Shopping insights

[rosarugosa]

I think it's clear that I'm not the simplest of the simple when it comes to simple living, but everything is relative, and I've come a long way since my bad old "easy come, easy go" days. (Cannot believe I ever said such things - what a knucklehead!) So lately I've sort of been in shopping mode - nothing scary crazy, all from my allowance (or b'day gifts shopping with Mom, she bought me a few nice things, bless her heart), but I've been doing some spring clothes shopping, no two ways about it. And I've made some observations:
Shopping begets more shopping - whenever you go to the store, even for a very specific purchase, you potentially expose yourself to a whole bunch of desirable things that you wouldn't have even know existed if you hadn't gone in the first place. So beware!
Ripple effect - this is when you buy a new black suit, and you really think you need some shoes to go with it, and you get such a great pair of shoes that you think you should probably get a brown pair too, but your brown pants aren't the right length for these shoes, so you might need new brown pants to go with those shoes. . .
And I'm really not a fashionista, but in my workplace it is appropriate to look reasonably professional and pulled together, which also can play a role in one's self-confidence.
How this ties into simple living - as someone who spent a large part of her adult life searching for something, anything that would fit, I find that simple living for me involves (among many other things) having enough nice clothing options right there in the closet. No agonizing in the morning about what to wear, no stressing about gotta launder this because I need to wear it again tomorrow.
Some of the best money I've ever spent has been on clothes. On the other hand, some of my most wasteful purchases have been on clothes.
Care to share your thoughts/observations?

[SteveinMN]

Years ago I noticed that one benefit of reading the Sunday newspaper on-line was not receiving several pounds of newsprint each Sunday, including many colorful inserts parading a variety of deals and sales prices in front of me -- and I bought much less as a result. No pictures making me think, "I need that widget. And it's on sale this week!"

I've also observed that non-routine shopping -- clothing, home-maintenance items, etc. -- is a tradeoff of time and money. Food shopping is rarely a matter of research beyond menu creation; clothes shopping for me (probably for guys in general) is not hard ("I need a white shirt." "I need new underwear."). But shopping for, say, an external disk drive or compact-fluorescent light bulbs, for me, either means researching the best product and the best price or just giving my shoulders a shrug and buying whatever's most convenient that does not seem exorbitantly expensive.

And my oldest observation is that, whatever I purchase, someone somewhere is selling it for less inside of two weeks. >8)

[Azure]

We use DH's Christmas bonus to our Christmas shopping. It comes the week after Thanksgiving which sends me off on a shopping spree trying to get it all done in a few weeks. I have noticed that once Christmas is over it is hard to stop.

[KayLR]

I use my "need or want" filter quite often and it's saved me from many purchases. Steve's right---the ads are a huge catalyst.

[awakenedsoul]

You express yourself so well, rosarugosa. I know what you mean. I just bought three standard fruit trees for my orchard. I initially was going to get three new trees each year. Well, I went back the next week and bought three more. The first three were a fig, a Satsuma mandarin, and a pluot. After planting those I thought, "Well, I can shift some money in the budget and get three more growing. They'll pay for themselves with the fruit in a few years." So, I returned and got a Bing cherry, a nectarine, and an apricot. Came home planted those. Aah....it looks and feels great out there. Trees have such a powerful, nurturing energy! Then I read the label of the Bing cherry. It needs a pollinator...and I'd like to get some roses for the front cottage garden. But, I really should wait until next year.

[rosarugosa]

Awakened: I can easily rationalize that Mother Nature is MANDATING you to buy another cherry tree - and it's not smart to disobey Mother Nature!
Steve & Kay: Yes, avoiding the temptation in the first place is a big help.
Azure: Exactly, it's like you build up some sort of shopping momentum. But once I make up my mind to stop, I can build up frugal momentum as well. Like Steve says, shopping uses up a lot of time that can really be spent in more enjoyable ways, so reminding myself of this is also a good strategy. I've already started telling myself that I've bought the things I needed or really wanted, and if I get the chance to take a lunch break next week, I'll get far more pleasure for no cost at all in the Public Gardens.

[Blackdog Lin]

rosa: your post really resonated with me. I agree strongly with you that shopping does indeed beget more shopping.

I spent literally several years training myself to "hate" shopping. To the point where now I dread and avoid even the necessary grocery shopping. But every time I don't set foot in any kind of store, I save money. I find myself planning more menus improvising with what is on hand in the pantry, rather than go to the grocery store. If we're due for a Walmart trip for household necessaries, every week that we can put it off we save money by finding we can be quite creative in getting by with what we have on hand. And clothes shopping: my former gazingus pin. Every "necessary" clothing item I think I need, I find that by just not finding the time to go shopping for it, I get by fine without it.

[Rosemary]

awakenedsoul, if anyone in your vicinity has a pollinator for your tree that should be sufficient. I was surprised when my plum tree bore fruit last year, because its companion had been munched by a deer the first year it was in the ground and was still catching up - it never flowered. But somewhere nearby there is another tree!

I also try to generally avoid going to stores and being influenced by ads. I never watch TV so that reduces a lot of exposure.
I notice that I go in cycles with both adding and removing things from our household. But with a small house, even when I find myself adding things, I'm always making decisions about whether we have a place to keep (item) or if we really need it.

[lhamo]

I definitely notice this. I do best with the budget overall when the "no spend" days represent a large proportion on my calendar. Now that I am doing my commute by public transit both ways, there should be more of them. But it seems like there is always something to pick up from the store on the way home, and then I;ll grab a treat for the kids, and the bills just go up and up.

Need to seriously get this under control now that we've settled on a school for the kids that is going to REALLY stretch our budget. As in unless we can get spending down in certain categories we are likely going to be dipping into savings. we have the savings to do it, but I'd rather not resort to that. Ugh. I think I've got it figured out so that we can still be building our retirement and college savings, though at a significantly reduced rate. Kind of depressing to go from saving nearly 50% of our take home to only being able to sock away about 10-15%. Thankfully our balances are now high enough that even modest returns will add significantly more than what we can contribute. Compounding is our friend. But keeping the spending under control is essential, too.

lhamo

[iris lily]

I spend a fair amount of time "shopping" but it is in unconventional places like Goodwill or in seed and plant catalogs. It's hard for me to blow much money at Goodwill, but give me an iris catalog and $300 later I've got to find room for the new ones. And THAT is a great thing, always running out of room keeps these purchases in check.

M-F is nearly always no spend days for me, but that doesn't keep me form spending on Saturday.

I got sick of going to estate sales a few years ago because I was just done with buying more stuff that didn't have a place. Now that our first floor is entirely "done" I won't buy anything that isn't carefully planned for. I want 1 more piece of furniture, one of those wicker dog crates. I would also trade up a gateleg table, but we need no additional furniture. In 2 years we will have to replace chairs or a sofa, no doubt (dog damage) so that will keep the coffers empty.

[SteveinMN]

I've even largely stopped "shopping" thrift stores. Maybe 10-12 years ago, when I first discovered them, thrift stores had a lot of stuff I (thought I?) needed, much of it was in very good condition (some of it unused, I'm sure), and, aside from some obvious markups (e.g., almost anything with the Sony brand on it was overpriced) the prices were great.

Ever since the economy tanked, though, the rabid consuming public does not seem to be buying as much stuff as it did, so there are fewer good castoffs being donated. Much of the stuff that has any value beyond a few bucks seems to have gone to craigslist and eBay. At least where I live, the stores are full of "decor", kids' stuff, and obviously-used appliances.

Thrift stores have gotten more accurate at pricing the bigger-ticket items; it used to be that certain high-quality but lesser-known brands of electronics, cameras, pots, etc. would not be recognized and they'd be a great deal. Not so much anymore. Many remaining items often seem to suffer from being priced not far behind their sealed brand new brethren in discount stores. Or they're in not-so-great shape to start with.

I'm also getting tired of weird selling practices -- Goodwill segregates clothing by gender (poorly) and then by color. Dunno 'bout you folks, but, for me, size is the gating factor. Doesn't matter how much I like it or how cheap it is if it doesn't fit. One chain of thrift stores here has taken to unbundling; the item has one price and the necessary power cord is elsewhere and priced separately, so the true cost of the functioning widget is considerably higher than it was.

Couple it all together and I have come to think that I don't want to put that kind of time into coming up empty-handed on most visits. I guess that's a shopping insight, too.

[ApatheticNoMore]

Agree. And I don't even get the conversations about there being all these "finds" at thrift shops. I mean ok if you want a used appliance or salad spinner cheap you might be able to find one at a thrift shop and there is nothing wrong with that as long as you make sure it still works. So it can be a way to save money on a few things for a little hassle. But unique finds? Not really. The world is not the antiques roadshow :). Thrift stores are really full of quite a lot of junk. And better made older products? Thrifts stores don't have that much of that anymore either!


Many remaining items often seem to suffer from being priced not far behind their sealed brand new brethren in discount stores.

Yea its not well made old products, but much more something that sold at Target for $8, now marked down to $5 at the thrift store. Ok sometimes I find something I like (a find for me, but only because my tastes in some things aren't that common) and it's moderately amusing to shop at a thrift store. I don't know why anyone would expect that many finds, it's kinda something for nothing. Yea sure some slightly cheaper used stuff. But the degree of poverty, unemployment, and people scouring thrift stores for finds to put on EBay and the like would tend to decrease this.

[JaneV2.0]

I haven't made a thrift run in a few months, but I still find impressive deals. A year ago, I found a hand-woven scarf by a multi-award-winning designer--retailing for $185--for $4.80 and an apparently never used Oster toaster for $6. A friend just scored a brand new Hawaiian dress for a few dollars at her local Goodwill. Our thrift stores are generally clean and well-organized, as well as fully stocked. I pass up the over-priced stuff. I have items to donate, so I'll be checking out the goods one day soon.

[cindycindy]

In terms of shopping begetting more shopping, I find that with home improvements. Just bought paint, painted a room. Then it's "well, as long as we have the painting stuff out, might as well paint another room". So, it's back to the store. We're on our third room.

[ToomuchStuff]

Wondering how much of a man verses woman thing there is? Also, I would expect, everyone has some stores that are more a problem for them, then others. (expect some gender differences there)
Part of my job, is shopping for work (I make the lists as well), and I HATE it when stores remodel, so you don't know where things are, and have to look around (they should be giving out maps, afaiac). I try to have my shopping done, as quickly as possible, and the most time consuming part, typically, is the cash register line. This probably has an affect on my hate of it.
Last year, I went clothes shopping for the first time in years, due to a funeral. I have a couple of family members who LOVE garage sales (WAY too much) and are bringing me clothes, even though I asked them to stop (NOT ENOUGH ROOM). They come in handy for finding old tools (I enjoy woodworking), but only look when I tell them I am looking for something.
Never had much luck with the thrift stores, personally. I know someone who owns a few, and learned some of the stuff I was looking for, was all going to one store, where the do bigger mark ups. Better luck at garage sales, in higher end area's (and if I am looking for larger items).
I have a few damaged freight stores around, that I have and do shop at, but when I am looking for specific items, typically. (great for office supplies) You do have to watch yourself in them, for several reasons. People seem to get addicted to them (know a few), and there are bargains if you need things, but I known several that go nuts in there and have found, that they have and do, mark some stuff over retail.
I have an email address, for bargain hunting (the signup junk), which I go clean out occasionally, but only check when I need something, otherwise. I try to stay out of stores as much as possible (don't go browsing), unless I have to for work.
No tv is good, doesn't make much sense to pay money for them to advertise to you (they make it on both ends). They do this with the newspapers as well (free trial, then take a membership count, during, and up their ad prices, repeat).
Working to support stuff, causes (typically, IMHE) one a lack of time to enjoy the stuff, so they do a repeat.

[martha]

Went TV-free years ago, so am no longer exposed to incessant advertising from that direction. I get the newspaper daily, and automatically sort the sections into "recycle" stack and "read first" stack. All the ad sections go straight to the "recycle" stack unopened, and what's left is a much more manageable amount of paper that actually gets opened and read. Reading all those ads for me is similar to walking around in a store - until it's in front of my eyes, I didn't think I needed it, and was doing fine without it. I go shopping only when I have realized that I need a particular thing; then I go looking for that particular thing. In terms of time spent, gasoline used, and general hassle factor, buying online is frequently the cheaper option unless shipping costs outweigh the other savings.

Having said that, my favorite online clothing sources - stores where I like the kind of clothes they sell and know which of their sizes fit me - when they send emails announcing their new season arrivals, I do scan through those looking for items that I need, and am susceptible to buying a new blouse or 3 just because I like them even if I don't, strictly speaking, need them. This is an ongoing struggle.

Walking into a bookstore almost invariably wipes out my budget for the next couple of months, so I no longer go there. Unfortunately, Amazon is worse by an order of magnitude. Does anyone make a gadget to block Amazon from one's computer? :|(

[razz]

I learned a hard lesson going shopping for a dining set. I cheaped out and really regret not buying the best that I could afford which should last forever. Now I need to get that dining set since the chairs of the cheap set are not holding up.
Shopping with care and thought and not cheaping out is a struggle since so much is poorly made these days.

[ApatheticNoMore]

Shopping with care and thought and not cheaping out is a struggle since so much is poorly made these days.

+1

[ToomuchStuff]

Does anyone make a gadget to block Amazon from one's computer? :|(


Yes, you do. Some NAT (firewalls) have a block list, but that won't help on the road (using someone else's free access), for that, you need to add it to your hosts file (google it and your operating system, as it is easy to do).

[pinkytoe]

Clothes are probably my only shopping "issue" because there are so many choices and so little quality. All I want is classic, well-fitting clothes that I don't have to think about too much. Finding a decent pair of black work slacks that fits and at a reasonable price shouldn't take so much effort. Skinny, ankle, trouser, bootleg...it makes me crazy. I stopped going to Goodwill since they sort by color and not size. Life is too short to sift through a whole aisle of one item looking for the right size. And the magic genie attribute of the internet doesn't help my affliction to seek out perfection.

[KayLR]

Wow, I feel fortunate--our Goodwill sorts by size, then by color. A few weeks ago I found 2 Foxcroft blouses for 6.99 each. They sell for $65 at Nordstrom. They still had the original price tags on them.

[goldensmom]

Wow, I feel fortunate--our Goodwill sorts by size, then by color. A few weeks ago I found 2 Foxcroft blouses for 6.99 each. They sell for $65 at Nordstrom. They still had the original price tags on them.
That's good to know about Foxcroft. I'd never heard of the brand. I got 3 Foxcroft blouses in a church bag sale ($2/bag). Guess I got a good deal, eh?

[KayLR]

I'll say you did. There are some variances in the blouses, I've found, though. Some are heavier (non-wrinkling type), and some are almost see-through. I also noticed this year they started sewing 2 large pockets on the chest....this I do not need.

[martha]

Yes, you do. Some NAT (firewalls) have a block list . . .

Gaaah - didn't know it was actually possible! Thanks for that info - now can I do it? Kicking a drug sounds easier . . .