Free Things Are Keeping You Poor

In today’s world of hyper-consumerism, there is always something new to get. Add to this the marketing ploys many companies apply, and it becomes tough to avoid unnecessary purchases or goods, especially free things. Big banners outside shopping malls, on buildings, and on roadsides scream about the stuff on sale, buy one get one offer and often stuff just being given out for free increases the pressure.

But is anything ever free?

When I was a hoarder

I remember a time when I was a hoarder. Frequent sales were already bad for my pocket, but the four-letter word that made me lose control was F R E E.

I remember getting something free with some purchase used to sound like a deal that only a fool would resist.

Buy one get one Free, buy the latest console get 2 games free, pre-order now, and get a $20 discount.

I bought many unnecessary things if I got some other unnecessary thing free or discounted with that purchase.All this while not realising nothing is ever truly free, but just a ploy to get you to spend more money.

Free Things

Let’s talk about these free things. Any and everything you get for free is never actually free.

A good example from my hoarding days in the US would be my first Xbox One. The reason I got an Xbox One was that I was getting a free game with it, imagine buying a $500 console for a $30 game. This Xbox One led me to buy a projector, after all, gaming would be so awesome on a huge screen. The projector led to a Home Theater System. In the end within the same week, I bought an Xbox One because of a discount, I also ended up spending another couple of thousand dollars on other things. This expense does not even include the additional games or Xbox Live yearly subscription I ended up getting eventually.

Not just that, such purchases also take up important real estate in your home. This used-up space starts making you feel you need a bigger house, or you end up buying some kind of additional storage outside of your house to store these things.

The problem is instead of selling off unnecessary things we tend to blame the lack of space as the issue and start looking for bigger places to stay. This expense is usually the biggest one. Back in the US, I used to live in a 2-bedroom apartment where one room was solely used for all the unnecessary stuff I had because we had so much of it.

I imagine you have similar stories about purchases made on a whim because something was on sale. All these things which you buy but never use again once bought. These are the purchases we should stay away from.

I ended up selling all this junk when I moved out of the USA, and it was so freeing.

Intentional Purchases

Any unnecessary purchase impacts you and the world in many ways. For you, more things are occupying your mind.

You go online and look for accessories to add to your existing collection.

For the world, the more new things you get, the more of the old stuff becomes fodder to the landfills. Every year you get a new phone for that minor incremental upgrade you lose money, and generate more e-waste.

The secret to getting out of this is to nip the first such purchase in the bud. Not buying that console would have saved me 2 grand, and avoided quite a bit of e-waste.

I am not preaching and would be lying if I said I have not given in to these temptations since.

However, I am trying to be more intentional in my current purchases.

The rule I follow is to wait 48 hours before buying something I ‘want’ and not ‘need’. This gives me enough time to figure out if that is an essential purchase. And if the pros of purchase outweigh the cons.

I think owning less is a mantra for a simpler life. The money saved in the process is just a bonus.

Being intentional with your purchase, as well as getting rid of things you currently own but that are not being used is essential to recover the space, both mental as well as physical space around you.

This also ensures you are being smart about your money, and not giving in to the temptation of paying for unnecessary things while compromising on getting things that are not.

What are your views?

Are you a deliberate spender, or do you spend on a whim when things go on sale?

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