By Leland Pulley
Every week there are advertisements for sales of various goods and services. Radio, television, newspapers, magazines, and fliers in the mail all invite us to spend money. Shoppers respond to many ads and bargains on the Internet too. Everyone is hoping to get a good deal for something they want to buy.
Often, they end up being lured into the store where they buy more than they need or buy something other than what they intended when they left home. Merchandisers know this will happen. A good example is the two for one sale, or buy one and get one free. For some items you should ask yourself, why do you need two? Maybe you do not even need one.
Holidays like Christmas add to the shopping. Then there are birthdays and anniversaries. Trips and vacations lead to more shopping in the form of souvenirs. Moving to a new home means you will change some things inside your home, which leads to more shopping.
There are lots of reasons people buy things. Some things are necessities, but most are purchases to fulfill wants more than needs.
- There is the desire to be in style or follow the latest fashions, especially for items like clothing, hairdos, and furniture. Even cars are being sold via their marketing image.
- Some people want to maintain a certain standard of living even though they cannot afford it, so their debts pile up to support the partially false front they put up to others.
- Some people will try to Akeep up with the Joneses@ or their friends and neighbors. This can be a frustrating and never-ending task.
- For some people the things they buy become status symbols. They buy the best quality without a legitimate reason, or a more expensive brand when a cheaper brand will do just fine. What is the point of this? Could this be a sign of pride? Hopefully your own self-esteem is not too dependent on the accumulation of material goods.
Over the years there is more and more accumulation of goods by people. What do they do with these things? Certainly, some things are not used very much after getting them. Then there is the problem of where to put everything. The house, garage, patio, and basement are all full. There are garden sheds in the yards. There are more and more storage units being built, and one major reason is because people need space to store things they cannot keep at their homes. You should look around your own house for evidence of these things.
Some people are not very neat and with time their homes become messy. Having too many goods contributes to this. People at times cannot find what they are looking for among their many goods. This is another reason to limit how much stuff you buy, keep, and store.
Having a large inventory of goods requires money to purchase them originally. Then there is the time and energy to use these things; organize them so you can find what you want; and clean them or maintain them in good condition. Additional money is required to store goods in storage units.
I challenge you to take a careful look at your own inventory of goods.
- How much of this should have been bought in the first place? Maybe a momentary shopping urge caused you to buy some things.
- At times people buy things on sale because it is a good deal, but they really do not need them. Thus, it is not such a good deal after all! How much do you do this?
- Could some of your goods been bought used as well as new?
- Did you pay cash or did you charge things that you are still paying off? A good original price that is charged can become a high price when interest is paid on it over many months or even years.
With time you may not need or want something anymore, or you are not using it enough to justify keeping it. There are ways to decrease inventory. You can hold a garage sale and get rid of many goods at once. You can sell more valuable things at special websites on the Internet. There are ways to share some of your goods with others. You can donate things to a charity or to a secondhand store or outlet. Maybe a family member or relative or friend could use something you have.
Good stewardship implies that we be in charge of and responsible for our material goods. We have legitimate reasons for having them. They meet our basic needs. We are not to become servants to our goods. An important aspect of managing material goods is not having an excess of them. Otherwise you are taking time, energy, or money away from other areas of your life. The questions below will assist you in evaluating how well you are managing your material goods. These questions should help you identify areas of excess and where some improvements are needed.
- Do you really need and use all the stuff you have? If not, do some downsizing in house size, car size, wardrobe size, and other things.
- Do your material goods hinder you from living within your means or on your budget? It is best to always save a little for the future. Put your money into the more important things in life. Many of these are the less tangible things.
- Do you know where everything is when you need to find something? If not, get better organized or throw some things away.
- Can you maintain all your stuff? Goods require time to clean and maintain. How much time is spent doing this per week or month or year? Possessions can require fees to store them. Do you want to spend a lot of time and energy managing goods or do something more important with your life?
- Do material goods contribute to personal pride? If so, take action to eliminate this.
- Are you willing to share some of your goods with others? How do you do this currently?
I have a suggestion to make. Why not simplify? If your closets are overflowing, your garage is a mess, and the storage unit is full – it is time to stop and clean house! First, figure out what you have currently. Then decide what you really like, desire, use, and need. Once this is done, get rid of everything else via a garage sale or donating stuff to a secondhand store or via other means. But do not stop here. You must change your buying habits in the future or the collecting will start all over again. A simple way to view this is to not buy new things unless some things you own are gotten rid of at the same time. This keeps your inventory under control and less personal time and energy are utilized. Money is saved too.
We live in a materialistic society in many ways. We spend too much of our lives focused on materials things. Life is too valuable to do this. Review the way you handle material goods in your life. Are you a Ajunk@ collector? If so, take action today to free yourself of this burden. Then you will have more time, energy, and money to do some of the other good and valuable things life can offer you.
Key Words – advertisements, sales, shoppers, wants, needs, standard of living, status symbols, accumulation of goods, inventory of goods, stewardship, downsizing, budget, personal pride, simplify, buying habits, material things
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