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All Posts, Finances & Retirement

Money Monday: Buy Less Shit

I’m on a spending diet and I encourage you to join me in this effort to buy less shit. After clearing out a condo filled with crap and trying to make the best use of our storage in a 1-bedroom apartment, I am convinced that Americans needlessly and wastefully buy a shitload of stuff that they don’t need. I mean, it’s embarrassing all the stuff I’d accumulated and never used. The irony is that I am super minimalist. I’ve become very zen about material things and realized I honestly want to take half the stuff I own and drop it off at the Salvation Army. It’s all crap.

We probably have the smallest kitchen known to mankind. We have the bare necessities: plates, cups, wine glasses, forks, knives, spoons. We don’t have a food processor or a blender or a cake display or a fondue set. We don’t pretend to be Martha Stewart nor should you! Get that crap out of your kitchen.

A quick glance at our transactions on Mint.com show the following:

Costco

SF Soup Company

Sprint

Kaiser

Safeway

Sallie Mae

Amazon (I bought vitamins)

Chevron

Haircut

Acupuncture

Osha Thai

Pluto’s (salad)

Kara’s Cupcakes (my sweet tooth)

It’s all food and basic necessities like cell phone, gas, and loan payments.

Here are some things I’ve implemented to assist me in my minimalist diet. I’ve removed all design and fashion blogs from my feed. All that shit just makes you want to buy more shit! Get rid of it. Aside from Vanity Fair (because it’s so gossipy good), I don’t subscribe to any other magazine. All those advertisements can set you down the $$$ consumer path. Out of sight, out of mind.

For us, it’s about eating good San Francisco food and saving for early retirement. I am on a mission to retire when I’m 50. Who’s with me?!

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04.22.13

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Comments

  1. CK

    April 22, 2013 at 4:57 pm

    Oh gosh, my kitchen is chock full of every gadget but the rest of the house is pretty empty. But doing lots of cooking saves us a ton of money and is much healthier, so I don’t mind having all the kitchen gadgets.

    Reply
    • Catherine

      April 22, 2013 at 5:01 pm

      well that’s totally a good investment then: the experience and joy of cooking, and not spending money by eating out. good for you! i have to admit, our ‘eating out’ budget needs to be curtailed.

      Reply
  2. Joi

    April 22, 2013 at 11:29 pm

    I’m with you! This was so funny! Title got me over quick! I deleted my email subscriptions to my favorite stores for this very reason!

    Reply
    • Catherine

      April 24, 2013 at 12:40 pm

      Atta girl, Joi! I am seeing more dollar signs in the retirement fund!

      Reply

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Welcome to my site, derived from an advice column I wrote while getting my MBA. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area. I give helpful, opinionated advice based on my own experience and from the expertise of my extensive network. For more, click here.

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