Purchase distancing

The watch-spend-work treadmill from the Story of Stuff.

Ads tell us to buy things. We buy them. We go to work to earn back the money. Then the cycle repeats.

Locking down the treadmill

In recent times, the only shops open have been the "essential services". For once we could only buy what we actually need.

That's a significant change from usual times, and (after a brief surge of stockpiling) our spending has gone way down.

The treadmill strikes back

Of course the online world means that we can purchase most things even when stores are closed.

Advertising and business love smartphones. For them it's like having a cash register in every home. In normal times there's a gap between when we see and ad and when we make a purchase. Marketers like to close that gap because time allows us the chance to realise that the purchase isn't worth it.

In 2020 we all know that creating distance protects our physical health. The same things applies for our financial health.

"Purchase distancing" is a time gap between an ad (or idea) and a purchase. Want to purchase something? Write the item on a piece of paper, or as a note on your phone. Come back to it later. Three days, ten days, 30 days - it's up to you (and probably depends on the item).

If the item is worthwhile, you'll still want it. If not, lose the piece of paper or delete the phone note.

Purchase distancing can save you a bunch of money, and keep a lot of future clutter from entering your home.

Comments

Less Clutter More Cash - now available

Do you feel like you have too much stuff? Is your home full of things you never use? Would you like to swap them for cash? We did My wife and I have sold more than 550 items online as we downsize and we've learnt a bit along the way. I've put some of our best tips into this handy ebook. I hope you can use these tips so you too can have less clutter and more cash. Enter your email address below to receive the book for free. Less Clutter More Cash Get my new ebook for free. PS. This will subscribe to the But Wait There's Less email list, so you'll know when the new updated version of the book is available. You can unsubscribe at any time.

How to waste a year's wages

A friend recently asked me why it is that so many people (on good incomes) are struggling to save. Often the big three money areas are housing, transport and food. In one sense these are necessary items. But what we spend on them is often way more than necessary. I crunched some numbers on how much extra my wife and I could spend on these things - if for some reason we wanted to burn our money. 1. Housing Our apartment is fairly nice, but also cost-effective. I've mentioned how choosing it saves us $1,800 per year , compared to a similar one we saw. The high end of 2-bedroom apartments in our suburb is $305 per week more than our apartment. Not $305 per week. $305 per week more than ours is. I cannot get over that. Sure it's new and modern-looking, but that's a lot of money. It's an extra $15,860 per year above what we pay. 2. Transport The Australian Automobile Association lists the costs of owning and running a car. It includes many often-overlooked c...

Inheriting Clutter

This book stood out on the library shelf. Massive clutter can create anxiety at any time, let alone when it has to be dealt with during one of the toughest points of life. Author Julie Hall deals with estates for a living. Her book covers the nitty-gritty of dealing with all that stuff. It also covers caring for parents while they are here and what to do to make life easier for them, your siblings and you. Parent Logic We may wonder why parents keep so much stuff. Julie explains that our parents (having grown up in a different time) have their reasons. Often they had to 'go without' as kids and so don't want to 'go without' again. Sometimes they think items will become valuable with age. Also there's the thought "the more I leave the kids the more they will have" . This is obviously mathematically true - but whether that's a good thing is questionable. Ironically, this admirable quality of aversion to waste often ends up causing waste. Items get s...

But wait... there's less!

Search This Blog