I have had SO MANY friends in financial distress try to justify their cell phones, cable TV, rec equipment, or whatever as a NEED.
Is it really a need?
Let me rephrase that:
Will you physically DIE without that?
Will your health be compromised?
Will you lose your job?
Then no, you don't actually NEED that. As convenient as it is.....you might consider saving money by getting rid of the second (and third, and fourth) cell phones, and cable TV, and (for some people) internet.
Will you die if you don't eat out right now and wait an hour to eat at home? Not likely. Will your health be compromised? Probably not. Will you lose your job? No.
This is a little oversimplified. I might add in also that it is important to consider God's commandments in the mix. Will you die without paying your tithing? Not physically, but failing to pay tithing is not a sacrifice I recommend. It is also important to consider the health of the family. For example, while I won't die without a dishwasher, my own personal disabilities (fibromyalgia) make hand-washing dishes extremely difficult--and when I don't have a working dishwasher, I end up not cooking regularly to avoid having to suffer the pain of washing dishes. So that is really close to a need for me to maintain the health of my family. Not absolutely necessary, but close.
So it's not entirely cut-and-dried. But when you find yourself in a position that you have to cut back, start looking around at your expenses....
Do you really NEED that cell phone, or are you just using it to easy anxiety ("I might get in a car crash on a remote road and die before someone misses me"--yes, I've heard that) or for convenience?
Do you really NEED 4 cell phones in the family?
Do you really NEED cable TV? Or can you get your news and entertainment from DVDs and online?
Do you really NEED the internet? Or can you do everything you do online at work or not at all (do you really NEED to play World of Warcraft? Seriously?) We actually DO need the internet--without it, Tim's job would be gone. So there you have it.
Do you really NEED new shoes? Depends on the condition of the old ones....
So every single time you are gearing up to spend some money, stop and ask, "Do we NEED this? Will we literally die without it? Will we lose our health or jobs?" You'll be surprised how much money you can save.
And then use on the things you really want.
Showing posts with label penny pinching tips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label penny pinching tips. Show all posts
Monday, November 16, 2009
Penny Pinching Tip: Don't De-junk
Home organizing experts say the secret to a happy home is to de-junk. Throw away everything you aren't using right now. Don't save the "second best blender".
It's a nice idea.
If you have money to burn.
But if you take the people who live through the Great Depression as a guide in living through poverty, you'll notice they didn't de-junk. On the contrary--they saved and re-used EVERYTHING.
So instead of throwing away that pair of too-small tennis shoes, toss them into a box for your next kid to wear when they get that size. Or, if they are too beat up to wear, at least remove the laces first and save them for when you need a string, another shoelace, something to mend with, etc.
Those who live in poverty know that if you throw away that second-best blender, and the first dies (which it will because you've had it for 20 years and you got it used initially), then you won't have one. So you save the second best. You box up and put away the extra pots and pans and then, when your favorite pan starts losing its non-stick coating, or the handle falls off, or the kids take it outside and lose it, you still have one. Or two. And, if the lady down the street loses everything in a fire or the missionaries are stocking a new apartment, you have something to give even if you don't have any money.
The secret to making this work is organizing. Don't just throw all the saved shoelaces and buttons into a junk drawer. But to get rid of the junk drawers, you don't need to get rid of the junk. You just need to find a way to put it away. For example, save that empty shoebox and label it, "laces and ties" and throw all the extra strings, laces, etc, in there. Take that empty oatmeal canister and label it "buttons" or "old toothbrushes for cleaning and art projects" or "broken glasses for parts". Put it on a shelf in the garage or basement or top of the closet, and then when you need a screw for your glasses, or a toothbrush to shine your shoes, or a shoelace because yours just broke, you've saved yourself both time and money.
Not only that, it's good for the environment. The ultimate green living doesn't involve de-junking stuff into the landfill. It involves using every little thing--and every part of every thing--until there is no possible use for it.
Understand that for the poor, "Use it up" doesn't mean until you're bored with it; "Wear it out," doesn't mean only until it looks shabby; "make it do" doesn't mean trash it when it breaks; "Or do without" doesn't mean you can just run down to the store and pick up another "it only costs $10" item.
We might moan about having to clean the thousand empty, carefully washed and put away coolwhip containers out of our recently-deceased grandmother's house. But we might do better to take a lesson from her.
It's a nice idea.
If you have money to burn.
But if you take the people who live through the Great Depression as a guide in living through poverty, you'll notice they didn't de-junk. On the contrary--they saved and re-used EVERYTHING.
So instead of throwing away that pair of too-small tennis shoes, toss them into a box for your next kid to wear when they get that size. Or, if they are too beat up to wear, at least remove the laces first and save them for when you need a string, another shoelace, something to mend with, etc.
Those who live in poverty know that if you throw away that second-best blender, and the first dies (which it will because you've had it for 20 years and you got it used initially), then you won't have one. So you save the second best. You box up and put away the extra pots and pans and then, when your favorite pan starts losing its non-stick coating, or the handle falls off, or the kids take it outside and lose it, you still have one. Or two. And, if the lady down the street loses everything in a fire or the missionaries are stocking a new apartment, you have something to give even if you don't have any money.
The secret to making this work is organizing. Don't just throw all the saved shoelaces and buttons into a junk drawer. But to get rid of the junk drawers, you don't need to get rid of the junk. You just need to find a way to put it away. For example, save that empty shoebox and label it, "laces and ties" and throw all the extra strings, laces, etc, in there. Take that empty oatmeal canister and label it "buttons" or "old toothbrushes for cleaning and art projects" or "broken glasses for parts". Put it on a shelf in the garage or basement or top of the closet, and then when you need a screw for your glasses, or a toothbrush to shine your shoes, or a shoelace because yours just broke, you've saved yourself both time and money.
Not only that, it's good for the environment. The ultimate green living doesn't involve de-junking stuff into the landfill. It involves using every little thing--and every part of every thing--until there is no possible use for it.
Understand that for the poor, "Use it up" doesn't mean until you're bored with it; "Wear it out," doesn't mean only until it looks shabby; "make it do" doesn't mean trash it when it breaks; "Or do without" doesn't mean you can just run down to the store and pick up another "it only costs $10" item.
We might moan about having to clean the thousand empty, carefully washed and put away coolwhip containers out of our recently-deceased grandmother's house. But we might do better to take a lesson from her.
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