Picture this: You are at a store, looking at an item that you've wanted for a while. You can afford it, and bring it home. You've imagined your ability to use it, and how much fun it will be, or how practical. So now it's under your arm, and you're hauling it to the checkout counter.
Now you're in your car driving home, and now you place it with all the other things that you thought you'd have fun with.
And there it sits.
I want to develop a mental program that runs just before the moment I pull out my billfold. I want this program to run my anti-advertising campaign. Slogan? Maybe "This thing you CAN own, but if you choose to, you HAVE to own it."
That's too long. Let's try "The cost beyond the cost: House full-o-shtuff, Volume 1."
Or "The Cost of Ownership, a Loss of Freedom."
See, I have too many things. I have back-ups for those things, in case they break. My house is full. And I can't give away most of it, because everyone else' houses are full too. Yet, whether I'm click-clicking around, or in a store perusing, that thought never runs through my mind until I'm home.
It doesn't cross my mind that I'll have to clean what I'm buying. I'll have to provide for it. Provide storage. Perform maintenance. Pay for electricity to run it. Wash it.
My grandfather used to say "never invest in anything that eats or needs painting." I used to think that was a complicated way to say "invest in land." Now I know it has to become a life philosophy.
Hold nothing dear, as everything will pass. Hold everything dear, as everything will pass. Don't try to own everything. Just enjoy it.
Anti-Advertising programming to continue...
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Sound wisdom from your grandfather. So great to have you blogging again! Blessings
ReplyDeleteI think investing in something that eats or needs painting ain't so bad. Veda eats and she's totally worth it. And painting... meh, been there done that. But overall, I totally agree. Gotta being willing to part with all the "stuff" at any time. I'm right there with ya. My house could burn down and I wouldn't mind that much. (We'd just move back in with you and your stuff!) :)
ReplyDeleteI know this is a big part of your philosophy, that "the things you own end up owning you," and I have to say I somewhat agree.
ReplyDeleteThree things to add:
- As someone who has written his share of advertising, I have to say that not all of it is intended to get people to buy stuff they don't need. In fact, in *my* ads, I push to include the whole story, warts and all, so people can understand exactly what this thing or service will do for them, and what it will cost. That way I think people end up happier with their decision overall, rather than feeling tricked, and it makes them trust the company they bought it from more too, since nobody misrepresented anything. Plus I sleep better.
- Most things can be assessed in terms of their ultimate value versus their cost, including storage, maintenance, etc, and chosen (or not chosen) accordingly. And some stuff, like the little wooden frog I bought at Ten Thousand Villages the other day, are disproportionately *valuable*, not costly. That little thing only cost a few bucks, takes up very little space, would be light to carry in case we move, requires no maintenance beyond an occasional dusting, and makes me happy every time I see it. Plus it's replaceable if it ever breaks. And buying it helped support some craftsperson in Indonesia.
- That said, I've noticed that many, many things actually end up costing much more to own than to buy. Light bulbs would be the most obvious example, since a standard 60W incandescent is only a few cents in the store, but will use several dollars' worth of electricity over its life cycle. Cars, too, usually equal their initial purchase price in the cost of the gas they drink over their lifetimes, which doesn't even count insurance, maintenance or repairs, so they're basically light bulbs too. I also found it interesting to calculate that the weight of the gas a car uses in between coming off the assembly line and going to the crusher seems to be about 8 to 10 times as much as the weight of the car itself.
- One more thing... The whole value equation of an object is changed, for the better, if at the end of your time with it you are able to pass it along to someone else who can use it. (Or recycle it, or use parts from it...)
It'd probably be illuminating, if gross, to figure up how many days it takes for the average human to eat his or her weight in food.