Stop Buying Crap!

 

There are multiple reasons for me to stop buying stuff with the first being purely financial.  Every time I spend money on something it means I have less money overall and this year I want to be much more mindful about the money going out.  Now when I go to make a purchase, any purchase, I ask myself what I plan to do with it, why I feel I need to make this purchase and how exactly is this going to benefit me in the long run?  The other things to take into consideration is where am I going to store it and how often do I think I will realistically use it?  Do I really need this?

 

The next thing to consider is whether or not this purchase warrants upgrading to a better quality item.  For instance, with clothing I want durable and long lasting, but I also don’t want to overspend.  I don’t necessarily need my clothing to be brand specific or designer labeled.  With that being said, if it is something I use or wear often, like shoes, and I need them to be both comfortable and really hold up, a specific brand may be my better option.  In that case I am willing to spend the extra money to get a better product.

 

As I am working on living with less these days I also think in terms of more replacement purchases rather than additional.  In most cases I am replacing the items I use or wear out.  If I find I want something different or better then I try to consider first what item can leave the house in order to accommodate that purchase?  And again, I also want to ask myself if this purchase is even necessary or is what I already have adequate to meet my needs?

 

Lastly, I want to make sure any purchases I make are affordable.  Is this something I can afford to pay for without incurring any debt?  If so, will this purchase affect my finances in the long term?  In other words, is this purchase risky?  Right now, so many people are going into debt to buy things they want or think they need.  Sadly, more and more are going into debt to afford their basic necessities.  I am very grateful not to be a part of that statistic.

 

Keeping my financial future secure is extremely important so I don’t want to go out and just buy something to buy something.  It needs to serve a viable purpose, be of good quality and must be affordable.  If it doesn’t meet those criteria then I’m not going to buy it.  What are your thoughts?  How do you decide if something is worthy of purchasing and serving your needs?