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I Am Want I Am. . . a Consumer.
- Aug 19, 2009 at 2:25 AM
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- Comments (5) Total Views (75) Everyone can see this journal post.
Like many American women, I love to shop. I can't get enough of it. If I've had a particularly bad day, a hot Tim Horton's English Toffee (XL please!) and a trip to the mall hits the spot. If I'm bored, I pack up the kids and head to one of our many area strip malls. If I've got any reason to celebrate, I do so with another swipe of the card. I really don't need any reason to shop, I could do it all day! Don't misunderstand, I'm not terrible with money. I don't drop more than a few bucks without thinking it over (at least for a moment) and when I say "swipe of the card" I mean debit card. We have never had a credit card and don't plan on it anytime soon. We aren't in any serious debt and we always make sure we have enough money to pay our bills. Still, I can't help but to feel guilty. Most of the purchases I make I don't really "need", or at the very least, I don't need NEW. It doesn't help that I am damn good at finding deals on new products; in fact this only allows me to justify buying new instead of used. "Wow, with these sales and this coupon I can get all of this NEW for the same price I would spend across the street at the thrift store!" Can't count the number of times that line has come out of my mouth. But, I'm trying to be mindful of my family's consumption and have made some pretty great efforts to eliminate some of our everyday household waste. For example, we use washcloths instead of paper towels, cloth diapers instead of disposable, I make our laundry detergent and other household cleaners, and I'm even planning on using terre cotta planters in place of goody bags to hold the treats at my daughter's birthday party. There is DEFINITELY room for improvement though. For example, I could have done better if I bought those stacks of washcloths used instead of at Target, or if I had searched through Craigslist and Freecycle for those Terre cotta planters instead of buying them at Meijer. I suppose my biggest hangup is TIME. Being a full-time mom and a full-time student, I just can't find the time to find everything I want secondhand and it is so much easier to just drive down the street and do a one-stop shop. At Meijer, I can buy those things that I need and pick up a few "wants" as well. Back track for a second - did you catch that? I said, "everything I WANT", not "everything I need." Could I find the time to buy mostly secondhand if I dedicated myself to making purchases only if I really NEEDED something? Definitely. But I, like most normal people, am too focused on buying and owning "more" or "bigger" or "better" than simply enjoying what I already DO have. But how do I do that?! I truly want to find better ways of getting the things that I need (and maybe some of what I want), but I need to slow down on the accumulation as well. For someone like me, this will definitely be a process, but I've given myself a goal and I'm going to try my very best to stick to it. I have decided that for the rest of the year I will only purchase items I want but don't actually need USED, and if I can't find it or I don't have the time to search for it, I don't get it. I will also try to make most of my Holiday purchases (Halloween costumes, Christmas presents for the kids, etc.) used, and really think about how often an item will be used before I buy it. Last year my son got SO many Christmas presents because of my freakish deal-finding abilities, and more than half of them have hardly been touched. Just tonight I found out about a new holiday I am considering taking part in - International Buy Nothing Day, which just so happens to fall on my most favorite holiday of the year; Black Friday. To be 100% honest, I don't know if I can resist. If I can, it will probably mean half as many purchases and at least that much less spent during the holidays, but that might be too big of a step for me to take just yet! At the very least I will give myself a limit of stores and only purchase gifts and needs, nothing extra (like that huge fluffy blanket I got for myself last year!) I am nervous about cutting back on my shopping trips and would love to hear your tips on how you cut back on purchases and "make do" or "make new" with what you have. I suppose we will see how it goes for me!
Comments:
What is swapshop?!
I applaud you for the changes you're considering.
Many of us have learned to be great shoppers -- sales, coupons, clearance, etc. - but buying what we really "need" (and still getting it as a deal) and banking the money we didn't spend on "want's" would save us all hundreds if not thousands a year.
The first year DH and I were married I put aside all the money I saved by clipping coupons. At the end of the year it was more than $1000.
Good luck.
Susan
Swapshop!!! Okay, I'll invite you. I think I have your email address. It started off as a military thing, but we can invite anyone in the area. It's a yahoo group for posting things for sale, looking to buy things, etc. I love it!
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Wow. I could have written something like this. I am a huge consumer, and I am an amazing deal finder. I never buy anything that's not on sale, and I'd felt like that was fine becuase I was controlling my money well. The fact that you guys have no credit cards is amazing. We are in debt and it is so hard to get out. But I love your idea of buying "wants" only seond hand. It wouldn't be hard, either, with ebay, craigslist and swapshop. I'm going to try and do that. I'm not giving up Black Friday, though. Not yet...
- boogiebearlove
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