I know from personal experience the temptation to spend money where I don’t need to. Within the past academic year, I’ve tunnelled through half my OSAP loans on food expenses (school food is surprisingly expensive) and travel costs. The temptation to buy Starbucks or Tim Hortons is constant as the coffee shops are found all over campus. As for travelling costs to visit home, I’ve spent nearly $1,000 on trains and buses (both local and Greyhound) in the past eight months alone.

So how do we stop ourselves from falling into the traps of our capitalist society? Is it even possible when we’re living in a society completely dependent on capitalist wants and needs? I mean, why not go out every weekend to fancy restaurants and extravagant events when the government gives you the money to do so? Why not buy into the latest fashions and technology?

Why not? Because eventually all that money has to be paid back, and eventually you’re going to find out that student debt is not something to take lightly.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t indulge at all, but you need to think before you foolishly spend money on unnecessary goods and services. We need to ask ourselves if we really need the products we are buying or if we are simply buying them out of selfish desire.

If you want to indulge once in a while, indulge better — buy ethically. In asking questions, you can ensure that you are always educated about the products you are purchasing.

Here in Ottawa I’ve recently discovered a popular local coffee shop, Bridgehead, a specialty coffee company that offers 100-per-cent fair trade and organic teas and coffees. The service is excellent, the staff is friendly and the prices are surprisingly the same (and sometimes cheaper) than free trade shops such as Starbucks and Tim Hortons. Here I find one chance to spend ethically and find answers to important questions.

Where are the products coming from? How are they made? Does the way a product is manufactured exploit human rights, say through using child labour? Has the environment been damaged or harmed in the making of these products? Is someone suffering through this purchase?

When making your next purchase ask yourself these same questions. Remember that many of our brothers and sisters are often without the luxuries that we have in our life — if they can do without them, can’t we?

You do not necessarily have to buy less, simply buy smarter.

(Lewis, 18, is a journalism student at Carleton University in Ottawa.)