Why can't we be frugal as a person or a country?

The two things we were taught in our childhood were to know the value of what we have and to be frugal. In parallel with this culture, we grew up in our schools with the words of our teachers "Domestic goods are the property of the Turk, every Turk should use it". That beautiful saying rings in my ears like the first day. 

In those years, like our country in general, the situation of most families was not very good! When a pair of trousers was worn out, we would either give it to a tailor or we would repair it at home and continue to use it. We were not ashamed or embarrassed of wearing patched trousers. We were all like that anyway. If nothing else, the trousers would be cut off below the knee and then the same trousers would continue to be worn as short trousers. Since everyone did it this way, no one would think anyone strange. Shoes were not thrown away when they wore out, they were taken to a shoe repairman or shoemaker to have a claw hammered into the bottom of the shoe and continued to be used. As a family, we would endeavour to use everything we had until the end of its useful life, but with care.

Our happiest days were the eve days of our religious festivals, because on that day, we would buy our new festive clothes and our new shoes from the bazaar. A pair of shoes would make us the happiest people in the world. By the way, as we grew up, our clothes and shoes that were too small for us were not thrown away, they were mothballed and carefully stored in a cupboard to be left to our siblings who came after us and sometimes not yet born. 

The situation in Turkey at that time was not very different from this. There were no shopping centres on almost every street as there are today. Instead, we had the Grand Bazaar in Beyazit and the Spice Bazaar and Mahmut Pasha in Eminönü. These bazaars continue to exist today, but nowadays they have turned into places that serve jewellers, tourists and sometimes people looking for cheap clothes. Every shop in these bazaars is a little sad and a little heartbroken, every shopkeeper waiting at the corner. All kinds of shopping used to be done here and we used to return home with great joy. 

When I say shopping, don't think that we are brand-chasing, brand-wannabe types. On the contrary, those who were brand enthusiasts, those who tried to show off, and those who wore branded clothes were accused of vulgarity. Anyway, the places of those who were obsessed with brands were not these historical bazaars. They used to go shopping in places like Istiklal Street, Harbiye, Osmanbey, Sisli and Nisantasi. 

Whatever we were going to buy, it was enough if it suited us and was affordable. Our understanding of shopping at that time was to buy the best from the bazaar at the cheapest price. Because, as much as having money, spending money was also seen as a culture. In short, our mothers and fathers always preferred to stretch their feet according to their quilts. They instilled this culture in us by living. 

This beautiful culture, to use a cliché, started to change in the 1980s when the neoliberal winds started to blow in our country. We have become a society that consumes our resources unconsciously. We started to become a country that imports most things from abroad. Maybe we have integrated into the world as a society, but we have also brought as many problems as the world to our country. We have become competing with the American society. The latest Iphone phone released in America was released the next day and we were in a hurry to buy it. Our clothes have changed. Even those of us living in the suburbs and poor neighbourhoods started to spend money frantically in order to dress in branded clothes and to be a man with what they wear, in a way that does not look like rich children. Those who did not have money loaded up on credit cards. We have devoted ourselves to demanding a life beyond the means we have, to leading the rich lives we see in films. Undoubtedly, the old people used to use the saying "debt is the whip of the valiant!" but today there is no valiant person left who does not owe money to the bank. And no one is bothered by this. However, if they were a little frugal, if they were content with what they have for a while, they would easily get back on their feet. But who wants to get back on track? They try to find a way; they want to save the day by making as many instalments as possible on their credit cards and shopping in instalments. We continue to spend and spend and spend. 

Frugality is the quality of being frugal, sparing, prudent or economical in the consumption of consumable resources such as food, time or money and avoiding wastefulness, extravagance or extravagance. Probably not many people are familiar with the saying "stretch your feet according to your duvet". This saying, which is a warning against extravagant spending, is actually a summary of everything I have explained above. A mature person who has understood life knows that if he spends without measure, he will be in a difficult situation in the future. He makes his expenditures according to his financial situation. If he has it, he spends it, if not, he makes do with what he has. He does not compete with those around him to borrow money and buy phones, watches, clothes, shoes, etc. He does not feel the need for this either. 

A person who is able to adjust his income and expenditure knows how to protect himself from being a victim of excessive spending. People who do not spend all of their earnings, save some of them, use their belongings well, utilise their time and protect their health are called "frugal people". Attitudes and behaviours such as spending as much as needed, avoiding excessive spending and using sparingly are related to being frugal. Frugal people think about tomorrow and invest in the future. He does not and cannot spend everything today and not think about tomorrow. He cannot be wasteful. He does not want to spend extravagantly like those who do not know the value of anything they have. He knows the value of what he has and does not waste it. While he has it, he does not buy the same one again. For this reason, frugal people know how to live without needing anyone and take care of their families. They act with the understanding of "hide the hay and the time will come". He does not walk around with a big belly, as in "He who eats plenty, looks at the waist." Since they are moderate in what they eat, they cook as much as they will eat, and they look to consume without wasting anything. 

Like people, countries also have to be frugal. Countries should not spend all of their income, but convert some of it into investments for future generations. It is necessary to invest for the future of the country and its needs. For this, the country's resources alone may not be sufficient. In some cases, it is expected that investments will be made by borrowing from outside and that these investments will turn into factories that bring income to the country. In this case, the borrowed money is beneficial. However, spending only indiscriminately, using this money only for public works instead of investing in factories with someone else's money, will drag the country into debt swamp. Countries that are not frugal become economically dependent on foreign countries. We all know that nowadays the government is in search of foreign debt. In particular, it is trying to attract Gulf capital to the country. They have found 51 billion dollars from the United Arab Emirates, but it is not even known where and how this money will be spent. Now, if the Emirate is gracious, we will learn for which investments this money will be used in our country. And don't look at what I call investment. Their only goal is to buy our goods at a nominal price and to benefit from our few working institutions. Anyway, there is no other way to expect otherwise. It's not like those who give you the money are thinking about the future of your country. 

In 1882, there was the Duyunu umumiyeh. We were unable to pay our debts. Taxes taken even from salt were started to be paid to foreigners for these debts. Nowadays, we seem to be going down that road again. It is not for nothing that they say, "history repeats itself." In the deteriorating conditions of the country, in these days when the economy is in the ground, each of us must now "stretch our feet according to our quilt!" The state does not have much money left to give to the poor. When you fall, there may be no one around you. Accordingly, we need to learn to spend properly, to be frugal, not to buy a second one while we have it. Or it seems that the flow of life will teach this to all of us in our country in the coming days. Let's hope that we will recover without falling into this bad situation, we will make smart investments with the money to be found from somewhere. Thus, I hope that our future generations will have the opportunity to live beautiful lives without having to live in the corrupt economic conditions that we are struggling with today.

Stay with love and respect