Is buying ‘stuff’ a waste of money?
Things I don’t need — Photo by Vadim Sherbakov on Unsplash
For some inexplicable reason, my friend decided that four-thirty in the morning was the perfect time to buy a 12-foot (3.6-meter) inflatable kayak.
Despite the fact that he rarely, if ever, ventures into the wild, doesn’t fish or swim, has a pollen allergy, and pretty much hates physical exercise, the purchase of more useless stuff was obviously high on his list of priorities at that particular beer-fuelled point in time.
When his 50-pound kayak finally arrived, my friend had no recollection of having placed the order. To this day it still sits in his garage, neatly packaged, mocking him. A cruel daily reminder of another impulsive waste of money.
But is he alone?
The list of useless stuff seems never-ending — Photo by Luca Laurence on Unsplash
Let’s play a game — Things I bought but never used
Hands up, who else has bought things they don’t need?
Everyone, that’s who.
Recently, on social media, I asked my connections a question, ‘What things have you bought but never used?’
The confessions came fast, furious, and in some cases accompanied by no small amount of regret.
‘Books I haven’t read. Clothes worn one-time only. A photo printer still in the box. An instant hair straightener. A guitar. A yogurt maker. 2.7kg of smoked chicken. A trench coat (with the following explainer: ‘I’ll get slimmer, I thought. Sadly I didn’t consider that the problem was the shoulders.’). Handheld Tetris machines. Shoes. One-flip pancake makers. Xboxes. A bottle opener ring. A hairbrush. More shoes. A gun. A condom. An egg-slicer. A €1 Ikea bicycle pump — still in its packaging. Exercise equipment — lots and lots of exercise equipment. A Def Leppard album. A ten pack of scissors. An instant barbeque. Far too many photo frames. A metal detector. Even more shoes. A set of golf clubs. 6 bags of compost. A dog-grooming kit. An all in one knife and cutting board. A device for hot sealing sandwiches. Several foot spas. An ice-cream maker…’
You get the idea. We are ALL guilty of wasting money on useless products we don’t need. But why do we do this?
The real reason is that the persuaders — those sneaky advertisers and marketers — are damn clever at their jobs.
They know that we, as consumers, like to think that having more stuff makes us happy. They pander to that need. They know more about us than we know about ourselves, and they play to that weakness.
Plus, they are all too aware that they can’t sell us things we don’t want, but they can sell us things we don’t need.
How is that purchase going to make you feel? — Photo by Luca Laurence on Unsplash
Want versus need — It’s not what you think
The fact is that we don’t buy things, we buy how we think they will make us feel. It’s all about the emotion.
My friend with the kayak probably imagined himself as some kind of modern-day Viking explorer. Alone in his imaginary inflatable longship, steering a path across a mist-covered lake at sunrise, in pursuit of the spoils of pillage and plunder. Or whatever drunken thoughts a man might harbor at four-thirty in the morning.
We buy gym memberships and fitness equipment we never use because the idea of being lean, fit, muscular and looking good makes us feel better about ourselves. Our unconscious whispers to our egos, “When I’m fit and looking good my life is going to be so much better. Just you wait and see”.
It’s hard to accept for many of us, but we never buy what we think we’re buying.
- A bicycle is not just a bicycle, it’s a green means of transport that demonstrates to our contemporaries that we care about the planet, and we care about our health.
- A pair of Doc Martens boots are not just a pair of boots. They’re the membership to a club of like-minded people, a statement about who we are, an affirmation of a need to be perceived as one thing over another.
- A guitar is not just a musical instrument. It’s the idea of who you will become once you can entertain others, and how much these others will admire and respect you.
- A trench coat is not just a means of protection from the wind or the rain. It is the image it portrays of spies and gangsters, detectives and private investigators. Once I put this garment on my back, I will become a different, more intriguing person.
So, you joined the gym. Don’t you have to go there sometimes? — Photo by Meghan Holmes on Unsplash
9 of the most useless things we spend money on
#1 — Gym Membership
The notion of getting fit, being healthy, and looking good is the ointment to which most human flys are attracted. Those great intentions we harbor just after the holiday season, or as it gets closer to the long hot days of summer, just like the gym membership, are all too easily forgotten.
#2 — Home Gym Equipment
Again it’s the same story, the notion of how great we’re going to look and feel when we get fit prompts the purchase. However, we’re not like those schmucks who fork out hard-earned cash on a gym membership, we’re smart enough to save money and get fit in the comfort and convenience of our home. Aren’t we?
#3 — Lessons and Courses
I’m going to learn to speak Spanish so that I can take that trip to Colombia, or Mexico, or the Canary Islands. And, who knows, I may even stay there and live a carefree life in some small fishing village by the sea while earning a living from painting sea-shells and selling them to tourists. Buena Suerte!
#4 — That Sleep-tracker App
Great, once you know what your sleep patterns are you’ll be able to rectify all your problems, finally get a good night’s sleep, and wake up refreshed and relaxed ready to fight the world and get that promotion. Who are you kidding? You barely remember to brush your teeth before bed.
Remember that little restaurant in Italy? — Photo by Jorge Zapata on Unsplash
#5 — Pasta Making Machines
That holiday in Italy was so amazing. The architecture, the history, the landscapes, the art, the wine, and the food. Especially the food. When I get back home I’m going to buy a pasta making machine and ditch all those bland, tasteless shop-bought kinds of pasta. My dinner parties will be just like that little restaurant in Rimini. Great idea, but… why is it still in its box in the attic?
#6 — Foot Spas
After a hard day at work, won’t it be so nice to come home, slip off your shoes, and take out the electric foot spa? Fill it with water, carry it across the living room floor — careful not to splash it all over the place — find the nearest wall socket, nowhere close to the TV set, sit back, relax and let your friend the foot spa ease all the worries of the world. So who’s cleaning up the floor?
Cute or a waste of money? — Photo by Philippe Jausions on Unsplash
#7 — Cute Baby Clothes
Awwwww. Didn’t he look adorable in that cute little cashmere baby hat with the teddy-bear ears? And I’m so glad we bought those tiny handmade leather Ottoman slippers when he was six months old. Remember how much we laughed at Christmas when we bought that miniature Gucci romper suit. Such fun, eh? By the way, where are they now?
#8 — Cookery Books
They won’t be a waste of money, you said. They won’t end up on the bookshelf gathering dust, you said. I’ll use them every day, just you wait and see, you said. When you’re eating Chinese, Indian, Thai, French, and Italian delicacies you’ll be begging for more and thanking me for buying those books, you said. Will I phone for a pizza? I said.
#9 — Diaries and Journals
Wouldn’t it be great to chronicle the daily wackiness of your goofy cat or dog? Or maybe you should take notes during your week’s holiday by the sea, it’s sure to be the next best-selling travel book? Or maybe you think others would really benefit from those inspiring thoughts you have during your yoga sessions? I think you should buy another diary or journal, you’re sure to use it every single day. And no, you can’t use one of the other 20 handmade, leather-bound notebooks you already have, you gave them to the kids for drawing in.
Useless objects create useless waste — Photo by Alfonso Navarro on Unsplash
Experiences can end the waste of money
But, perhaps there’s a change happening.
It seems that there’s a growing movement of people who want to rid themselves of items that do nothing to enhance their lives. They are learning how to stop buying stuff, and start appreciating the experiences which exist in the world around them. They are making a vow to stop wasting money on stuff and to lead a fuller, more meaningful life.
Much of this change of perception is being driven by a grave concern for the planet we live on. Rather than waiting for someone else to make the difference, many of us are already actively changing our habits, including our spending habits.
Is there really a change happening? — Photo by Roman Kraft on Unsplash
Instead of disposable plastics, we are turning to reusable environment-friendly options. Instead of buying mass-produced, planet-damaging products we are turning to handmade, artisan, and upstyled alternatives. Instead of handing over hard-earned cash to giant faceless food outlets we are beginning to appreciate the smaller producers, the street-food sellers, the local producers, the sustainable growers, and the many options less harmful to the earth.
And when we travel we are starting to use local guides, smaller tour operators, more planet-friendly forms of transport, and many of us are more than happy to offset any carbon footprint we might create.
For sure, we’re not there yet, we are still wasting a lot of money on the most useless things in the world, but as the saying goes, every journey starts with a single step.
Even the act of gift-giving is changing — Photo by Leone Venter on Unsplash
And it’s not just ourselves we’ve been wasting money on. When it comes to gift-giving we’ve quite literally heaped trillions of dollars on the bonfire of useless gifts, but that too, thankfully, is changing.
With the arrival of gifting companies like Tinggly, we can finally dump the stuff and start giving each other the gift of real experiences; travel, cultural interaction, food, adventure, self-expression.
These mindful experiences can genuinely enhance the lives of the recipient, create stories to be told again and again, and fill a library of memories to be dusted off and reimagined when needed. And what’s more, they never get thrown in the garbage.
Sure, mistakes will happen. We will give in to temptation from time to time. We might even end up with an inflatable kayak in our garage. But, times are slowly changing and people are finally getting wise to how they spend their money. There is light on the horizon.
So, next time you see the Shopping Channel on TV, give yourself the power to switch stations and change the future.
