many purchases were bought-without-OTh but the rmSelf would inevitably become critical, and with guilt we will remember the purchase as a failure. Out of sight, out of mind… I would feel less guilt if I get rid of the physical objects.
creep/ctbz/guilt^buy+!oth .. Harmony and reconciliation between two conflicting directives can lead to a revelation and (personal) growth. There is a related case of reconciliation — frugal indulgence ^ ctbz
— keeping track ..
Related to “merchandize return”, another major tcost and stressor is keeping track of “stuff bought and disused long ago”.
When I lose such an item (perhaps at home or discarded), and have to buy again, I feel an acute self-hate, but this self-hate goes against use-without-care
For example, I removed the red pedestal pair from my bike after boy stopped using them. I kept them at home for a few years and discarded them. Then my daughter needed them so I had to buy online. Actually I did all the right things so regret is not justified.
— Directive 1: Below are SMS for many relatively small purchases. I invented these SMS’s more than 5 years ago. They are still valid.
- use ….. without care
- discard without guilt
- buy ….. without oth
- buy ….. without fear (of guilt, regret)
— Directive 2: ctbz@small spends
ctbz is my traditional strength in burn rate control. However, $2 wasted spend in Daiso .. is to be tolerated, given my nonwork incomes. Buy without oth, discard without guilt… Sounds like lifestyle creep !
Q: Will these spends accumulate beyond $1000/Y?
A: I doubt it. ctbz in this case can be ineffective. My due diligence (System 2) is sometimes too slow before spending such small amounts.
Over the years, Let’s record 10 – 20 small wasted spends (below $10) so as to calibrate System 1:
- bicycle seat (boy) and helmet (meimei)
- small paper punch (boy)
- long cloth hangers
- Note: fancy indulgence/luxury foods (or consumables like battery) are never “wasted” esp. if eaten with pleasure
- extra laptop .. now I feel a _burden_ to use it once a while to avoid disuse->oxidation
- badminton net .. luckily, I didn’t make the buying decision.
Toilet blue flush .. I used to think this is unnecessary lifestyle creep. Now I think it can
* reduce water consuption because wife (and I) will not “flush again” when the blue conceals the light-yellow. Half flush never worked with my wife.
* reduce conflict with my wife
— How about wife’s online shopp habit? She bought many small furniture items (often non-durable models), used each for about a year and discarded them (regardless of damage) when she buys a replacement.
Beyond furniture, many of her purchases are decorative so she enjoys “churn”.
I think her practice is “buy without oth and discard without guilt“.