by Dr. Charles Alonzo Peters
We’re suffocating in stuff. Our garages are overflowing, our attics busting at the seams, and our bedroom closets crammed to capacity. We even have whole television shows about hoarders, people who’ve taken the obsession with junk to the next level.
My own war against stuff became crystal clear after paying my last self-storage bill – $91, and that was for one of the smallest units. Over the last two years I’ve shelled out over $2000 just to store my junk. Money that should have gone into my IRA or 401K. And I’m not alone. By the end of 2009 there was more than 2.35 billion square feet of self-storage space in the US.
Even our houses have grown in size to accommodate all the tools, shoes, furniture, toys, and other plastic pieces of garbage we accumulate.
Two and three car garages have become popular – not for parking our cars, but for storing our things. Ask anyone and they’ll tell you a bedroom truly isn’t a bedroom unless it has ample closet space.
But there is a high price to be paid for stuff. The problem with building wealth is not that we don’t have enough money to do so, but we don’t put our money to efficient use. We waste it – on stuff.
Take a look at your bedroom. How much money have you wasted on shoes or clothes that seemed like a bargain at the time, but now languish in the dark corners of your closet? What about those rows of DVDs or video games that collect dust sitting beside the television?
Add the fact that much of our junk is bought on credit and the amount of wasted money is enough to make you wanna cry. Heck I’m still paying off some of my junk to this very day.
There are ways to deal with our obsession with stuff, and the money it sucks from our pocket. Some people follow the one in, three out rule. For every piece of clothing they purchase, three pieces are removed – either given to the salvation army, to friends, or sold online. Buy a DVD, three others must be sold or donated. Pick up a new pair of shoes, three others must go.
Others follow a no junk checklist. They question every purchase they make, asking themselves:
- Can I rent or borrow it?
- Can I substitute something in it’s place?
- Will I feel the same way about it tomorrow as I do now? How about next week, next month, next year?
- Do I have the space?
- Will it require even more money for upkeep or maintenance?
- Will this be something I use constantly?
- Do I have the time or opportunity to use it?
When I think of all the useless purchases I’ve made over the year a particular quote comes to mind,
“He who buys what he does not need steals from himself”
Cutting the junk from our lives is an important step to building lasting wealth. Unfortunately for me and a lot of others, it’s easier said than done.
BMWK. Are you like me? Do you have more junk than you need? Are your closets overflowing with useless stuff? How have you resisted the urge to accumulate more?
Every Monday you can find great insight and tips on managing your greenbacks by Dr. Charles Alonzo Peters of MochaMoney.com here on BlackandMarriedWithKids.com.