consumerism

jnap31 · #81 05/04/06, 12:49 PM

Morrisonscorner LOL I got a real kick out of your last post LOL

susieM · #82 05/04/06, 01:19 PM

I've been wondering....can anyone tell me why anyone would want to do this, as an experiment? As a lifestyle, maybe... try it out, for awhile, to see if it fits....but as a social experiment?

Did the idea for it come from Southern California, or what?

(No offense to those who live in, or by, S. California lifestyle rules)

jnap31 · #83 05/04/06, 01:31 PM

Maybe they want to see if they are able to have the will power and if it will help them save $ and then maybe make it their lifestyle

Melissa · #84 05/04/06, 01:39 PM

MC, you can send the pan to me if you still have my address. LOL

I know people who everything thinks are such frugal people because they only buy bargains or at auctions or thrift stores. They spend so much money on all of this stuff and a lot of it is not really that necessary to have, they don't "need" it. But they enjoy the search I guess. Personally, I would rather just wait until my toaster dies and go out and buy a new one than haunt yard sales and stock up on 2-3 used toasters hanging onto them until the old one dies, but that is just me.

ChickenTracy · #85 05/04/06, 03:13 PM

MC, my point is I don't care what the neighbors have or what they can afford or how they pay for their items. I've grown up thrifty, it's in my blood. I've never considered it a form of drudgery to buy thrift store stuff nor am I ashamed of buying most of my things used & if someone doesn't like the shirt I wear then it's no sweat off my back if they choose to look down on my way of living. I've spent about 1,500 on the house & have raised it's value by 10,000 by recycling hardwood flooring & ceramic tile over a 5 year period. It's not something I felt needed done all at once or had the money to spend all at one time. I've also got a brand new sectional LR suite that I paid almost 1,200 for 2 months ago & paid cash with my income tax. First new piece of furniture I've ever owned in my entire life. I hardly got 2 nickles to rub together at the moment. But, that's ok. Living thrifty & saving for the things that counts isn't drudgery. It's all in the way you perceive yourself & I won't think of myself lower that others because on the norm I can't afford to or want to buy everything new. It's the way I live & who I am. I don't bother to worry about what the neighbor next door can afford. As long as I'm living within my means then I'm ok with that. If you take that as snobbery then that's not how I meant for my post to come across. But, if you'd like to think that then that's your right & opinion to do with as you wish.

Patt · #86 05/04/06, 03:20 PM

I have read through this thread with great interest and sometimes amusement.

For us personally we tend to buy however we can get the best quality. Sometimes that means new and sometimes it's used. For example I buy my shoes from the LL Bean catalog. They last forever and they are something that should be bought new for the good of your feet. I buy alot of my other clothes from thrift stores though because I rarely like newer stuff and it's usually sturdier stuff anyways. I usually spend $40 a year on clothes and $60-$70 every 5 years on shoes. Overall we don't buy a lot of stuff at all. We go to the grocery and the feed store every 2 weeks and I haven't been in a dept store in I don't know how long now.

One thing I do find a bit ironic is how people can bash others who buy new but then buy those people's stuff used. Where would they find all their great buys at the thrift store if we didn't have a country full of consumers buying stuff and then giving it away? If everyone used up everything till it was rags we would all have to buy new wouldn't we?

I do agree with jnap31, here in rural AR the garage sales aren't worth bothering with, everyone out here doesn't put it out to sell till it's about useless. I have been to few autions but I've found I can waste as much money there on stuff I don't need as I can at Target. And it's more tempting because it's so cheap.

For hedgeapple I think you have a great idea to try and buy less new. Anything that makes you more self aware on your buying habits is a good idea. My biggest suggestion is try not to leave home any more than is necessary. If you go to a store you're more likely to buy unnecessary items. If you run out of something or need something look around and see if there's something you could make due with.

hedgeapple · #87 05/04/06, 04:27 PM

burbsteader - how was pioneer day, aren't those kinds of things fun??
jnap31 - you may be right about thoreau as i did not have time earlier to check for sure how long he lived there, but it wasn't long compared to a lifetime.
susieM - you wondered why someone would want to try it as an experiment, and for the people who might try it, there are surely many reasons. but one thing that sticks in my head alot is how we consider how people living today consider their lifestyle habits to be normal, when really we live so differently from most of the people who every walked the earth for example, when we go out to a restaurant to eat, we can just sit down and have someone serve us from a wide menu selection and listen to soothing music while we eat and not have to clean up and to think that throughout history this kind of pleasure has been available mostly only to kings and their court. sometimes i think i would just like to experience what it was really like for most people who have lived. i am one of those people who think they would have been more comfortable in the 1800's even though i realize a lot has been romanticed about the past. i know i cannot recreate the past and its simpler lifestyle, but i wonder how attempting to live it for awhile might change me and what insights it might give me about life, myself, whatever. i hope you don't think that sounds nuts; how many of the people who audition for shows like texax ranchhouse are trying to do this on a different scale? or people who engage in historical reenactments. well, i could go on but i am sure i am boring you.

Obser · #88 05/04/06, 04:41 PM

Hedgeapple, what you say is not boring at all -- it is a most interesting point of view that should cause people to think. I encourage you to say more.

Garden Ear · #89 05/04/06, 04:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Obser

Garden Ear,

If you choose to be insulted by a question I asked that was not directed to you personally, that is your business and your problem. You chose to put yourself in that position and you choose to be insulted rather easily.

I have observed that your posts are often directed at people personally rather than toward ideas, and often seem to be intended to demean people personally or to criticize or correct them because they "offend" you somehow. It seems to me as though you are willing or anxious to demean others but are quick to take offense at any real or imagined affront to yourself.

Often you criticize people for criticizing people – which seems oxymoronic. Are you somehow empowered by the forum to act as a critic or judge or moderator, or are you self-appointed? Are you a recognized authority on etiquette or communication?

If you wish to provoke a confrontation with me I will accommodate you to some extent as I have in the past. However, I do not feel as though this forum is the place for such exchanges. Furthermore, I prefer to spend my time on ideas rather than personalities and I do not care to deal with your emotions.

Sorry if you think I want to provoke a confrontation. I don't. If I wanted to it would be too easy and it would be very blantant. Extremely blantant so that there would be absolutely no doubt. As it is, I merely posted a viewpoint. I'm not the only one either who commented on your attitude, so please don't go misconstruing my words so negatively. I appreciate your cooperation and your understanding in the matter.
For the record, I'm not really insulted in the least by what you said earlier, its just that I thought your comment sounded insulting.
Take a load off and lighten up on yourself. Relax and have fun. Exhale.

Garden Ear · #90 05/04/06, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Obser

Hedgeapple, what you say is not boring at all -- it is a most interesting point of view that should cause people to think. I encourage you to say more.

Hedgeapple,
I agree with what Obser says in the quote above. You have a most interesting point of view and I think your experiment is worthwhile to those who care to try it. People do NOT need new if they can find used. I do buy used items, and I even stop at the curb if someone has thrown out something to the garbage truck that I think I might be able to use. I've gotten a lot of things in curbside trash, like yard furniture and grills and lots of other types of stuff even a radio and a table.

But sometimes I also get caught up in the conversation drift like jnap does. I just wanted to let you know that I find your topic here to be extremely interesting. Thanks for starting it and for sticking with it.

Obser · #91 05/04/06, 05:10 PM

With the emotions and condemnations out of the way it seems like the thread is now moving in positive directions.

Would it be useful to define “consumerism”?

Merriam Webster defines it as: 1) the promotion of the consumer's interests, 2) the theory that an increasing consumption of goods is economically desirable; also : a preoccupation with and an inclination toward the buying of consumer goods

I think that most of us are using the bolded definition when we discuss consumerism. Do you agree?

Hedgeapple started this thread with the following (bolds are mine)

Quote:

Originally Posted by hedgeapple

i went to google today and typed in "how not to buy anything" and i saw where there was a group on the west coast who were trying to go a year without buying anything new except things like food, medicine, and safety items and i think they used the internet as a kind of support group facilitator. i think i would be interested in a challenge like this but i need a group that would consider things like livestock, feed, and plants, etc., to be on the necessity list. i know a person could do this on their own, but i think it would be enjoyable to kind of do it with like minded folks. so my question is does anyone know of any internet sites similar to this for homestead thinking people. thank you.

Respecting Hedgapple and the group he mentions, the idea is presented as an enjoyable challenge to avoid buying anything new (with some exceptions) for a year.

Rather than complicating the issue with discussion of personal preferences, can we have a similar group and keep it simple and to the point by following the original objectives (with some concessions peculiar to homesteading or farming)?

If so, I am in (subject to Wonderful Wife’s agreement) after I rush out and buy a few pair of new underwear (sorry Jnap, I just had to say that, hehehe).

susieM · #92 05/04/06, 05:18 PM

I agree (with post number 87). Even more so, for me over here on the other side of the earth....which may as well be on the other side of the moon, for all that it's different, over here.

MorrisonCorner · #93 05/04/06, 05:57 PM

Could we define "new" as well? Do we mean "new" as in "out of the box purchased at a retail store?" Or "new" as in "new to you.. a "new" posession?"

ET1 SS · #94 05/04/06, 06:07 PM

Reading through this a bit, 'anti-consumerism' is also the common behavior of First-Generational American millionaires.

Read "The Millionaire Nextdoor", an extensive survey of lifestyle, spending habits and investment patterns of successful families.

Burbsteader · #95 05/04/06, 06:53 PM

The pioneer site was a lot of fun. Everyone in the school district knows this field trip and 99% of them will tell you its their favorite. It's been going on for 35 years now.

Pioneer history is my favorite time period in history, although I find fascination in just about any period of time, in every culture. Something about it just keeps me glued to it.

Each of the parent volunteers was assigned to a different station.
There was the logging and woodcutting sections.
Gold panning and prospecting
Candlemaking (each of the children gets to bring home their own hand dipped candle)
Pioneer manners, expectations about chores and children, and old fashioned toys.
The kids hauled water and chopped and hauled the wood.
Outdoor cooking using dutch ovens, big tubs and kettles. My DH got to go to this field trip 2 years ago with our oldest and he came back laughing about how much of the equipment I own already.

The kids were involved in making buttermilk biscuits, homemade icecream, and making butter. The buttermilk leftover from the butter making was saved for the next day's biscuits. The butter the kids made was used on the biscuits. The kids really liked that they had a physical, tangible part of every process in some way.
We all agree that food tastes better over an open fire.

I was in charge of making butter, which I specifically requested because I've got some experience with most everything else but I've always wanted to learn more about making butter firsthand. I had so much fun!

Many of the kids had no idea that butter comes from milk.

kesoaps · #96 05/04/06, 07:37 PM

New or New To You...That is the Question...

In my mind, these would be okay to purchase new:
Underwear and Soap, New is the only way I'll aquire these, so they become consumables, right? So they shouldn't be included.

New parts for vehicles; to me, this is really personal, especially for anyone trying this for a year. Many of us don't live where it would be practicle to skimp on things that get us to work. If you live where public transportation is an option, or if you can bike to and from wherever you're going, then great. But if you've got a quiver full of children, a good running car is essential, so I personally couldn't fault someone for buying new parts when needed.

Okay for new to you:

Clothing...while I most likely could go a year without buying anything (unless of course I suddenly become successful with my non-diet and drop 20 lbs), but I've got a growing daughter at home, so of course purchases must be made. So I'd say this is a New To Me purchase, which would be acceptable.

Gifts? Well, I already do handmade whenever possible. Of course, crafters still need to purchase supplies... I dunno

What does everyone else think? I do like it when my family gets creative with gift giving. Gifts for your children's friends may be a bit challenging...but do-able if you have the inclination, I think.

I'm not sure if there's anything I'd place in a do not purchase category, as we all have to determine for ourselves what we find neccessary. There's no way I can tell dh that he can't go see a movie...although obviously that would fall into the purchased new category...and I'm not sure I'd consider it a needed consumable. More a wasted expense...but that's me. Our compromise would be renting, or purchasing a used movie (or me just not going...which happens more often than not.) Still way to consumer oriented for some folks, but that's what I've got to work with.

Is this going to be something with strict rules? Or more about personal challenge?

hedgeapple · #97 05/04/06, 08:25 PM

after trying to read all the posts on this thread, i think it might work best for those who are interested to do it via the personal challenge route. for instance, some people have mentioned things i had not thought of - i was just sick of my current state of things and wanted definite change fast - and because i want and plan to succeed in my quest to reduce my consumerism i decided i might need to plan this out a bit more. i now thinking - kind of based on i think it was burbsteaders six month plan -that the rest of this month and the month of june i am cutting back but using this time to think and plan as to how i could successfully curb buying for the third quarter of year - july, aug, and sept - like maybe decide what i need - truly need not just want - and stock up for three months on all except perishable food. that way i would be forcing myself to make a purposeful and thought out list of my purchases and since spending for three months will take some bucks, i will basically kinda be forcing myself to cull unnecessary items. then if all i buy during that three months (unless medicines, emergency, etc.)is perishable food items, i will be forced to ration more carefully what i have on hand. then after that three months, i have more knowledge on how to do it from october to december. then when 2007 comes, maybe i will be able to do it in six month increments and who knows - by trying to become more self sufficient in the process, maybe just maybe i can do it for a whole year. anyway, for me personal challenge and if anyone else does personal challenges also, i hope you will keep us posted bacause, as my daughter said when i showed her this forum, isn't it nice to know that there is somebody out there who thinks like you

if i get this under control, maybe i will work on my internet forum reading addicgtion, but i have decided that looking forward to reading internet forums in the evening actually is a move toward a simpler life, because strangely enought this hi tech stuff is a throw back to the old days where people sat on the front porch in the evening or aroune the fire and talked. my children who are still at home are older teens with their own jobs and interest and dh is more than content to watch tv in evening without chatl

hedgeapple · #98 05/04/06, 08:39 PM

there in another thread going on here about weaning away from walmart and someone, i think maybe rachelann ,posted this site and i think it refers to what i originally saw

http://www.vegsoc.org.au/forum_messa...161&Topic_ID=9

QBVII · #99 05/04/06, 09:18 PM

Quote:

Simply because you're buying second hand does not mean you're somehow absolved of aquisitiveness. In fact, my observation during what is now my fifth massive estate sale is that people buying in these sales exhibit more aquisitiveness than someone shopping at WalMart. You don't go into WalMart and start snatching things and clutching them to your chest.

I tell you, one of the upscale thrift shops we frequent is going to be the scene pretty soon of a geriatric show-down, these people come in there snatching and grabbing like their lives depend on it.
I just don't go there anymore!

jnap31 · #**100** 05/05/06, 12:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Obser

Hedgeapple, what you say is not boring at all -- it is a most interesting point of view that should cause people to think. I encourage you to say more.

Ditto