This is a guest post from Amanda, a Colorado tech writer and an activist for children with congenital heart disease.
For a couple of years I’ve been learning the “tips and tricks” to saving money. I’ve read about freezing your credit cards, paying yourself first, the “latte factor,” etc., but the most important thing I’ve learned, I learned from myself: to change the way I live, I had to change the way I think.
To save money, I had to save myself from my inner- consumer. I had to learn the true relationship between money and stuff. I didn’t have much money or stuff growing up, and once I had it, I couldn’t stop wasting money to get more stuff. I thought, “It’s only money.” But that ‘s a lie consumerists tell to themselves.
Money represents many things:
- Money is time. It’s the time you spend to earn it and the sacrifices you make to get more: the time you spend in school to get a better job, the weekend work you do to get ahead, and all the other things you miss out on.
- Money is power. It enables you say yes or no to opportunities or demands. It lets you opt in or opt out of positive or negative situations. Having money lets you retire at 55; not having it keeps you working indefinitely.
- Money is security. If you’ve ever been truly poor, just knowing that you’ll still have a roof over your head even during a hard time is worth its weight in gold. Money in the bank can give you peace of mind.
Stuff is sneaky. Stuff can give you a false sense of time, power, and security.
Stuff will not enhance the quality of your time, unless you have only the stuff you need to do the activities you enjoy and no more. Yet, so many people (myself included) accumulate more stuff than they can ever use even if they lived forever. Last year, about two weeks before she died, my grandma sat in a nursing home realizing she would never go back to her house. She lamented a craft room jammed full of stuff that she would never use. Too much stuff makes you feel like you won’t ever have enough time. Too much stuff makes you feel time-poor.
Stuff might make you feel powerful, like when you buy a really fancy TV or brand new furniture. But if you buy it on credit, or wipe out your savings, it actually weakens you. If you have debt or no savings, what happens when a true emergency happens? You are powerless. Stuff can steal your power.
Stuff can be emotional and disorienting. I know a wonderful lady who is adored by everyone, but she can’t get rid of her stuff. It makes her feel secure. But having 26 clear glass vases that have no monetary value, but not having room for your breakfast cereal, is probably not providing you the right kind of security.
Taking control of your environment — determining what stays based wholly on what makes you happy because it is useful, beautiful, and has meaning to you — leads to confidence. If you can have the confidence to make decisions, to keep your space and your mind free of clutter, then you should feel more secure in who you are, not the stuff you have. Both of my grandparents died last year, and we had to clean out that craft-room and a tiny house overrun with stuff. My grandparents were two of the least happy people I knew; coincidentally, they probably had more stuff than anyone I know.
I’ve learned to choose my stuff wisely, and to get rid of stuff that drains my energy or steals my power. I had to change my mindset before I could do that. Not so long ago, a walk-in closet only three-quarters full would make me want to spend more money to get more stuff. Now it makes me happy, because I know exactly what I have, and can find it and use it. Once you can change your mindset about money and stuff, you begin to learn that less stuff leads not only to more money, but also to more time, more security, and more power.
Here are some examples from my own life:
- No cell phone = no one calling me when I’m busy, no life-endangering car-talks
- Fewer books = opportunity to take my kids to the library and save for their college
- No crafty hobbies I won’t get around to = no guilt about all that stuff I’m not doing
- No fast food lunches = no fatty food that doesn’t even taste good, and better health for me
- No knick-knack collections = cleaner house and less time spent dusting stuff I don’t really want
- No fancy cable package = less time wasted being a couch potato & longer life expectancy because I’m up off my butt using my time and money wisely
Remember that just because I choose to live without cable or a cell phone or certain hobbies doesn’t mean that everyone should. Find the things you can’t live without and jettison the rest. A life with less stuff can be liberating — the money you save is just a bonus.
Amanda’s previous articles at Get Rich Slowly include:
- Use It or Lose It: Getting Value from the Things You Own
- Get More Bang for Your Buck by Using Coupons and Sales Wisely
- Baby Boom: The Shockwaves of a Lifestyle Change
Look for more from her in the future.
GRS is committed to helping our readers save and achieve your financial goals.Savings interest rates may be low, but that’s all the more reason to shop for the best rate.Find the highest savings interest rate from Ally Bank, Capital One 360, Everbank, and more.
This article is about Psychology, Self-Improvement
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I normally brown-bag for economical reasons, but I must admit that I think fast food tastes excellent, it is designed to
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Great post!
I think the realization that stuff not only costs money but can steal more of our time on top of that is great- I”m not sure I had thought of it that way before.
I am working hard at breaking free from a consumerist lifestyle, and I’ve made progress, but I still have a long way to go.
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This is an excellent topic and an excellent comment. We as a society spend way to much time and put way to much importance on our “stuff.” Our homes are stuffed full of stuff!
My husband and I have moved 3 times in the last 2 years. We just moved BACK into our house. Because of the housing market it didn’t sell while we lived in 2 apartments in 2 different cities. The apartments were much smaller than our house so in the process we got rid of at least half of our stuff and downsized to 1 car! I’m amazed at how much stuff we still have. Not to mention the bags and bags of stuff we threw away is now in a garbage heap somewhere… (yes, we did donate all the good stuff and sell lots in 3 rummage sales)
The process was extremely emotional especially in the beginning since we raised 2 kids in our home and lived in it for 14 years. However, it also (as you mentioned) really brought home how much time, energy and money was wasted on stuff. I recommend it to everyone – get rid of and organize your stuff BEFORE you retire, or worse, before your children have to do it when you die.
And it has been a great lesson for me and for both of our grown sons – we don’t need to spend so much on stuff. We found things that we barely (or never) used. I hardly ever shop for stuff any longer.
Another interesting thing has happened – our neighbors now borrow us tools and appliances that we either sold them or gave them. They know we may move again soon. They are happy we’re back and have created an “open garage” policy. Which is so wonderful because we don’t have to go out and waste money on rakes and shovels for possibly one season!
p.s. I’m still holding on to most of my craft stuff:)
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I’ve read so many great books and articles about this, but the way you explained it makes it even more clear. Stuff gets in our way. Thank you for such a great article!
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This is a great post. This point of too much stuff was driven home to me when I went to my first estate sale. The sheer number of items from a recently departed person in this home just depressed me. And one of her relatives said “There are nearly 20 more boxes of Christmas stuff in the basement”. That was when I knew I did not want my relatives cleaning up all the “stuff” I had bought in my life and thought was important when I am gone. I have made minor inroads into my clutter, but your article reminds me I need to work harder.
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Fantastic article. Really appreciate the author for holding a mirror in front of us. I come from a non-consumerist society (I am an Indian) but I am myself amazed at all the stuff we have accumulated over the years. We are a family of 4 and have moved from a 2 bedroom to 3 bedroom to 4 bedroom apartment in the last 5 years, bought lots of stuff and lots of furniture for storing all that stuff!! Now, we are more consumerist than our American friends and I wonder how and when we abandoned the “simple living, high thinking” lifestyle of our fathers. Thanks for the wake up call.
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I’ve been guilt of this myself many times. Buying things that end up in the closet is not a wise choice. I’m trying to sell most of my stuff now and leave only some tools that I use to work (laptop, desktop) and sell the rest.
That way I will have money to invest and less clutter on my mind and house.
Great article J.D.!
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It’s been my observation that in general, people tend to acquire things in their 30′s and 40′s, and then get rid of them/scale down in their 50′s and 60′s. I don’t remember what age I was when I realized that Less Is More, but know I’ve been a lot happier and much more productive when I got that.
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[...] “The Hidden Costs of Stuff” – Get Rich Slowly [...]
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Good article with a good point, but I have one major objection: I don’t really see how “No crafty hobbies I won’t get around to = no guilt about all that stuff I’m not doing” is applicable to the topic. If you ENJOY being crafty, cutting out crafts isn’t a good strategy. If it makes you feel guilty that you’re not doing it, it must have less to do with enjoyment and more to do with obligation!
In that case, it’s not about the STUFF that is required for crafts, but about your own priorities, which is why I say it isn’t applicable. (If the point was more that you should cut out all the hobbies that you don’t really enjoy, or that cause you guilt, then by all means! But that’s not how it was phrased.)
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Great post! We’ve never had cable. My logic was, “Why pay for something that will make me more lazy?”
This post really resonated with me. It took me a few days to clean out our house of the prior owner’s “stuff”. It was an estate and the neighbors told us the heirs had cleaned out two dump trucks full of “stuff” a year or two before. Glancing at old letters and notes as I was throwing them out, I was sentimental and felt bad for the bachelor who was all alone at the end of his life. At the end of the day, coughing on dust, I was so frustrated asking, “Who did he think was ever going to clean this out?” He was so mad when his nephews and nieces threw out his stacks and stacks of newspapers while he was still in the nursing home. Did he ever look forward and think of what was going to eventually happen to them? Until then I never thought that something I thought was so important today might be someone’s chore years from now.
So now when I look at something in my home, trying to decide if I should hold on to it or toss it, I try to picture this same object in a dusty box or bin in the future and ask myself, “Am I going to throw this away now, later, or wait for someone else to clean it up after me?” Of all this “stuff” we think is so important, only photos and a few heirlooms will be passed down after we’re gone. As depressing as that may be, it’s really changed how I view all that extra clutter that I hold onto because I *might* need it.
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***MONEY IS TIME***
I’ve been saying this for years… It really bugs me when someone gets ripped off… Even if a small item gets stolen; but in particular if someone has their savings depleted by thieves, **and** our present administration laying on the debt for future generations. Ask yourself how long it takes to save up for a TV, how long did it take to accumulate those life savings. What is really being stolen are hours, days, months and years. What a great point to make!
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Such an appropriate post, especially in light of the consumer holidays that are right at our door already. It might make some people think twice about the rat race to buy more crap this holiday season…but in the end it may not make much of a difference.
To everyone: Happy Thanksgiving, enjoy the things you already have and the people you are with.
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I love that you included “no cell phone.” We use to have cell phones for hubby, myself, and both sons. About 3 years ago we realized what a ridiculous amount of money it was costing. As well as how intrusive they had become. We got rid of them and have never looked back. People look at us funny when they hear we don’t have cell phones, but we love it! I also have a no new fabric purchase policy until I use the pieces I have already, for my quilting. It’s amazing the money you can save and change in the quality of use of your time, with just a shift in thinking. Great post ~ Love it!
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One reason to not have TV is to avoid the ads. I now find myself downright offended by advertisers trying to create needs where ther were none.
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Sounds good to me. I don’t want to become like my grandmother. She has a small two-bedroom house and more stuff than she can fit in it. There’s at least 75% she doesn’t need—old books on “new” cars from the 1960s and unread novels from the 30′s (literally, they’re falling apart)—but she can’t bear to part with it. We managed to get rid of some of it when she moved there, but not enough. When she passes, it’ll be pretty crazy getting it all thrown away, given away, or recycled.
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I’m glad someone addressed this on here, particularly during the Christmas/shopping season :^)
Having less stuff also makes moving a lot easier. In fact, I’ve always thought that you should be able to do a move with 2 check-ins and a carry-on (with an air mattress). Admittedly I’m not at that point yet, but getting there, or close enough, is my goal.
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Hit the spot. Perfect reminder right before xmas too. I have two things to add.
First is a hijack. This is very appropriate for me. I was just thinking this morning that I hate the proliferation of stuff from gifts. People I know feel obligated to give me stuff that I haven’t chosen to buy, or they give my cards that I have to use to buy stuff in places they think I need stuff from. In addition I feel obligated to get people I know stuff that they aren’t willing or able to buy themselves.
Second is that emotions especially desire, can be controlled. Not directly. But which pros and cons you think about when considering a descision can significantly contribute to the emotional sway of the decision. If I’m focused on the pictures of a big mac, or of the fancy packaging of an ipod touch, I’m more likely to buy. If I think about the amount of money per week I lose by not making a sandwich, or the feeling I’ll get in three months of looking at a scratched ipod that I’ve used almost exclusively when I’ve had other sources of music.
If you have trouble concentrating on things, articles like this are great attention getters. They really draw your mind into thinking about saving money in a positive mindset. If you think about the stuff your buying as clutter in your house, you are more likely to sway your emotion towards saving. It can really help make decisions about what’s more important, tires, or tinted windows.
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Just a quick note: I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it before, but Amanda’s guest posts are the ones that most consistently match my own world view. I love that her experience is similar to mine, but with differences. She has kids, for example, and has had to deal with steep medical expenses. She writes well, and about stuff that I find fascinating. Like you folks, I think her posts are great. All I can take credit for with this one is having the foresight to schedule it for this time of year. (She sent it in two or three months ago.)
I have one more guest post from Amanda, but it probably won’t go up until January. She’s also indicated that she may have time to contribute a few more. I hope so. I think they’re great.
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That was one of the best articles I have read. What is interesting in my situation is I keep trying to clean up my clutter but my fiance is the opposite. She will not part with anything including books she will never read and video games she won’t play again. It drives me crazy.
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Lately, Craigslist has been my friend. I finally got rid of the mat cutter, chairs, whiteboards, spray cans, and other stuff that has been cluttering our garage. Got rid of the cell phone about 2 years ago and haven’t looked back. I’ve had to use a pay phone 4 times since (yes, they still exist). Now I’m trying to get rid of extra furniture by combining a wall hung TV (soon to be purchased) with our office chairs. Then I can get rid of the couch, end tables, 32 inch tube TV, and coffee table.
In selling our 1200 sqft house, I’ve found the first thing people want to do is extend the house. Why? Do you really need that much space? We live in a 960 sqft house and find it plenty big – even with one 7ft x 6ft bathroom with 2 adults and one pre-teen (plus 3 dogs).
We have a double bed. I was vying for a queen but realized how efficient the double bed is as long as you use queen or king bedspreads. Yes, even with three dogs.
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JD,
Does Amanda have a web site or did I just miss a link? I am interested in her work as an activist for children with congenital heart disease. My son Caden is affect by heart disease.
Caden’s Page
http://www.hoei.com/caden/blog
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[...] is a guest post by someone named Amanda, who is a tech writer in Colorado, and I have enjoyed several of her articles. I have tried in many ways to explain the way my life has changed since having children, but I [...]
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I agree with everything except the no cell phone policy. A cell phone isn’t an obligation. It is probably the best blanket insurance policy you’ll ever buy.
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We are a family of 3 and moved from a 1 bedroom apartment and bought a 3 bedroom house. From day 1 we decided to keep one bedroom empty. So, all the room contains is a folded sleeping bag – should any guest come in and nothing else. It is also very easy to vacuum. If we could live in a 1 BR place, there is no reason to need 3. It is nearly a year and we have stuck to 2 rooms so far. Some may wonder why a 3 bed room house when 2 are enough – well it was based on choices in the location we wanted to live in.
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Elegantly expressed. A wise person taught, “To be happy, you either need to increase your income or decrease your desires.” SInce we contemporary americans live in a state of inflamed desire, sparked by 24/7 marketing in every venue of our lives, we all benefit from calming our acquisition habits.
Have a true thanksgiving break!
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“I agree with everything except the no cell phone policy. A cell phone isn’t an obligation. It is probably the best blanket insurance policy you’ll ever buy.”
Ditto. I have a cell phone and carry it with me all the time, but I’ve only given the number to a handful of people and they know not to call it unless it’s an emergency (or something time-sensitive).
The convenience of being able to phone ahead when traveling or coordinate with people when you’re meeting up somewhere, and the knowledge that if my car breaks down I don’t have to hike to a payphone, is well worth $10 a month to me.
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Black Friday vs. Buy Nothing Day…
This post comes from J.D. Roth at partner blog Get Rich Slowly . This weekend will be huge for U.S. retailers…
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Amen.
Substitute “crafty stuff” for any hobby or sports equipment you briefly thought would be a good idea but don’t have time for.
I’m trying to jettison the cable package, and we’re inching our way there . . . for exactly the same reason . . .
I’ve been watching (and sometimes helping) my aunts and uncles clear out my grandparents’ 4500 ft^2 or so house. Makes me want to get my own dumpster and start throwing things out now . . .
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As the father of a 5 year old boy, I’d like to ask other parents how they control the amount of stuff that belongs to their kids? It seems we have enough Legos, Lincoln Logs, Hot Wheels cars, army men and art supplies for 10 kids instead of the one. When we try and get rid of stuff (when he is not around), we feel like terrible parents for taking away his toys or sentimental about them or guilty for giving them away.
We’ve tried to involve him in a new toys in/old toys out policy without much success. He loves them all.
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Good post, but one note of caution about cleaning out old stuff – sometimes there’s gold in those attics and basements! After my grandfather’s death, my parents sold the house and had to clean it out first. Some of the stuff was just junk (like 2 boxes containing packets from KFC – the little platic bags with a napkin, spork, and salt and pepper packets, all neatly organised), but among other finds was an old box up in the rafters of the attic. It turned out to be the shipping box containing a windshield for a long-gone car (48 Packard, IIRC). The windshield was unused and in perfect shape. Fortunately my father recognised it and it was quickly bought by a local car collector for a good sum of money. I’d guess that 98% of the time you’ll just have junk to throw out, but take a bit of time to look at things before you simply toss them. They might be worth something to someone.
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I only recently woke up and realized I don’t need stuff. For me, I think my “need” for stuff, and the habit of picking up random things from the Target clearance section or other “bargains”, largely came as a result of growing up poor.
Growing up we didn’t have a lot and the best memories are those that involved outdoor (free) games. Even so, I must admit there were certain times, when we did feel the slight sting of being poor and not being able to have the nice things that others had.
As a result, I over-compensated in my early adulthood. I’m successful (by my own standards), I love my job and I have a little disposable income, and for a few years my thirst for more and more stuff couldn’t be satisfied.
I just consider myself lucky that even in what I now think of as my “acquisition” stage, I was deathly afraid of being poor in debt. Although I could have used my money more wisely, at least I managed to stay out of debt.
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What a great post! A woman after my own heart. I have so little stuff these days, that my life (or my tiny apartment, at least) appears downright spartan. It’s always an uphill battle to prevent the stuff from accumulating, but I’ll never give up!
It’s also a bit discouraging when people (no doubt hocked to the eyeballs in debt!) look down on me for getting by with so little. Reading posts like Amanda’s is so encouraging for me.
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Excellent post!
This is very timely for me – only recently have I realized that I am not getting any pleasure from “keeping up with the Jonses” and a simple life will probably give me the greatest amount of joy (and considerably reduce my stress).
I am in the process of starting a blog to document my quest to pay off debt and simplify. Tips like these will really help me on my way.
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I liked this post a lot. I disagree about cell phones–to me having a cell is a safety measure, if a car breaks down, someone has an accident, etc. But, I have the lowest number of minutes AT&T offers and we don’t keep a land line. I’m certainly not the person mindlessly chatting as I’m driving down the road, either…I don’t have enough minutes for that!
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This is such a wonderful post–and the timing couldn’t be better.
Our local Penney’s opens at 4 am on Black Friday just so people can get an early start – on GETTING MORE STUFF.
I’ve moved a lot in my working life and spent months when my parents died cleaning our their house.
That’s an experience you definitely don’t want as your kids’ last memory of you. It’s soul-crushing.
I can hardly think of a better training device than estate sales, incidentally, so long as you don’t buy anything. Just the experience of seeing what people valued and devoted their now-gone lives to collecting and maintaining will do it.
Add in a few of those long-distance moves, and I find I’ve evolved over the years into a bone-deep minimalist.
Sweeping out clutter and dragging home fewer shopping bags seems to inspire primal dread in the majority of Americans for the very reason people on this blog embrace these same disciplines. They force you to confront your real life, as you actually live it day to day with the money and space you actually have.
This mind shift is liberating to the point of exhilaration once you really “get it”. Cheers to Amanda for a great pre-holiday meditation.
So…do we all have our short, well-edited shopping lists to keep the holidays in their place? That’s my project for this afternoon.
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I also disagree with the cell phone item. There’s nothing inherently extravagant about having a cell phone. I have one in lieu of a land line. They can prove invaluable when using public transit in large centres (to access IVR schedule systems) or as already noted, emergencies. Most people need to re-evaluate their relationship with their cell phones. You’re certainly not obligated to answer it when it rings. The cell phone is a tool; you control how much impact it has on your life.
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Excellent post. I think cancelling your cable TV is one of the best things you can do to reclaim time. Just get the TV shows you *really* want from iTunes or the XBOX Marketplace, or pick up older seasons that you’ve missed on DVD. I told my uncle that I bought a brand new TV (with cash!) but didn’t have cable, and he said, “Oh my. The TV networks are afraid of people like you.”
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Good post. I actually wrote about something similar on a post today. Throughout my life, I’ve chosen to have money over “stuff”. While many of my friends have lots of “stuff” I have the freedom to work when I want and only on my terms. I have the freedom to take $20,000 and try to either double it or lose it all.
I am just amazed when people don’t realize that they don’t own their stuff, their stuff owns them. They are forced to stay in jobs they hate because they have to be able to pay for their overpriced car or other “stuff”.
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It may or may not be more cost effective, but buying DVDs instead of having cable is the opposite of decreasing your stuff-pile.
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As for children and toys, books, clothes, etc. – what has always helped us is giving them a bag and telling them to put in it anything that they never want to have to clean up again. We reserve the right to remove things from the bag, but we rarely ever insisted that they keep anything that they didn’t love or want. Sometimes we were very surprised by what went in the bag! Nevertheless, it is freeing to them, too, to have less stuff, and they have a sense of power and control when they are allowed to control their environment in a positive way.
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Nice article about the positive side of money.
I try to live just as I did in college, because I was pretty happy there with no stuff. Why should buying stuff now make me any happier?
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Great post Amanda.
-Mike
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What a smart lady. I will vote for you if you will run for president. Dem. Reb. Inde. no matter you are great. I threw out cable years ago, just more money for bank account. Built my own house, no payments there. Throw out the junk and enjoy life,it’s too short.
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I had been considering a very nice bank in a catalog and had just about decided that it fit the “own only the things that give you pleasure” rule, but then I read this post and comments and rethought that idea. I have a collection of great cobalt blue vases, that usually just serve as eye candy, and I decided to repurpose one to hold the change I was thinking of putting in the bank.
Instant savings and I’m still enjoying the vase!
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That’s a real eye opener. Thanks. I will link that one to my blog (unless you object).
Time poor. I like the term. I feel that way all the time.
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[...] Rich Slowly – The Hidden Costs of Stuff. This article is not just about the actual dollar amount that things cost, but the toll physical [...]
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[...] that since JD guest posted elsewhere, we should highlight a guest post on GRS – this post on the hidden cost of stuff comes to us courtesy of Amanda, a Colorado tech writer and an activist for children with congenital [...]
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[...] JD published a guest post onthe hidden costs of stuff. [...]
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[...] Nickel has issues with Dish Network. JD published a guest post about hidden costs of products. [...]
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