Another Benefit to this Lifestyle

[BPA]

I was frugal before ERE and MMM, but rarely bought second hand.  I would wait for sales and shop using the flyers and buy movies and books second hand but that was about it.

I bought my bike second hand and really loved it and loved that I got it for a good deal.  It was stolen on Friday and while I miss it, I didn't feel angry.  I looked for it, put out an APB for it on FB, and checked kijiji.

And on kijiji I found a good bike to buy for cheap.

Before I would have been stressed thinking about the hundreds of dollars I had paid for it and the hundreds of dollars it would cost to replace it.  Thanks to Jacob and MMM, I feel pretty much no stress.  And I'm going to use Jacob's idea of selling something first to buy the bike.  I have a royal doulton figurine my ex-husband figure gave me which should more than cover the cost of the new bike. 

Love this lifestyle.

[LauraG]

I was raised doing all my non-food shopping used (clothing, kitchen gadgets, books (although most of the books came from the library), etc). BPA's revelation matches my experience of able to be less attached to "stuff" because I got them used (thereby giving them a second life rather than the stuff being consigned to the dumpster). Since we lived in town with a pretty high burglary rate, it was particularly good to be able to accept that some stuff occasionally got stolen but it wasn't the end of the world.

The only downside for me and my family of origin is that it led to a sometimes overly cavalier attitude about taking care of stuff. I was raised not to care about staining clothing, etc, which is freeing for a kid but sometimes annoying as an adult who doesn't want to spend all their time shopping for replacement clothing at the thrift store.

[2527]

LauraG,

My experiences are similar.  I was raised in a house where most things were quite old (I was, by far, the youngest of 5), or bought used.  I didn't experience a lot of stress about "taking good care" of stuff, which was good, but some of those skills I had to learn myself. 

[lifejoy]

Sorry to hear about your bike being stolen! But, like you say, thank goodness for buying second-hand etc, or that would've been really crushing!

[BPA]

[quote author=LauraG link=topic=9678.msg151688#msg151688 date=1381673426

The only downside for me and my family of origin is that it led to a sometimes overly cavalier attitude about taking care of stuff. I was raised not to care about staining clothing, etc, which is freeing for a kid but sometimes annoying as an adult who doesn't want to spend all their time shopping for replacement clothing at the thrift store.
[/quote]

I can definitely see how this might happen.  What makes a huge difference to me is that I have an anxiety problem and stress about stuff a lot. 

I did buy second hand clothes for my kids when they were little.  I'd forgotten about that.  I agree that I didn't stress too much when they ruined stuff.

[RootofGood]

I did buy second hand clothes for my kids when they were little.  I'd forgotten about that.  I agree that I didn't stress too much when they ruined stuff.

This is one of the hidden benefits of buying cheap stuff.  If you bought it second hand or didn't pay much for it, you don't worry about messing it up as much.  I let the kids buy cheap stuff at the dollar store because I know there is a decent chance they will destroy it or lose it.  Same with clothes.  If they stain or rip the clothes and I didn't pay much for the clothes, it's no big deal. 

Not that we are reckless with things, just that we know accidents happen (especially with kids), and you can plan for those accidents by not buying expensive stuff. 

[MrsPete]

Yeah, makes me remember something that happened years ago: 

My oldest child was at a mothers-morning-out type program, and they were using scissors.  She cut a hole in her red corduroy pants.  When I arrived to pick her up, I was stopped at the entrance and ushered into the director's office, where they were clearly anxious about talking to me.  For a moment I was genuinely scared that she'd done something really bad -- you know, caused an accident or something.  When I heard that she'd cut a hole in her pants, I laughed and explained they'd only been .50 yard sale pants.  The director was visibly relieved, and she said that parents tend to BLOW UP over ruined clothes, saying that parents blame them, claim they were being negligent, demand that the church pay for the clothes. 

Why would anyone dress a three-year old in clothes so expensive that they'd have to be upset about a little accident? 

[JessieImproved]

Why would anyone dress a three-year old in clothes so expensive that they'd have to be upset about a little accident? 

Tee hee the last pair of pants I bought for my daughter were 37 cents (stained knees, got them clean, totally worth it).  I got myself three pairs of jeans for $4.

[Frankies Girl]

The only downside for me and my family of origin is that it led to a sometimes overly cavalier attitude about taking care of stuff. I was raised not to care about staining clothing, etc, which is freeing for a kid but sometimes annoying as an adult who doesn't want to spend all their time shopping for replacement clothing at the thrift store.

This was definitely something I had to unlearn. While we did tend to buy used or clearance items, my father was pretty hard on stuff. If it was a necessary fix to keep something running/useful, he'd do it, but cosmetic or convenience fixes were never done and things looked like crap in a very short period of time. Of course, he also considered things like working car windows and gear shifts that broke and had to be operated using a lock wrench unnecessary to really fix... so I try to take better care of my things now.

[sloof70]

I bought my car two years ago for $1500.  Every day I drive it, I expect it to break down.  Every time I park it in the city, I expect for it to be stolen.  Every year I have to renew the tabs, I expect it to fail emissions.  And every time that I take another trip unscathed, I'm happy.  Because I always expect the worst, I have absolutely zero worries about anything happening to it, while my friends with their newer cars fret and pay more money to protect their "investment".  Feels great.

[NumberJohnny5]

Sorry if I go slightly off-topic.

I too like to have less expensive things due to the lower stress it causes.

Accidentally burn a hole in a couch cushion while trying to dry it (after running the carpet cleaner over it) = crap, I almost burned the house down...but it was a cheap couch anyways, just can't flip that particular cushion anymore.

The fact that the house we're renting wasn't in perfect shape was a bonus. An example, there's multiple spots in the walls that have been patched and painted over. So, if my kids were to mark the walls requiring me to paint over...well, it matches the rest. Carpet has a few stains. Things like that. If our kids spill a cup of kool-aid (which will be difficult, as it's not sold here)...well, thank goodness they spilled over an existing stain.

Used car that already has a kool-aid stain in the back seat? Drink away kids...it's all good. And feel free to eat this sandwich too.

You want to jump in a puddle and potentially ruin your shoes? Well, they only cost a few dollars/were free, so go for it!

Some things do get messed up that cost big bucks. Daughter broke the hdmi port on an expensive laptop. I was able to keep calm and not yell about it. Because it's not like they were seeking the expensive stuff and purposely trying to break it. A $1k laptop or a $50 phone...it's all the same to them. It's something I still struggle with, but it's easier when there's only a few larger value items vs a house full of expensive stuff.

[BPA]

Great stories!

I am currently typing on a new to me free macbook.  Thanks, kind neighbours!  The most expensive thing in the house is an 8 year old Sony Bravia tv that I spent $500 on new.  I know that I could replace any stuff that would be stolen (jewelry and electronics) for far less than the deductible on my insurance. 

I laughed when the insurance company asked if I wanted extra insurance to cover my jewels.  Hmmm.  My high school ring and a necklace my ex gave me that I plan to sell.  No thanks!

Oh and the buyer for the Royal Doulton figurine is coming today.  :)  It's so freeing to not want stuff that doesn't make my life better and to not fret when something does get stolen.

[sloof70]

The most expensive thing in the house is an 8 year old Sony Bravia tv that I spent $500 on new.  I know that I could replace any stuff that would be stolen (jewelry and electronics) for far less than the deductible on my insurance.

It's both a great feeling to not have any things too valuable that you are worried about them, and the feeling of not being so attached to them that it would cause problems if they did disappear.  Between renter's insurance and Carbonite backup (constantly backing up photos, documents, music library, other precious digital stuff), I am perfectly fine with the idea of coming home to find my residence on fire.  It's quite Zen.