My browser's bookmark file contains a folder called "Things I Want to Buy." I have it there as a place for big-ticket items like furniture, a file of gift ideas for friends and family and as a holding tank to prevent impulse buys. I prefer to impose a 48-hour waiting period before authorizing myself to purchase anything.
So this week with the no-spending thing, I have been adding a few new items to the "Things I Want to Buy" folder, just as a "well, if you still feel very strongly in a week, then go ahead and get that pillow for the bedroom. And maybe those pots too. Or maybe some floor cushions for the living room." It feels a little like cheating, to have these things hoarded against the day I can give myself permission to shop again. I'm also wondering if I should maybe figure out some sort of commerce re-entry program.
However, another insight I've gleaned from the "Things I Want to Buy" folder. There's a sweater in there, and when I checked the URL today, I saw that it's been marked down 40%. It's in my size and in the color I want, and I very nearly bought it on the rationale that "If I don't jump on it now, the opportunity to get it later might not be there."
That would be cheating, so I didn't buy it. Instead I figured I could meditate on money and opportunity cost, and how one finds the balance between taking advantage of offers in the present and maintaining the discipline to let opportunities go because there's something you want more in the future. If any of y'all have mastered the trick, could you let me know in the comments below?
Apparently, moving house will destroy all your will to buy. It's true! I just have to think about boxing up whatever-it-is and hauling it across town in a month, and suddenly I don't want it anymore. It's magic, I tell you.
I'm not sure how this is generally applicable, though. I still haven't figured out the mantra to keep myself from buying that morning croissant, for instance, and most people don't move frequently enough for packing to inspire such levels of terror. Argh.
Posted by: Account Deleted | 2008.04.17 at 19:11
Emily, just wait until you move cross country--I'm throwing/giving away everything and cursing myself with the realization that most can be replaced at a thrift store for $1.
Posted by: Kerry | 2008.04.18 at 08:38
Kerry, I moved cross country two years ago, but I totally copped out and left most of my stuff at my parents' house instead of clearing everything out like I said I would. Oops. I think some part of me still believes that someday soon I will have the shelf space and disposable income to justify shipping all those trinkets and old paperbacks across the country.
My abandoned books aside, I really do believe in the power of the small space to combat consumerism. It's hard to be swayed by a beautiful pillow when you can't visualize where you'd put it. Buying something new requires parting with something old, which... well, see above re: my inability to let go.
Posted by: Account Deleted | 2008.04.18 at 12:20
The one benefit of this self-imposed buy nothing week has been to really think about how to cope when you run out of something. Like, Wednesday I ran out of bread and milk, and normally I would have run out to get more. But - lo and behold, I had a bun left over from the BBQ I had on the weekend, so that's one more lunch. And I have an extra bagel (I usually only have them for breakfast), so there's my other lunch this week, and then I can buy bread on Saturday. The milk thing wasn't huge either - I had a tin of evaporated milk I could use in my coffee (I like it!)
If I hadn't looked around at what I had, I would have forgotten about the bun and it would have gone stale and then I would have eventually thrown it out. And because it's a small can of milk, I'm using less of it in my coffee (and generally drinking less coffee in order to conserve it).
Posted by: Rebecca | 2008.04.18 at 13:24
I've been lurking for some time here, but have been really enjoying the 'fiscal fitness' posts, so I finally got the nerve to comment.
I'm a college student, so funds are really always low, but I also love travelling, which is made hard by the previously mentioned low funds. After a few years of managing to do some summer trips on money saved during the year, I developed the habit of always weighing what I want to buy and how that money would be spent in terms of possible future travels. I get a bit obsessive about it sometimes ('I could buy two meals in Paris with this money'), but most of the times it manages to be a good way of equating the value of what sometimes ends up being a silly impulse buy... and giving me the incentive I need to walk away without any damage to my wallet.
Posted by: Maria | 2008.04.19 at 11:11
Rebecca, I like what you wrote. I think too often many people are not aware of the amount of food that gets wasted. I didn't participate in the week without spending because we buy our food daily. While this isn't always a great idea for some, we live in walking distance to the supermarkets. It has greatly reduced the amount of food that we waste, which saves us money in the long run.
I also heard about the world food shortage that the UN is discussing this week. I cannot help but think of the food wasted in the USA and South Korea (I was stunned at how much got thrown out when I was in South Korea!).
Posted by: molly | 2008.04.21 at 05:32
I have a similar set-up to the "things I want to buy" folder and I've found it works very well for me too.
I often use this method as a alternative to the Ebay watch list - yes, there are no reminders coming to your mailbox, but if you forget about it and then it expires or gets sold, you certainly didn't NEED it in the first place.
It gives you a critical cooling off period, but it does allow you to keep a record of things that actually might be useful, fun, handy(.....indulgent at the right time?) It's also a good way to compare products, prices, features. Mostly I just use it as a way to daydream - I really don't need most of the things I bookmark. I cull the file frequently, often wondering, "What WAS I thinking!"
Posted by: Jane | 2008.04.21 at 17:06