerity and also, of course understand the difference between maintaining appropriate standards and of being extravagant (needlessly free or lavish in expenditure) and ostentatious (making elaborate or pretentious displays to attract attention or elicit admiration or wonder).
Austerity needs you to plan and budget your costs responsibly, to be able to balance your means and work within them to meet your desired and realizable needs in a cost effective and time bound manner. Once again, Austerity means being Prudent, being Frugal, being Thrifty and yet maintaining standards.
Do not seek to set your standards of living by attempting to outdo your neighbours. We each have our own limitations which we must recognize and understand, and thus avoid the danger of exceeding them out of a sense of misplaced optimism or out of foolish pride, as too much is at stake. An overview of our many expenditures will often show that our largest expenditures are our most frequent small ones and if one can properly recognize, control and reduce the frequency of such expenditures the overall impact will be considerable.
This is what Austerity really is and may you always practice it properly and happily!
Conclusion
Austerity is a principle to live-by and when practiced properly it results in greater happiness without in any way curtailing the rich and memorable experiences in your Life!
JAI BHARAT! – JAI HIND!
Beautiful article, especially for the younger generation. Love to see your opinion on “Misplaced optimism”.