What it means to be a 'consumer'

I've been thinking about the word 'consumer'...as in, "The average American consumer spends $12 per year on toothpaste."
What does it mean to be a consumer? Let's look at the word 'consume'.

www.dictionary.com defines consume below:

1. to destroy or expend by use; use up.
2. to eat or drink up; devour.
3. to destroy, as by decomposition or burning: Fire consumed the forest.
4. to spend (money, time, etc.) wastefully.
5. to absorb; engross: consumed with curiosity.
–verb (used without object)

So, if consume means to destroy, devour, or spend wastefully...then a consumer is someone who destroys, devours, or spends wastefully. Think about where your money goes. Track a day in the life of YOU as a CONSUMER. What are you consuming? Vending machine sodas and snacks? Fast food? Magazines? Car payment? Cable? Cell phone? Starbucks? Commuting Gas? Why? So you can go back to work tomorrow, to earn more money, so you can consume more? When I started to see my spending in that context (that every time I make a purchase I should look at it in terms of how long my husband had to work to earn that $, I decide whether it truly is worth it.)

When you start to control your spending and pay attention to where that money is going, suddenly you don't feel such a need to CONSUME so much.

I challenge you to spend one week charting every single time you spend money. Write down what you purchased, how much you spent, and when you made the purchase. (include all bills you paid that week) At the end of the week, total that bill. Calculate how long you had to work to earn that money? Was it worth the work? Only you can answer that.

I'm to a point now where I am even tracking our electric usage and finding ways to cut back to lower that bill. I am consuming less electricity to save money. What could you consume less of for the sake of your financial security?