Once the modern consumerism-fuelled idea of romance starts to wear off (as opposed to decent hardworking marriages/relationships or remaining single), other things start to fall away too.

Costs for example:

• You realise that a can of coke contains £0.05 of sugar, and sells for £0.30
• Or a tea that has £0.05 of ingredients goes for £2 at a coffee shop.
• Rice costs £0.10 a portion but a restaurant will use it as a main ingredient in a dish costing £10.
• Paracetamol or multivitamin base ingredients cost and go for under £1, whereas highly marketed derivatives go for 10x the cost and people pay these prices and think it's normal.

It's as if our entire world economy (and in the west especially) is just propped up by these forces which are at the base empty.

I by no means advocate living on a very tight budget, especially if you have money to spare, spend it. But I do find myself spending money more on things that have more actual value, and help produce more value - work tools and fruit, for example, rather that stuff that's just heavily marketed and addictive, and, quite frankly are at the bottom quite evil inventions.

Is anyone else starting to notice similar things?