On the advantages of NOT particularly enjoying leisure pursuits!

Since at least the 1950s mainstream society has been pushing as the norm the concept of working to earn money and then spending what money one has earned on various leisure activities.

In fact it is often the promise of the fun of the later that motivates us to 'endure' the former - so many of us push through to the end of the day or the week looking forward to our night out on Friday, or that 'experience event' on Saturday - or to annual events such as holidays, birthdays, weddings (not every year but it's quite common to have one such big event ever few years) or of course Christmas....

I'm not going to bemoan about people spending money on stuff or experiences - some of this consumption based expenditure is even altruistic - plenty of people look forward to spending money on their kids for example (misguided in many cases, but at least not entirely selfish).

And in fairness there is a good 20% of the UK population NOT in the position where they earn enough to be able to properly enjoy spending on consumer-items or experiences that hard or that often.

But most of us have several thousands pounds a year spare for much of our lives which we could spend on our 'leisure'.

I mean there is a lot of choice - holidays, cars, gadgets, clothes, meals out, gigs, and increasingly experience days - the drive in an F1 or base jumping experience kind of thing.

And if we don't spend it every year we can save it up and spend it when we finally get to retire, probably at >70 the way things are going for anyone under 50 (I shit you not, I'm telling you so now!) - the Cruise being the archetype of leisured consumption.

Thankfully I don't really enjoy leisure..

I mean for starters a cruise is my idea of hell - I can only imagine the intense hollow feelings that people must have on these holidays - if such a thing as a 'barometer of shallowness' existed to measure conversations over dinner, it'd be off the charts on most cruise liners between 19.00-21.00.

But besides that, I don't enjoy going out much either - except for the pub which is my weakness - where I generally like to be in a very small group.

I can happily sit out big events like gigs and festivals and football matches, even when sporting events are free like cycling races, or relatively cheap (like Ascot, it's not that pricey) I'm put off by the crowds - the shit of travelling too.

I'm much happier working - even social events which are free like parties I much prefer it where there's some kind of focus, I'm much happier turning up earlier and help set up, and I'll be gone by early evening.

What I prefer to do with my leisure time is work, or learn something, or just meditate, and I'm glad, I'm lucky because the way things are going with the cost of living crisis IF I was a heavy spender on leisure I'd be having to cut down now.

But as it is, because I'm frugal, by choice and by nature I've hardly noticed the cost of living crisis at all.

You don't need to tighten your belt if its already tight enough, after all!