Anam Cara

The hard sell is difficult to stem. We see it in TV, print media and all over the internet. We are presented with new ways of obtaining our "dreams" with pay day loans (over 1000% interest rates), no payment for 6 months and zero percent interest offers. The younger generations have known nothing else.
Austerity has caused many problems for our society, particularly those on its margins, but we are still, in some ways, living as if it is all a fantasy. We can often justify to ourselves that new item, thing, possession... but the question remains. Do we need it? Maybe a better way to approach it would be to have a trusted and close friend to run the idea past first would work! being externally accountable sharpens decisions.
In Irish tradition, such a person was known as an Anam Cara - a soul friend.  It was said that a person without a soul friend was like a body without a head. An observation worth thinking about.