Don't buy what you don't have to...

 Don't buy what you don't have to! This sounds like the type of advice you could get from a fortune cookie. It just sounds so obvious.

But...

We constantly buy things we don't really need simply because we want something new, we changed our décor, we got it on sale!

There are implications to all this discretionary spending, we tend to have way too much debt, rely on credit cards, have no savings, we live in clutter, pay to store what we can't squeeze into our homes, have overfilled landfills, etc, etc, etc. 

A few years ago my marriage fell apart, and suddenly the life I knew and all the stuff that went with it were no longer mine. When I finally moved into my own apartment it was an apartment that had last been lived in by the landlord's elderly aunt before she went into a nursing home and it was filled with her stuff. 

I was told I could use whatever I wanted..

So, on the one hand I had the opportunity and the perfect reason to go out and buy anything I wanted and needed. On the other, I had an apartment that was filled with stuff, much of it perfectly good. 

Since this apartment is most likely not the last place I will ever live, I decided to use as much of what was here as possible and only buy those things that I felt were really essential. 

Now so much of this fits in with my personal beliefs and maybe my personal tastes but I got a huge sense of satisfaction with taking furniture that was here and moving things around to make this feel very much like MY home and not simply that I had moved into someone else's. But, I also got a huge sense of satisfaction from using and enjoying things that otherwise might have ended up in a box sitting in storage or sent off to goodwill or some landfill. 

Things like mixing bowls, baking dishes, lamps, dressers, silverware, trash barrels. Some of these things are clearly "retro" but they're in good shape, still usable, functional, and I would have had to spend hundreds  of dollars (maybe thousands?) to simply have the satisfaction of having bought them and maybe having something trendy.

At the same time I mixed in some of my own belongings, such as a little green coffee pot that I have had forever. It is not a k-cup (don't get me started) or sleek and stainless steel or really fancy in anyway it just works. I brought my cast iron pans, my grandmother's mixing bowls, my mother's mixer, 

In the end I bought very little and enjoy using things that otherwise might be collecting dust or being discarded. And if I were to move, I think I'd like to ask for, or buy the things that are here and that I'm using because I just don't see the need in replacing them. 

So sure moral of the story is before you go buying things for a house or apartment see what things you have and are useful and usable, and then see what hand me downs are out there

But there is more to it than that!

I'm also a bit of a hoarder and a collector. This is something I'm working on and need to really work a bit harder to let go of things that I couldn't resist buying but have no real need for. A big issue for me is books!

I love books, especially biographies and cookbooks and so for me a big push over the last year has been to go through my collection of books and recognize that I don't them all, haven't read some in quite a long time and it's time to let go. 

The other issue is NOT buying MORE books! And while I have bought a few books over the last year, I have READ far more books that I have bought! 

And that's because I have access to a tremendous amount of books for free thanks to my local library. Even better I bought an e-reader a few years back and as much as I love the feel of a book in my hand, I have fallen in love with the ease of borrowing books online without ever having to leave my home. 

The library has been around for a long time, but still I used to buy most of the books I read, sometimes never to read them or to read them once and then have them sit on a shelf collecting dust. A waste of money and a waste of space. 

Although I'm tempted to sign up for premium streaming services to watch some of the new content I keep seeing advertised, with every intention of luring me in, I continue to find great movies and shows on the one streaming channel I do pay for or on the many free options that are out there. 

Now, if you really want that new book, can't do without watching that new show you currently don't have access to, really feel that you dishes MUST match the new curtains, etc. well by all means spend your money on the things you feel you truly want, need, or will give you pleasure. But before you do ask yourself, can I do without this? is there an alternative to just going out and buying this? And what are the negative consequences of my buying this? 

I think if you do that maybe you'll find some of these things are really things you can do without.