Budgeting goes further than a Ryanair flight

I am writing this while sitting on a Ryanair flight to the Canary Islands. My wife and I are taking advantage of a cheap deal we found and soon we will be enjoying a week of sun, a welcome break from the personal stresses at home as well as the wider economic turmoil beseeching all of us.

Our trip takes place while the euros in my pocket are rapidly losing value, and the Bank of England has tried to boost the economy with an extra £75bn of quantitative easing.

As the hours whittle away on the aeroplane, I have come to think that this policy is a waste of time. Already just an hour and a half into the flight there have been announcements encouraging passengers to purchase a "refreshing" bottle of a well known soft drink, or purchase a lottery scratchcard, beer, bap, bacon sandwich or chocolate bar from the in-flight menu. Then flyers are encouraged to finish off the meal with a pack of flight-safe cigarettes. These are a viable alternative to cigarettes, the steward explains, as they do not emit smoke but have the same level of nicotine. He then finishes by stating a price of £5 or 6 euros. None of the people ordering these goods seems to be question the prices.

Meanwhile I feel quite smug having eaten my homemade sandwiches.

Maybe it is not only financial institutions that are stifling economic growth. Perhaps it is society's obsession with consumption. Why is it so hard for a plane load of people to not have the opportunity to spend money for three hours? Do we have to have duty free, and a "dish if the day" thrown at us every half hour?

There is no point in pumping more money into the system until people learn some personal responsibility and hold back on unnecessary spending. This could come from a public awareness campaign from the government similar to efforts to stop speeding or encourage people to wear seat belts, or perhaps tax incentives for companies to ensure that in these tough times people buy stuff they need, rather than always just what they think they want.