Forget splashing the cash. Happiness now lies in austerity.
If you buy anything this season, let it be one of these: a Recession Survival Box produced by the School of Life, a tiny social enterprise that opened recently to promote ideas for “living wisely and well”.
Your box, which has been compiled lovingly under the remit “reject the common assumption that a high income is always necessary for happiness”, contains a copy of Walden, Thoreau’s memoir of living in the woods, more books on side-stepping consumer culture and living for free, a Make Do and Mend pamphlet by the Ministry of Information, a water flask and mothballs.
