http://lifehacker.com/what-i-learned-fr ... 1496191624My inclination towards purchasing and distraction are directly correlated with a deficiency in my emotional well-being: aka, I have been self-medicating. My purchasing has not been meaningless. It has a cause and an effect. The cause is the set of emotions that are felt due to stressors and variables felt in my life. The effect is that I am unable to deal with the cause because I am not aware of it due to the fullness of my mind in relation to purchasing. The emotional impulses are not satisfied, they are simply brushed aside.
Lifehacker: What I Learned from a Six Month Spending Freeze
Lifehacker: What I Learned from a Six Month Spending Freeze
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jacob
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Re: Lifehacker: What I Learned from a Six Month Spending Fre
I agree with the quote. I can directly correlate my emotional well-being by the amount of CDs or other crap I buy. These days I can go several months without buying anything. This is interrupted by a single months where I buy 1-2-3-4-5 different things. Then nothing again for many months.
In the beginning of "my journey" (in 2001) I went a year without spending anything on myself other than buying a few books. Still being an otherwise incompetent consumer and not knowing other solutions than "buying", I "struggled". It sucked! I do kinda emphasize with consumers when they say they struggle with frugality, but I also realize that the problem is incompetence in the face of the unfamiliar, not so much an actual hardship. As I developed other hobbies (than reading consumer reports and comparative shopping) and learned how to DIY and find deals at thrift stores living got a lot better.
PS: One funny observation. I'm inclined to try to minimize my possessions whenever I feel stressed. Beats eating ice cream or buying a new TV
In the beginning of "my journey" (in 2001) I went a year without spending anything on myself other than buying a few books. Still being an otherwise incompetent consumer and not knowing other solutions than "buying", I "struggled". It sucked! I do kinda emphasize with consumers when they say they struggle with frugality, but I also realize that the problem is incompetence in the face of the unfamiliar, not so much an actual hardship. As I developed other hobbies (than reading consumer reports and comparative shopping) and learned how to DIY and find deals at thrift stores living got a lot better.
PS: One funny observation. I'm inclined to try to minimize my possessions whenever I feel stressed. Beats eating ice cream or buying a new TV
Re: Lifehacker: What I Learned from a Six Month Spending Fre
This behavior can be satisfying without spending. I find that researching and finding things can be interesting and then just save the result of the search. Wait a few months before buying. Usually by then I find I don't need/want the item.
Still a waste of time, though.
Obsessing on stuff can also work in reverse like Jacob says. Minimal packing lists, itemizing possessions to see which ones can be chucked.
Still a waste of time, though.
Obsessing on stuff can also work in reverse like Jacob says. Minimal packing lists, itemizing possessions to see which ones can be chucked.
Re: Lifehacker: What I Learned from a Six Month Spending Fre
what i learned was i could substitute that needing to buy things with accomplishing things.
i just keep a pile of used books around and usually by the time i finish the next book, i have realized i really didnt need that thing that i really wanted a week ago.
i just keep a pile of used books around and usually by the time i finish the next book, i have realized i really didnt need that thing that i really wanted a week ago.