What's worth buying and what's worth keeping?

Date Posted: Sep 09, 2009

“You never know how much stuff you have until you need to move it 1,500 miles. … Neither Abby nor Tim have ever earned much money but in the past 10 years they’ve acquired a ton of  books, clothes, household items and hobby supplies thanks to Freecycle, Craigslist, thrift shops, free gift card programs and clearance tables.”    The above is quoted from MSN news online September 4, 2009, What’s Worth Keeping and got me to thinking.


http://blogs.moneycentral.msn.com/smartspending/archive/2009/09/04/what-s-worth-keeping.aspx

 

What’s worth buying?  Anything that you truly need or something that you want and will enjoy is worth buying, provided it fits within your family budget.  But many of us fall for sales promotions and buy things we don’t need and don’t really enjoy.  At the time of the purchase, we tell ourselves that something is a good buy.  Think about things you have purchased because they were a good price and then never used them.  Next time you are tempted, ask yourself if the you would buy it if you had to pay full price.  That will give you an indicator of how much you like the item.  Also, if you purchase a sale item, say 20% off, but you wind up paying finance charges on your credit card, you won’t have saved 20%.


What’s worth keeping?  Look through your own clutter and ask yourself why you are keeping these things.  If you are keeping things because they remind you of a person or past experience, why not choose a few select items to display so that you can enjoy them?  Then dispose of the remainder of items.   Keep clothes that look good on you, fit well and that you feel good wearing.  Get rid of the others.  Go through the remainder of your possessions a little at a time and ask yourself if they are worth keeping.


And next time you are tempted to buy something because it is on sale, think:  Is it worth buying?  Is it worth keeping?