Brainwashed by those jingles…

Ever find yourself repeating those little slogans you hear on commercials?
“You’ll find it at-Fred Meyer”
“I’m lovin it”
“What’s in your wallet?”
“They’re grrrreat!”
The worst are the jingles that you end up singing, or that get stuck in your head.
“You’re not fully clean unless your Zestfully clean” or “What would you do for a Klondike bar?” Or that fricken Meow mix song. You know the one I’m talking about.

I’ve noticed lately that it really bothers me when someone around me repeats one of those slogans. Usually someone hears something that makes them think of the slogan, or they hear it and repeat it. Especially the jingles. Those are the worst.
Why does it bother me?
I’m realizing that these slogans getting stuck in our heads is exactly what those companies want. And every time we repeat them, we’re giving them free advertising. We’re thinking about their product without even realizing it, and then when we say it out loud we get everyone around us thinking about it. Do you want to do that? I sure don’t.
I’m not saying these companies are evil. But do we really want their little slogans stuck in our heads? And really, even if they aren’t evil, all they really want is our money. That’s enough for me to be wary. When I think about getting new brakes, should I always want to “trust the Midas touch?”
This goes along with something I’ve been thinking more about lately.
I’ve been reading a lot more about financial responsibility, and the more I read and think about it, the more important I think it is. I don’t believe that it’s important to have a lot of money. However, I do think that what we do with our money is important. Are you throwing away our money on things you don’t need? Are you paying bank fees that are unnecessary? Are you paying extreme interest on credit card debt?
As I’ve created a budget and tracked my spending and earning the past month and a half, I’ve found a certain level of freedom. I know exactly where my money is going. I can see things that I’ve bought that were unnecessary. I know exactly how much I’m going to tithe to my church, and I can see how much beyond that I want to donate to charity.
Here are some great articles and sites I’ve found on the topic.
This first one is an article from the Consumerist, which is a website that encourages smart consumerism. Its a funny article, and the comments are great.
http://consumerist.com/consumer/let.s-spend-some-cash/consumerists-10-tips-that-will-make-sure-youll-stay-broke-284375.php
This is the website I use to track my spending and earning.
http://wesabe.com
And one blog I’ve been reading has great tips for saving and managing money.
http://getrichslowly.org/blog
I’m not a huge fan of the title, but it’s still got some good content.
So that’s it. What do you think?