11/3/11
Labels:
Bricks-and-mortar stores
,
Deprivation
,
Emotions
,
Leisure shopping
,
Psychology of shopping
If you’re serious about reducing the number of things you buy, a good way to start is to look at your underlying motivations. They’re probably more complex than you realise! Below are some of the main reasons why we shop. Being aware of these motivations can reduce their hold on you, and put you on the road to more conscious shopping. Which of them apply to you?
Status
Independence and power
But this led to a paradox. For Minahan and Beverland’s shoppers, feeling powerful sometimes hinged on being able to afford a specific item; these shoppers felt compelled to buy another, equally expensive item if what they really wanted wasn’t available.
There’s nothing wrong with a desire to demonstrate financial independence. But wanting to feel powerful can lead to powerlessness if you feel compelled to buy. Men may feel a similar kind of pressure: the need to demonstrate their financial success and masculinity by producing their wallets and spending up big at call.
Branding is reaching ever deeper into our psyches: increasingly, it’s also about our identities, activities, interactions, and even our self-esteem. A 2010 study found that not only did certain brands have appealing ‘personalities’, but that the positive traits associated with those brands could rub off on consumers. In other words, some of us actually feel that we adopt more appealing personalities when we use a particular brand!
The internet has only increased the trend of self-expression through buying. It’s dead easy to download an exclusive recording of your favourite progressive rock band’s latest offering, buy anything you need in the way of freshwater-fishing tackle, or order your preferred style from a huge variety of designer nappy/diaper bags.
Wide aisles make it easier to look at and examine the goods. Evocative scents trigger positive memories that we then associate with the store’s brand. Some stores boast dramatic, architect-designed interiors that create a powerful statement about the brand.
Mirror neurons are a specific type of brain cell that enables feelings of empathy when we watch someone else perform an action. Mirror neurons are the reason why, despite vowing and declaring you would never buy a pair of harem pants when they started appearing in fashion magazines, one day you suddenly found yourself at the checkout of an upmarket department store, grasping a black satin pair of – harem pants.
The internet provides bargains all year round. This represents a potential danger if you want to save money: the capacity to snag a bargain becomes almost infinite, no longer limited by time of year or your ability to visit particular stores.
In fact, underlying the retail high some of us seek is often a general sense of deprivation. We all experienced loss as children; memories of these early experiences can resurface whenever we crave material objects. The losses of the present produce additional wounds while they reawaken old ones. And according to writer Oliver James, the world we live in encourages us to believe that objects can supply non-material things that we may not have, such as ‘love, or a better character or higher self-esteem’.
Feelings of deprivation are part of being human and they’ll come back after the shopping fix is over. Once you can acknowledge these needs they will have less power over you, and will be less likely to impinge on your purse and your time.
Collecting
According to neuroscientist Gregory Berns, dopamine is produced in the brain when we see something new or unexpected – that’s an important part of the shopping high many of us experience. But while dopamine fuels the desire to buy, actually finding and anticipating buying the item is what matters in the production of dopamine. There are plenty of no-cost and low-cost ways of satisfying the thirst for novelty in your shopping life.
Until next time!
Read More
Why Do We Buy? Twelve Hidden Motivations for Your Shopping Behaviour
If you’re serious about reducing the number of things you buy, a good way to start is to look at your underlying motivations. They’re probably more complex than you realise! Below are some of the main reasons why we shop. Being aware of these motivations can reduce their hold on you, and put you on the road to more conscious shopping. Which of them apply to you?
Status
Humans have always used material goods to advertise high social status. Many of us are more than willing to buy things that have a higher price tag simply to tell the world how wealthy we are. In some cases, the extra quality is in the packaging only. And marketers and advertisers are constantly encouraging us to believe we’re entitled to spend up big. We’re as good as the next person, so why can’t we have those sleek Italian ankle boots or the latest Audi?
These days, status isn’t just about luxury goods. Many of us (me included) inadvertently use material goods to tell people how with-it we are, how hip and original, or even how green.
Independence and power
In 2006, Stella Minahan and Michael Beverland conducted a landmark study on why and how Australian women shopped in retail stores. They discovered that many women enjoy the feeling of mastery that they get from being able to afford certain goods.
But this led to a paradox. For Minahan and Beverland’s shoppers, feeling powerful sometimes hinged on being able to afford a specific item; these shoppers felt compelled to buy another, equally expensive item if what they really wanted wasn’t available.
There’s nothing wrong with a desire to demonstrate financial independence. But wanting to feel powerful can lead to powerlessness if you feel compelled to buy. Men may feel a similar kind of pressure: the need to demonstrate their financial success and masculinity by producing their wallets and spending up big at call.
Brands have symbolic meaning and emotional appeal: we experience certain feelings, access happy memories, or affirm our values simply by buying a particular brand. And we advertise our spending power and good taste by wearing or using goods of a luxury brand.
Branding is reaching ever deeper into our psyches: increasingly, it’s also about our identities, activities, interactions, and even our self-esteem. A 2010 study found that not only did certain brands have appealing ‘personalities’, but that the positive traits associated with those brands could rub off on consumers. In other words, some of us actually feel that we adopt more appealing personalities when we use a particular brand!
Because we’re so inundated with choice these days, brand loyalty can seem like a convenient shortcut for decision making: ‘I trust this brand – I’ll try the company’s new anti-ageing moisturiser / wireless headphones / hiking boots’.
Urban geographer Jim Pooler suggests that these days ‘we shop to self-actualise’. Minahan and Beverland’s research found that one of the main reasons that women shop is to express themselves and their identity. Social theorists Jane Pavitt believes that we create our identities, our very selves, through the goods we buy: we often ask the question ‘Is that me?’ before forking out for a piece of clothing, choosing a restaurant or planning a holiday.
The internet has only increased the trend of self-expression through buying. It’s dead easy to download an exclusive recording of your favourite progressive rock band’s latest offering, buy anything you need in the way of freshwater-fishing tackle, or order your preferred style from a huge variety of designer nappy/diaper bags.
Retailers know that the longer we’re in a shop the more likely we are to buy. The lighting, music, smells, signage, display fixtures, colour scheme and layout all work synergistically to create an inviting ambience that encourages us to hang around and inspect the merchandise. Even the staff are chosen for their attractiveness.
Wide aisles make it easier to look at and examine the goods. Evocative scents trigger positive memories that we then associate with the store’s brand. Some stores boast dramatic, architect-designed interiors that create a powerful statement about the brand.
Some researchers claim that the shopping centre has taken the place of other social spaces such as churches and public squares. Many women love nothing more than hitting their favourite shopping zone with a group of close friends and a credit card in tow. And some shoppers relish casual chitchat with sales staff and the acknowledgement they receive from stores they shop at regularly.
Neuromarketers such as Martin Lindstrom have found that we are strongly motivated by the desire to buy the items we see other people using or wearing. This tendency is the reason why some items become fads, taking off in an irrational way until they’re popping up everywhere. According to Lindstrom, it’s all due to the fact that our brains contain what he terms mirror neurons.
Mirror neurons are a specific type of brain cell that enables feelings of empathy when we watch someone else perform an action. Mirror neurons are the reason why, despite vowing and declaring you would never buy a pair of harem pants when they started appearing in fashion magazines, one day you suddenly found yourself at the checkout of an upmarket department store, grasping a black satin pair of – harem pants.
Many of us shop to reward ourselves, to give ourselves a pat on the back for all our hard work. We even reward ourselves for doing mundane shopping like grocery shopping! Simply being aware that you do this can help you to distinguish between useful and wasteful rewards. One option is to set aside a set amount of reward money for a specific period of time. Alternatively, if you want to stop or cut down on buying expensive rewards, give yourself treats that aren’t necessarily related to shopping.
The satisfaction of snagging a red-hot bargain is a major motivation behind the urge to shop. In Australia, Boxing Day sales get more chaotic each year as people clamour for the hottest deals. In the USA, frenetic crowds storm stores on Black Friday, and websites are inundated on Cyber Monday and Green Monday.
The internet provides bargains all year round. This represents a potential danger if you want to save money: the capacity to snag a bargain becomes almost infinite, no longer limited by time of year or your ability to visit particular stores.
Finding a bargain can fuel the production of dopamine that gives us a shopping high. It can swell your self-esteem, give you a sense of power, and reassure you that you’re a skilled shopper.
Desire – the gap between what we already have and what we crave – is the basis of consumerism. We decide that we need a product or item and go out looking for it. This desire can turn to frustration and annoyance if we don’t get what we want.
In fact, underlying the retail high some of us seek is often a general sense of deprivation. We all experienced loss as children; memories of these early experiences can resurface whenever we crave material objects. The losses of the present produce additional wounds while they reawaken old ones. And according to writer Oliver James, the world we live in encourages us to believe that objects can supply non-material things that we may not have, such as ‘love, or a better character or higher self-esteem’.
Feelings of deprivation are part of being human and they’ll come back after the shopping fix is over. Once you can acknowledge these needs they will have less power over you, and will be less likely to impinge on your purse and your time.
Collecting
There is a bit of the collector in most of us, I suspect. Collecting is a tricky area, standing perilously close to both hoarding and shopping addiction, with all the disastrous consequences of these habits. If your collecting impacts badly on your life, financially, space-wise or otherwise, it could be in danger of turning into hoarding. If you think you may be a hoarder, seek professional help.
The human thirst for novelty is one of the main reasons we pound the pavement or sidewalk, or trawl the web, desperately in search of something fresh and different. We get sick of our doona (duvet) covers, lounge furniture, crockery, clothes, cars and mobile phones, even if they’re still in perfectly good condition. But some of the need for novelty can be satisfied without having to actually buy.
According to neuroscientist Gregory Berns, dopamine is produced in the brain when we see something new or unexpected – that’s an important part of the shopping high many of us experience. But while dopamine fuels the desire to buy, actually finding and anticipating buying the item is what matters in the production of dopamine. There are plenty of no-cost and low-cost ways of satisfying the thirst for novelty in your shopping life.
Until next time!
If you enjoyed this post, you might also like In with the Old and Out with the New: Shopping and the Search for Perfection.
10/30/11
Labels:
Buying green
,
Carbon footprint
,
Ethical shopping
The idea of ‘going green’ can seem so overwhelming that it’s easier to just get into the car, put the pedal down and drive as fast as possible to the nearest shopping mall for an afternoon’s retail therapy. But a new book on living sustainably in Australia demonstrates that you don’t have to be a tree-hugging hippy to adopt a green lifestyle. Tanya Ha’s Greeniology 2020: Greener Living Today, and in the Future is a reference book that covers going green in Australia in all major aspects of a modern lifestyle.
Guidebooks on adopting a sustainable lifestyle are hardly a new phenomenon, but that Melbourne University Press has published this one indicates just how mainstream the concept has become. MUP’s publishing role here is also fitting for the reason that this book combines practical tips and Ha's trademark accessible style with scientific rigour.
Tanya Ha’s green credentials are impeccable; in fact it’s probably fair to call her Australia’s foremost mainstream advocate for the benefits of going green. A science graduate, she’s a natural communicator who has made it her vocation to demystify environmental issues for the layperson. She’s already published a number of books in this area, including the 2007 Australian Green Consumer Guide, which received rave reviews; is a reporter on ABC TV’s science program Catalyst; and was environmental coach on the SBS program Eco House Challenge.
What Ha does particularly well is move from the straightforward kind of green advice to more complex and technical areas while still writing in an accessible, conversational way. Thus, there’s information on the ingredients to avoid in cleaning products, as well as how to make your own; but you’ll also find detailed specifications for different kinds of lights and light fittings; what and how to recycle; the costs and carbon emissions of various hot water systems, cooling systems and heating systems; and environmental ratings for new homes.
The book also covers what to consider when installing a rainwater tank, and the role of building orientation when designing a green home. Home-based renewable electricity sources are explained, and windows, floors, decking, insulation, cooking ranges and fridges all get a look-in.
I’m sure Ha deals with political responses in other forums, but this appeal echoes a widespread and erroneous assumption that could lead us into letting governments and large corporations off the hook. Citizens doing their bit just isn’t enough to significantly reduce carbon emissions; strong government regulation is absolutely essential. Indeed, setting an emissions reduction target means that the more the population helps the federal government reach its target, the more corporations will be able to pollute. ‘Greeniology’ can’t stop at your front door if it’s to be effective. There are other ways to agitate besides protesting, such as writing letters, blogging and so on.
Having said that, the two areas – personal responsibility and pressuring governments to make radical, society-wide changes – are in fact complementary. That Ha deals primarily with one side of the equation isn’t in itself a problem. If a groundswell of people take up green energy, for example, the industry would have to transform; and if enough citizens reduced their emissions, this would put pressure on governments to increase their reduction targets. Nor is going green purely about climate change, although that remains our greatest challenge.
I also found the chapter on green fashion a bit disappointing, having recently read an expose of the UK fashion industry, Lucy Siegle’s To Die For. Ha acknowledges the huge complexity of the issues in this area, but I think she could have advised readers of more of the options available, for example the growing range of ethical and Fairtrade fashion available from online stores in the UK. The birth of the sustainable clothes stylist, and trends facilitated by the web such as the renaissance in home sewing and the practice of transforming op shop clothes through alterations also deserved to be included.
Despite my quibbles, this is an excellent all-round reference book for anyone who wants to go green and stay that way. It’s comprehensive, clearly written, up to date, and with plenty of in-depth information from someone who is not only an expert but a talented communicator.
If you enjoyed this blog entry, you might also like Be an Ethical, Frugal Fashionista: How to Shop Ethical When You're on a Budget.
Read More
Book Review: Greeniology 2020 by Tanya Ha
The idea of ‘going green’ can seem so overwhelming that it’s easier to just get into the car, put the pedal down and drive as fast as possible to the nearest shopping mall for an afternoon’s retail therapy. But a new book on living sustainably in Australia demonstrates that you don’t have to be a tree-hugging hippy to adopt a green lifestyle. Tanya Ha’s Greeniology 2020: Greener Living Today, and in the Future is a reference book that covers going green in Australia in all major aspects of a modern lifestyle.
Guidebooks on adopting a sustainable lifestyle are hardly a new phenomenon, but that Melbourne University Press has published this one indicates just how mainstream the concept has become. MUP’s publishing role here is also fitting for the reason that this book combines practical tips and Ha's trademark accessible style with scientific rigour.
Tanya Ha’s green credentials are impeccable; in fact it’s probably fair to call her Australia’s foremost mainstream advocate for the benefits of going green. A science graduate, she’s a natural communicator who has made it her vocation to demystify environmental issues for the layperson. She’s already published a number of books in this area, including the 2007 Australian Green Consumer Guide, which received rave reviews; is a reporter on ABC TV’s science program Catalyst; and was environmental coach on the SBS program Eco House Challenge.
Greeniology 2020 covers the entire spectrum of areas you’d expect in a book like this, as well as a few more. There is information on green cleaning, health and beauty, sustainable food and fashion, saving water, saving energy, cultivating a green garden, buying a greener car, and green building and renovating. There’s also a chapter on healthy homes and indoor air quality that is particularly useful for those with allergies, one on how to go green at work, and one on how to have a green baby.
What Ha does particularly well is move from the straightforward kind of green advice to more complex and technical areas while still writing in an accessible, conversational way. Thus, there’s information on the ingredients to avoid in cleaning products, as well as how to make your own; but you’ll also find detailed specifications for different kinds of lights and light fittings; what and how to recycle; the costs and carbon emissions of various hot water systems, cooling systems and heating systems; and environmental ratings for new homes.
The book also covers what to consider when installing a rainwater tank, and the role of building orientation when designing a green home. Home-based renewable electricity sources are explained, and windows, floors, decking, insulation, cooking ranges and fridges all get a look-in.
Ha makes the leap from simple to complex while seamlessly weaving scientific knowledge into the book’s structure. Each chapter includes the ecological context that requires us to act, as well as plenty of useful facts and figures, for example, an explanation of the concept of greenhouse intensity. Interspersed throughout are Ha's answers to detailed questions sent in by readers, and there is space at the end of each chapter for readers to create weekly, monthly and longer term green goals.
I did have a problem with how Greeniology 2020 positions itself, which in turn throws up questions that go beyond the intentions and scope of the book itself, to the larger terrain of how we as a society deal with climate change. In her introduction, Ha strongly advocates the path of personal responsibility. She aims the book at what she sees as a new kind of green citizen, someone who’s fairly middle of the road and wouldn’t think of protesting against government inaction but is willing to take measures to reduce their own footprint.
I’m sure Ha deals with political responses in other forums, but this appeal echoes a widespread and erroneous assumption that could lead us into letting governments and large corporations off the hook. Citizens doing their bit just isn’t enough to significantly reduce carbon emissions; strong government regulation is absolutely essential. Indeed, setting an emissions reduction target means that the more the population helps the federal government reach its target, the more corporations will be able to pollute. ‘Greeniology’ can’t stop at your front door if it’s to be effective. There are other ways to agitate besides protesting, such as writing letters, blogging and so on.
Having said that, the two areas – personal responsibility and pressuring governments to make radical, society-wide changes – are in fact complementary. That Ha deals primarily with one side of the equation isn’t in itself a problem. If a groundswell of people take up green energy, for example, the industry would have to transform; and if enough citizens reduced their emissions, this would put pressure on governments to increase their reduction targets. Nor is going green purely about climate change, although that remains our greatest challenge.
I also found the chapter on green fashion a bit disappointing, having recently read an expose of the UK fashion industry, Lucy Siegle’s To Die For. Ha acknowledges the huge complexity of the issues in this area, but I think she could have advised readers of more of the options available, for example the growing range of ethical and Fairtrade fashion available from online stores in the UK. The birth of the sustainable clothes stylist, and trends facilitated by the web such as the renaissance in home sewing and the practice of transforming op shop clothes through alterations also deserved to be included.
Despite my quibbles, this is an excellent all-round reference book for anyone who wants to go green and stay that way. It’s comprehensive, clearly written, up to date, and with plenty of in-depth information from someone who is not only an expert but a talented communicator.
Until next time!
If you enjoyed this blog entry, you might also like Be an Ethical, Frugal Fashionista: How to Shop Ethical When You're on a Budget.
10/25/11
Labels:
Bargains
,
Budget shopping
,
frugality
,
Saving money
Haggling in a retail store is one of the last taboos. Unless you’re buying a big-ticket item, it can feel humiliating to tell a salesperson you’re only willing to buy something at a lower price than the store is advertising: you fear you'll look cheap.
Since the economic downturn, however, haggling has become more acceptable, especially if you have a smartphone. But you can still be an effective haggler if you don’t have a smartphone, or in situations where you can't use it. And of course, haggling is a longstanding tradition at flea markets and garage sales. Try the tips below to become a happy (and effective) haggler!
Part of the reason why haggling is embarrassing is because we often shop to express our status and wield power. Haggling suggests that we don’t have the money to pay the listed price. But these days most of us are trying to save money. If you can get over the initial embarrassment, you could find yourself saving money throughout the year rather than just at sale time, and even enjoying your haggling.
Read More
Secrets of Harmonious Haggling
Haggling in a retail store is one of the last taboos. Unless you’re buying a big-ticket item, it can feel humiliating to tell a salesperson you’re only willing to buy something at a lower price than the store is advertising: you fear you'll look cheap.
Since the economic downturn, however, haggling has become more acceptable, especially if you have a smartphone. But you can still be an effective haggler if you don’t have a smartphone, or in situations where you can't use it. And of course, haggling is a longstanding tradition at flea markets and garage sales. Try the tips below to become a happy (and effective) haggler!
* Effective haggling takes practice. You may have to try it a few times before you feel confident about doing it, or before you’re successful at negotiating a reduced price. View your first attempts as practice, and if your spiel or approach isn’t effective, change it the next time.
* If the item you’re haggling for is available elsewhere, research the price before you start haggling. It's important that you can truthfully tell the seller you could buy it more cheaply somewhere else - obviously this is where shopping apps coming in handy, but you can also research on the internet and by ringing around.
* Create a rapport with the seller before you start to negotiate. Make eye contact and greet them in a friendly way. Don't rush them, but at the same time, if they're obviously busy, wait for a lull in the customer traffic.
* Be absolutely confident you are willing to pay the price you offer for the item. If you're making a low offer, you need to be willing to follow through.
* If you’re expecting a discount, offer the seller something in return. This could be loyalty, word-of-mouth advertising, bulk purchasing, or buying an additional product. Offering to pay cash is an obvious incentive for retailers to accept a lower price.
* Don’t haggle if you want the item very badly, or you know it has limited availability. Only haggle for items you’re prepared to walk away from, and make it clear that you are willing to walk away.
* Don’t haggle if you know the price of the item is already rock-bottom. To be successful, you need to feel justified in your haggling!
* Don't be afraid to haggle at secondhand stores. Traditionally haggling hasn't been the done thing at op shops (thrift stores) but it's becoming more acceptable as prices have risen; however, I'd suggest only doing it if you think an item is grossly overpriced. You can also haggle at upmarket recycled fashion stores. A friend of mine spotted a sequinned George Gross dress in one of these stores that looked fantastic when she tried it on. The price tag was $100 but my friend managed to bargain down the saleswoman to $60, although the dress was retailing for $900 in George Gross stores.
Part of the reason why haggling is embarrassing is because we often shop to express our status and wield power. Haggling suggests that we don’t have the money to pay the listed price. But these days most of us are trying to save money. If you can get over the initial embarrassment, you could find yourself saving money throughout the year rather than just at sale time, and even enjoying your haggling.
Until next time!
If you enjoyed this post you might also like Be A Creative Stinge - 12 Great Tips for Cutting Your Spending and Saving Money.
10/20/11
Labels:
Bricks-and-mortar stores
,
Decision making
,
Large purchases
,
Letting go
There comes a time in every shopper’s life when you have to make a large purchase. Whether your washing machine has gone on strike, your oven has decided to call it a day, or you can no longer live without a tablet or e-reader, buying a household appliance or digital gadget can be a stressful and drawn-out process.
Decide on the price bracket you can afford. Think about the ethical and green considerations you want to take into account (for example, plasma television screens use more electricity than do LCD screens).
Use a range of trustworthy sources, including consumer websites and journals, comparison and product review websites, and shopping apps. Detailed specs are often available on company websites, but you can ring the company’s consumer information line if the information is incomplete. For Australian readers, Choice is an excellent resource for comparing the performance of different products.
Follow your energy during the research process, as it can prevent you going up blind alleys that lead to unnecessary confusion.
If you don’t have access to shopping apps, use comparison websites to check prices, but also use the internet to check the prices offered by bricks-and-mortar stores that may not be included on comparison websites. You can’t assume that online stores are always cheaper, even when freight costs are waived.
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Steps to Take Before You Buy a Big-Ticket Item
There comes a time in every shopper’s life when you have to make a large purchase. Whether your washing machine has gone on strike, your oven has decided to call it a day, or you can no longer live without a tablet or e-reader, buying a household appliance or digital gadget can be a stressful and drawn-out process.
Getting to the point where you’re able to make a good decision on a big-ticket item can take time, but it is worth it. The following steps can help.
1. Decide whether you really need the item, and can afford it. Sometimes we buy a new product because we are hoping to change a longstanding habit or because our friends or family have it. Other times, we succumb to the purely rational belief that we need the item when we actually don't - the Shopping Shoulds. On the other hand, there are big-ticket items that we genuinely need and that can make our lives easier or more fun. Think about how much you're likely to use the item; if it's only once in a blue moon, (eg a chainsaw or drill) it might be simpler to borrow it from a neighbour, family member or community borrowing scheme whenever you need to use it. If you decide you really need the item and you can afford it, then it's time for the next step.
2. Ease yourself into the research process. Use internet search engines to gain an overview of the kind of features and benefits you can expect from the item, and the issues and pitfalls to be aware of. Don’t worry about details at this stage, but focus on getting general information from many sources.
3. Speak to salespeople. Salespeople are often surprisingly honest about the products they sell. Tell the salesperson you’re just researching, and promise not to take up too much of their time. Then ask just enough questions to get information you can use as a basis for further research. Have a pen and notebook with you and take notes. Salespeople often earn commissions on what they sell, so try not to monopolise them if you’re not intending to buy from their store.
4. Research yourself! Take an honest look at your own lifestyle, and how it will affect your ultimate choice. What are you going to use the item for? Will it fit in with what you already have? Which features are important to you, and which can you do without? Should you buy new or secondhand? If you buy secondhand, what additional checks will you need to make? Do you have any special needs, and if so, what features should the product include to accommodate those needs?
Decide on the price bracket you can afford. Think about the ethical and green considerations you want to take into account (for example, plasma television screens use more electricity than do LCD screens).
5. Obtain in-depth information from trustworthy, independent sources. Once you have an overview and you’ve worked out your own needs, you’ll need more specific information: the price points of the item, the best time of year to buy it, the special features you can expect for different price points, the quality measures you might use to compare different products, the level of customer service offered by the various brands, and the cheapest price at which you can obtain the item once you’ve chosen it.
Use a range of trustworthy sources, including consumer websites and journals, comparison and product review websites, and shopping apps. Detailed specs are often available on company websites, but you can ring the company’s consumer information line if the information is incomplete. For Australian readers, Choice is an excellent resource for comparing the performance of different products.
Follow your energy during the research process, as it can prevent you going up blind alleys that lead to unnecessary confusion.
6. Research the store as well as the product. The store you end up buying the product from will affect the experience you have is something goes wrong, so this needs to be part of your decision making. Find out about the returns policies and customer service record of the store before you buy.
7. Don’t overdo the research. Consumers get fazed by too much choice and may even opt out if it gets too hard! Putting some boundaries in place early on – eg the upper limit you’re prepared to pay, brands you don’t trust – can be helpful. Another option is to ask a salesperson or knowledgeable friend to recommend four or five of the best brands, and use that information to determine the direction of your research.
8. Shop wisely to get the right price. There are loads of shopping apps that can help you find the best price for a product. Here’s a list of the best iPhone shopping apps from lifehacker, and here’s one for the best Android shopping apps. If you find the best price at an online store, ensure you take freight costs into account. For extra savings, combine a coupon app with an app that gives you the cheapest price – but also consider points 6, 9 and 10.
If you don’t have access to shopping apps, use comparison websites to check prices, but also use the internet to check the prices offered by bricks-and-mortar stores that may not be included on comparison websites. You can’t assume that online stores are always cheaper, even when freight costs are waived.
9. Don’t assume you have to use price as the sole basis for deciding your preferred retailer. Because I value convenience and avoid risk, I prefer to buy big-ticket items from retailers to whom I can easily return the item if something goes wrong. In contrast, many consumers are happy to buy significant items from online stores, especially those stores with good returns policies.
10. Don’t let the smartphone rule you. You are the ultimate arbiter of what you buy, not your smartphone. Use shopping apps to give you the information you need to make a good decision – don’t let them make the decision for you.
11. Use your intuition when making your final choice. You may reach a point where you’ve worked out what’s right for you, and still have to choose between two similar items. If so, using your intuition can save you much time and effort. You just know you need to choose brand X rather than brand Y, although you can’t say why. (Note: this is not the same as mindless brand loyalty!) You will probably never know why this decision is right, but it may mean you avoid the hassle of a faulty or inappropriate product.
12. Let go for a while. If you’re finding it hard to choose between brand X and brand Y, step back and practise letting go. Decide that you’re going to temporarily give up, and let your unconscious handle it. Symbolically give the whole thing away. Do something that occupies your mind and see if an intuitive choice presents itself. This could be in the form of a mental image, a coincidental mention of the brand by someone or something, or just an overall sense that you’ve made your decision.
13. Give yourself time to get used to the item once you've bought it. A big-ticket item can take some getting used to and incorporate into your life. Expect a period of discomfort and uncertainty while you adjust to it. However, don’t hesitate to return it as soon as possible if it’s faulty.
Until next time!
If you enjoyed this post, you might like Become an Expert at Navigating Online Sales.
Until next time!
If you enjoyed this post, you might like Become an Expert at Navigating Online Sales.
10/16/11
Labels:
Bargains
,
Bricks-and-mortar stores
,
Budget shopping
,
Buying green
,
Ethical shopping
,
Fashion
Read More
An Op Shop Find Transformed by the Needle!
I’m not much of a sewer, but when it comes to op shopping for clothes, I’m discovering how important it is to be willing to alter op shop finds, even if the alteration is only minor. The top above was altered with no sewing machine stitching at all, so if you can handsew, you an alter.
This is a Katies top that cost only $4.99 from Salvos in Carnegie. I liked the texture of the top, the weave and the earthy colour. Originally it had a large band that hung down without any elasticisation, which made the top look ‘draccy’ (a word that never gets used any more and reveals my age!). The sleeves were very wide and hung down past the elbow, which also did nothing for the look of the top. If I’d been more confident, I could have simply cut the band off and quickly hemmed it using a sewing machine (I could have made the top shorter but felt okay with this length). Instead I just took the band up so that it now has a very large hem, handsewing the whole thing.
The sleeves were much easier. I just rolled them over twice and handstitched in four places on each cuff – at the top, the bottom and in the middle of the cuff on each side (ie the back and front).
I don’t have my own sewing machine and in hindsight I probably would have been better off enlisting my mum’s help. She’s always been a sewer and to this day is constantly altering things she buys to fit her better. Although she was able to teach me the rudiments of sewing as a teenager I didn’t practise threading the machine often enough and was never confident at bringing up that bobbin thread. And when the thread knotted while I stitched, which always happened sooner or later, I would throw a tanty and start abusing the Singer. Now I regret my impatience!
Anyway, my mother was wrapped with my alteration and declared that I was ‘your mother’s daughter’ (the implication being ‘after all’)!
Until next time,
If you enjoyed this post you might like Great Tips for Successful Op and Thrift Shopping.
10/12/11
Labels:
frugality
,
money
,
Saving money
Part 1 of this blog entry looked at some of the ways the Kindle could encourage you to read more, and enable you to get more out of your reading. This time we're looking at the frugal possibilities of the Kindle, including finding cheap and free e-books.
Owners of Kindle books can also lend books to each other.
Free e-books on the internet
Free e-books on Amazon
A good way of finding the most popular free e-books on Amazon is to go to the Kindle Store and choose any book, then go to the Product Details section and press on the ‘See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store’ link.
Cheap books on Amazon
Cheap and free author-priced books on Amazon
Once you’re in the Books section on Amazon, select your preferred subject area from the left-hand side column and then select Kindle books from the Format menu running across the screen. Then select ‘Price low to high’ from the ‘Sort by’ link on the top right-hand side. Any free books will be shown first. And of course the cheaper ones will be shown next.
I did a quick perusal of the free books that aren’t classics in subject areas of interest to me, and to be honest the pickings were thin – but it’s still well worth checking the free books in your areas of interest. And of course there are heaps of books that are under ten dollars and as cheap as 99 cents.
Amazon also features book lists created by Amazon users, known as Listmania lists. These include lists of free and cheap books in various genres. You can search Listmania for your preferred types of lists using the main search function on Amazon; for example, you could search Listmania for ‘free science fiction books’. The writers of these lists may also link to blogs that review books in your favourite genres.
Checking out free and cheap e-books
Here’s a list of five good book review sites. There are also dozens of bloggers that review self-published books (although the vast majority review only genre fiction). Here’s a list of e-book review blogs, which also includes sites that provide info about free e-books. But there are many more review blogs – I suggest doing a Google search for review blogs in your favourite genres, and don’t forget the links to blogs from Listmania.
Read More
Cultural and Frugal Potential of the Kindle: Part 2
Part 1 of this blog entry looked at some of the ways the Kindle could encourage you to read more, and enable you to get more out of your reading. This time we're looking at the frugal possibilities of the Kindle, including finding cheap and free e-books.
Lending potential
As you may already know, Kindle e-books recently became available for loan from 11,000 US libraries.
You’ll need to contact the libraries themselves to find out whether they offer this service, as Amazon doesn’t provide a listing of participating libraries.
Owners of Kindle books can also lend books to each other.
My understanding is that at this time both these services are available only in the USA (let’s hope that changes soon!). And not all e-books can be lent out: availability depends entirely on the publishers and rights holders.
Free e-books on the internet
There are loads of free e-books available for download onto a Kindle, most of them classics. Some of these can be found on Amazon but there are many more on other sites, almost 2 million altogether. Amazon has a good guide to them; this guide also tells you how to download the non-Amazon books to your Kindle, a process that is less straightforward than downloading Amazon books. (Many of these books will have poor formatting because they have been scanned from traditional books.)
Many of the books available on the Smashwords site are also free or cheap, and you can usually download a Kindle version.
Free e-books on Amazon
There are thousands of free e-books available on the Amazon website. Two categories are ‘Limited-Time Offers’ and ‘Kindle Popular Classics’. However, there are many more free books on Amazon apart from these ones.
A good way of finding the most popular free e-books on Amazon is to go to the Kindle Store and choose any book, then go to the Product Details section and press on the ‘See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store’ link.
This will take you to a list of the bestsellers in whatever category the book is in, with a separate list of the top 100 free books in that category. Choose ‘Kindle ebooks’ from the the list on the left-hand side, and this will give you a list of the various subject categories. Choose the subject area you’re interested in, and you should get two lists – the top 100 in that category, and the top 100 free books in that category.
Cheap books on Amazon
Once you’re in the Books section on Amazon, you can find e-books that fit into the ‘Bargain Books’ category. While you’re in any of the major subject areas, select Bargain Books from the left-hand side column, and then select Kindle books from the Format menu running across the screen. (For some reason the ‘Bargain Books’ category doesn’t appear in the left-hand column if you start off in the Kindle Store, only if you select Books first, select a subject area, select Bargain Books and then specify that you want Kindle books.)
As well, Amazon offers a Daily Deal, which is announced on Twitter (this book won’t necessarily be available in all territories).
Amazon also offers discount coupons for a very limited range of books.
Sometimes it’s worth paying a small amount of money for a book rather than going for a freebie. For example, while it’s possible to buy free classics, occasionally it may be worthwhile to pay, say, $2.99 for the collected works of a major author published by a reputable publisher. When you consider that the author’s entire oeuvre is conveniently included in the one book, three bucks doesn’t seem like much to pay.
Cheap and free author-priced books on Amazon
As you’re probably aware, the explosion of self-publishing also means that there are simply ginormous amount of free and cheap e-books available on Amazon (and Smashwords), where the low price, or the fact that the book is free, is determined by the author. To access all the free and cheap books on Amazon, not just the classics, promotional offers and most popular books, you need to go to the subject and genre areas.
Once you’re in the Books section on Amazon, select your preferred subject area from the left-hand side column and then select Kindle books from the Format menu running across the screen. Then select ‘Price low to high’ from the ‘Sort by’ link on the top right-hand side. Any free books will be shown first. And of course the cheaper ones will be shown next.
I did a quick perusal of the free books that aren’t classics in subject areas of interest to me, and to be honest the pickings were thin – but it’s still well worth checking the free books in your areas of interest. And of course there are heaps of books that are under ten dollars and as cheap as 99 cents.
Amazon also features book lists created by Amazon users, known as Listmania lists. These include lists of free and cheap books in various genres. You can search Listmania for your preferred types of lists using the main search function on Amazon; for example, you could search Listmania for ‘free science fiction books’. The writers of these lists may also link to blogs that review books in your favourite genres.
Checking out free and cheap e-books
With so much to choose from, if you want to sort through the chaff, it's best to read a number of reviews for each book. Don’t just check the stars on the Amazon book page, but read a few of the actual reviews.
Here’s a list of five good book review sites. There are also dozens of bloggers that review self-published books (although the vast majority review only genre fiction). Here’s a list of e-book review blogs, which also includes sites that provide info about free e-books. But there are many more review blogs – I suggest doing a Google search for review blogs in your favourite genres, and don’t forget the links to blogs from Listmania.
Hope your frugal journey with the Kindle is great fun.
Until next time!
Thanks to Michael Wilbur-Ham for additional research. If you enjoyed this post, you might like The Last Days of a Dying Behemoth.
10/9/11
Labels:
Budget shopping
,
Clutter
,
frugality
,
Online retail
,
Saving money
Warning: this article is biased towards Amazon and the Kindle, as I’ve published an e-book for the Kindle and also own one (a Kindle, that is!).
I was given a Kindle by a friend about two weeks ago. It was a complete and welcome surprise, and I’m still adjusting to it. The potential frugal (and decluttering) uses of the Kindle are immense, but there’s more to the Kindle than saving money and space.
Because I wrote an e-book for the Kindle before I got mine, I was aware of the massive cultural change that the explosion of self-publishing enabled by e-readers was bringing about, and I’d already thought a bit about how that would affect reading. Now, having my very own pet Kindle, I feel even more positive about its potential to change and improve the way we read. And the release of three new Kindle models, including a tablet, raises further questions about how the Kindle will affect reading.
So here are some thoughts about how the Kindle can enhance life, with some information about its frugal and cultural potential, and some questions about how the Kindle Fire might fit into this (or not).
You don’t actually need to buy a Kindle to benefit from it
You don’t have to own a Kindle to benefit from its frugal and cultural potential – you can use any of Amazon’s free Kindle reading apps. You may not fancy reading a book on your PC, but if you have a laptop, iPad or iPhone you can read Kindle books on these devices for free.
If you switch between different devices your place in the book will be kept, as will bookmarks, notes, and highlights.
You can also read books on your Kindle that are formatted for other e-readers, such as classic books that are out of copyright, as long as they don’t have digital rights management (DRM). To do this, you need a conversion program such as Calibre. For example, if there was a classic book in EPUB you wanted to read, you could use Calibre to convert it to Mobipocket, which is the correct format for Kindle e-books. Amazon also offers a free program, KindleGen, which converts EPUB files and several other formats to the Kindle format.
Reading becomes an easy choice
Often when I’m tired but not ready for sleep, I want to read but I’m too fatigued; it’s easier to watch TV, even if there’s nothing decent on. Because of the lightness of the Kindle and the control you have over the text size, you may find it easier to make the choice to read rather than watch TV when you're feeling fatigued.
Getting more out of the classics
One of the first things to go onto my Kindle was a free copy of Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities.
There are loads of cheap and free e-books on the Amazon website that can be downloaded onto your Kindle at no cost as soon as you open an account, including many of the classics. (More on finding the freebies in the following entry.)
But it’s not just that you have access to these cheap and free classics. In fact, using a Kindle will enable you to get more out of them.
Classic books are often very long and, especially if they’re cheap editions, tend to be written in small type. These two factors definitely affect how much attention I pay to the language. When reading a thick book with small type, I usually get preoccupied with the Herculean task of completing it, and focus too much on how much progress I’m making. Not to mention the physical effort involved in holding a thick, heavy book.
With an e-reader there is only one page of text in front of you or, depending on the text size, perhaps just a few paragraphs. With total control of the size of the text, all you need worry about is the block of text you can actually see. Suddenly the language comes alive like never before, and you are free to appreciate its intricacies and the skill of the author without the manual difficulties of reading, or concern about how far you’ve got to go.
This in turn may encourage you to read more, and especially to read and appreciate more classics – a relaxing, low-cost hobby!
E-reading as a whole new hobby
With the rise of the e-book came warnings from the publishing industry about the death of reading, the fear that no one would read books straight through any more and, because of the potential to reconfigure books and so on, the fear that a book would lose its autonomy as cultural object, and become malleable. In other words, legitimate fears brought on by the internet about loss of attention span and capacity for deep thought (and capacity to produce texts created through deep thought) were being projected onto e-readers.
All this actually made me think that the opposite could well be the case. With its convenience and capacity to store huge amounts of text, as well as the explosion of self-published genre books (and online communities formed around genres) it struck me that reading on an e-reader represented a new form of entertainment along with, say, gaming. You could watch TV, stream a movie on your tablet, read a traditional book, play a computer game – or you could read on your Kindle.
Think I’m being overly optimistic? A computer-savvy, film buff friend of mine whose offline reading was previously confined to New Scientist bought a Kindle a few months ago and recently completed The Raw Shark Texts, an IT-based sci-fi thriller that was perfect for his sensibility. He is reading books on the Kindle that he simply couldn’t be bothered reading in paper form. This harks back to my previous point about the Kindle encouraging you to read more.
A shift away from reading?
Will the release of the Kindle Fire, with its access to other Amazon products besides books, including music, streaming movies and TV shows, full-colour magazines and games, destroy this potential of the Kindle to make e-book reading a whole new pastime? Probably not, according to telecommunications engineer Michael Wilbur-Ham. He says that the Fire is a ‘cheap multimedia consumption device’ that is not aimed primarily at readers of e-books, but at users of tablets.
‘Amazon knows how many of their users buy different kinds of products, and many of their users don’t buy books', he said. 'The Fire is primarily for those who can’t afford or don’t want to buy more expensive tablets.’
This doesn’t mean people won’t read books on the Kindle Fire – of course they will (and they do on their iPads). But the emphasis seems to be on the colour screen and how this will enhance the experience of watching movies and TV, gaming, and using apps. At the same time, Amazon has released new Kindle models that are dedicated e-readers, the Kindle wifi 6” and the Kindle Touch. Both have advanced ink displays for ease of reading and are touted as being lighter and smaller than their predecessors, indicating that Amazon intends to keep producing a device that is primarily for the purpose of reading.
(In fact, at only $199 the Amazon Fire may be cheap upfront, but like the iPad it’s designed to make users consume and buy more of the company’s offerings – so frugal consumers may not necessarily consider it a good buy.)
Note: Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablet and Touch e-reader are not available in the UK, Europe, Canada or Australia; but the Fire would be next to useless if it were available, as users wouldn’t be able to access the movie streaming, music, apps and games because of licensing restrictions.
In Part 2 I'll look at ways to find free and cheap books for the Kindle, and other frugal aspects of the Kindle.
Until next time!
Read More
Cultural and Frugal Potential of the Kindle: Part 1
Warning: this article is biased towards Amazon and the Kindle, as I’ve published an e-book for the Kindle and also own one (a Kindle, that is!).
I was given a Kindle by a friend about two weeks ago. It was a complete and welcome surprise, and I’m still adjusting to it. The potential frugal (and decluttering) uses of the Kindle are immense, but there’s more to the Kindle than saving money and space.
Because I wrote an e-book for the Kindle before I got mine, I was aware of the massive cultural change that the explosion of self-publishing enabled by e-readers was bringing about, and I’d already thought a bit about how that would affect reading. Now, having my very own pet Kindle, I feel even more positive about its potential to change and improve the way we read. And the release of three new Kindle models, including a tablet, raises further questions about how the Kindle will affect reading.
So here are some thoughts about how the Kindle can enhance life, with some information about its frugal and cultural potential, and some questions about how the Kindle Fire might fit into this (or not).
You don’t actually need to buy a Kindle to benefit from it
You don’t have to own a Kindle to benefit from its frugal and cultural potential – you can use any of Amazon’s free Kindle reading apps. You may not fancy reading a book on your PC, but if you have a laptop, iPad or iPhone you can read Kindle books on these devices for free.
If you switch between different devices your place in the book will be kept, as will bookmarks, notes, and highlights.
You can also read books on your Kindle that are formatted for other e-readers, such as classic books that are out of copyright, as long as they don’t have digital rights management (DRM). To do this, you need a conversion program such as Calibre. For example, if there was a classic book in EPUB you wanted to read, you could use Calibre to convert it to Mobipocket, which is the correct format for Kindle e-books. Amazon also offers a free program, KindleGen, which converts EPUB files and several other formats to the Kindle format.
Reading becomes an easy choice
Often when I’m tired but not ready for sleep, I want to read but I’m too fatigued; it’s easier to watch TV, even if there’s nothing decent on. Because of the lightness of the Kindle and the control you have over the text size, you may find it easier to make the choice to read rather than watch TV when you're feeling fatigued.
Getting more out of the classics
One of the first things to go onto my Kindle was a free copy of Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities.
There are loads of cheap and free e-books on the Amazon website that can be downloaded onto your Kindle at no cost as soon as you open an account, including many of the classics. (More on finding the freebies in the following entry.)
But it’s not just that you have access to these cheap and free classics. In fact, using a Kindle will enable you to get more out of them.
Classic books are often very long and, especially if they’re cheap editions, tend to be written in small type. These two factors definitely affect how much attention I pay to the language. When reading a thick book with small type, I usually get preoccupied with the Herculean task of completing it, and focus too much on how much progress I’m making. Not to mention the physical effort involved in holding a thick, heavy book.
With an e-reader there is only one page of text in front of you or, depending on the text size, perhaps just a few paragraphs. With total control of the size of the text, all you need worry about is the block of text you can actually see. Suddenly the language comes alive like never before, and you are free to appreciate its intricacies and the skill of the author without the manual difficulties of reading, or concern about how far you’ve got to go.
This in turn may encourage you to read more, and especially to read and appreciate more classics – a relaxing, low-cost hobby!
E-reading as a whole new hobby
With the rise of the e-book came warnings from the publishing industry about the death of reading, the fear that no one would read books straight through any more and, because of the potential to reconfigure books and so on, the fear that a book would lose its autonomy as cultural object, and become malleable. In other words, legitimate fears brought on by the internet about loss of attention span and capacity for deep thought (and capacity to produce texts created through deep thought) were being projected onto e-readers.
All this actually made me think that the opposite could well be the case. With its convenience and capacity to store huge amounts of text, as well as the explosion of self-published genre books (and online communities formed around genres) it struck me that reading on an e-reader represented a new form of entertainment along with, say, gaming. You could watch TV, stream a movie on your tablet, read a traditional book, play a computer game – or you could read on your Kindle.
Think I’m being overly optimistic? A computer-savvy, film buff friend of mine whose offline reading was previously confined to New Scientist bought a Kindle a few months ago and recently completed The Raw Shark Texts, an IT-based sci-fi thriller that was perfect for his sensibility. He is reading books on the Kindle that he simply couldn’t be bothered reading in paper form. This harks back to my previous point about the Kindle encouraging you to read more.
A shift away from reading?
Will the release of the Kindle Fire, with its access to other Amazon products besides books, including music, streaming movies and TV shows, full-colour magazines and games, destroy this potential of the Kindle to make e-book reading a whole new pastime? Probably not, according to telecommunications engineer Michael Wilbur-Ham. He says that the Fire is a ‘cheap multimedia consumption device’ that is not aimed primarily at readers of e-books, but at users of tablets.
‘Amazon knows how many of their users buy different kinds of products, and many of their users don’t buy books', he said. 'The Fire is primarily for those who can’t afford or don’t want to buy more expensive tablets.’
This doesn’t mean people won’t read books on the Kindle Fire – of course they will (and they do on their iPads). But the emphasis seems to be on the colour screen and how this will enhance the experience of watching movies and TV, gaming, and using apps. At the same time, Amazon has released new Kindle models that are dedicated e-readers, the Kindle wifi 6” and the Kindle Touch. Both have advanced ink displays for ease of reading and are touted as being lighter and smaller than their predecessors, indicating that Amazon intends to keep producing a device that is primarily for the purpose of reading.
(In fact, at only $199 the Amazon Fire may be cheap upfront, but like the iPad it’s designed to make users consume and buy more of the company’s offerings – so frugal consumers may not necessarily consider it a good buy.)
Note: Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablet and Touch e-reader are not available in the UK, Europe, Canada or Australia; but the Fire would be next to useless if it were available, as users wouldn’t be able to access the movie streaming, music, apps and games because of licensing restrictions.
In Part 2 I'll look at ways to find free and cheap books for the Kindle, and other frugal aspects of the Kindle.
Until next time!
10/3/11
Labels:
Fashion
,
Maintenance
,
Saving money
Got a throwaway approach to fashion? Throw it away! It doesn’t matter how little your clothes cost or whether you bought them new or secondhand, you can get more wear out of them simply by looking after them – and that means you’ll need to buy fewer new clothes, which will save your precious dollars and help the environment.
Building TLC for your clothes into your routine also helps you to appreciate them and reminds you of what you already have in your wardrobe, which in turn will help you reduce your clothes spending.
Some of these tips will sound mind-numbingly obvious, while others are more obscure. But sometimes it’s good to be reminded of even the most obvious ways to look after your clothes. After a while, greater care for your clothes will become second nature.
Prevention is better than cure
* Always wear an apron when cooking. This rather obvious tip applies just as much when frying up a quick omelette as it does when settling in for some serious baking, as oil stains are extremely difficult to remove. After a while putting on an apron will become automatic and you won’t have to think about it.
* Use napkins (serviettes) when eating. The same principle applies here; placing a napkin or serviette on your lap before eating will soon become second nature.
* Keep some old, ratty clothes in your wardrobe that you wear just for domestic tasks. You may think it’s fine to weed the garden in jeans, but grass stains are very difficult to remove! Even a bit of housecleaning is better done in old clothes, or at least with an apron.
* Eat and cook mindfully – stay focused on what you’re doing and you’ll be less likely to spill food!
* Always iron clothes according to the instructions. If you’re ironing delicate fabrics, iron your clothes inside out. For extra care, keep a large handkerchief near your iron and place it over a section of fabric before ironing it.
Mindful maintenance
* Check the label on a piece of clothing before you buy it. You may still decide to buy it if it says ‘dryclean only’, but at least you’ll be forewarned that the garment will be more expensive to maintain.
* Sew buttons on properly as soon as they become loose, so you don’t run the risk of losing them (this tip is actually aimed at yours truly, who tends to turns a blind eye to loose buttons).
* Hang your clothes up in dry, mould-free cupboards. Use plastic from the drycleaners to safeguard them from dust.
* Air the room you store clothes in regularly.
* Don’t use mothballs to store out-of-season clothes safely. Store them in cedar chests or vacuum-sealed bags (but you do need to wash them first if you’re doing this). Moth repellents made from herbs and essential oils are another alternative, but I wasn’t able to ascertain how scientifically effective these methods are. This website has useful information on making your own herbal sachets while this website provides info on which essential oils are effective in repelling moths.
* When you’re sitting in front of the TV, use the time productively – use a decomber to remove pilling from pullovers, brush your clothes with a clothes brush, and catch up on your mending.
Wiser washing
* If you’re buying a new washing machine, buy a front loader. It uses less water and is gentler on your clothes.
* Always check the washing instructions on the label. If in doubt, a cold wash is best.
* For delicate clothes and those you want to preserve, consider handwashing for at least the first few months. Wait until you have a few clothes in the same colour and do a batch at a time. Ensure that you’ve dissolved the laundry liquid in the water before you put the clothes in. This is easier to do in the warmer months when it’s easy to take advantage of natural solar power to dry them.
* Don’t wash your clothes more often than you need to. This blogger has some useful information on washing clothes less often. If you work from home and just put on something for a couple of hours to go out in, depending on the weather it may be okay to wear three or four times – or even more! For me it depends on whether I’ve worn clothes next to my skin – I confess that with cardigans and jackets that I wear for only a few hours at a time, I may not wash them for many wears. Use your gut feeling (along with your sense of smell!) to decide whether clothes need a wash or not. Airing clothes is a great way of reducing the need to wash them.
* To keep track of clothes that you’ve worn but don’t yet need to wash, set aside part of your wardrobe space and store them there.
* Jude’s (my mum’s) tip: If your clothes don’t need a wash, hang them up as soon as you take them off at night to air them and prevent creasing.
Delightful drying
* If you have a dryer, try to minimise your use of it. Dryers wear clothes down faster, and can damage the elastic in clothes and underwear. Needless to say they’re also energy guzzlers.
* Line drying is great for clothes, although not for woollens and anything that will stretch. Hang the clothes their full width, pull them down to minimise wrinkling and include space between each one to maximise drying. If it’s a hot day, don’t leave clothes that can fade out in the sun too long. Also, check your line on a regular basis for worn-out plastic, as this can expose the wire and lead to rust.
* Don’t keep your pegs on the clothesline – store them in a peg bag in the laundry.
* Dry woollens on a flat surface after gently removing excess water. Place a towel on a large square drying rack, and carefully arrange the garment on the towel so that it’s as flat as possible. If the day is warm enough, place the drying rack out in the sun. For quicker drying, turn the garment over when one side is ‘done’!
Savvy stain removal
* There is loads of information on the web about getting rid of stains, but be careful. Try more gentle approaches first and then proceed to more drastic solutions if these fail. Test substances out on the fabric first if possible. Don’t use hot water on the stain in the first instance and don’t rub the stain if the fabric is delicate, as this may damage the fabric permanently. If in doubt, it might be worth taking the garment to the drycleaners.
Useful sources of information regarding stain removal can be found here and here, while this is a good article on using green methods to remove stains.
Until next time!
If you enjoyed this blog entry, you might like Be a Creative Stinge - 12 Great Tips for Cutting Your Spending and Saving Money.
Read More
Clothing Conservation - Tips for Making Your Clothes Last Longer
Got a throwaway approach to fashion? Throw it away! It doesn’t matter how little your clothes cost or whether you bought them new or secondhand, you can get more wear out of them simply by looking after them – and that means you’ll need to buy fewer new clothes, which will save your precious dollars and help the environment.
Building TLC for your clothes into your routine also helps you to appreciate them and reminds you of what you already have in your wardrobe, which in turn will help you reduce your clothes spending.
Some of these tips will sound mind-numbingly obvious, while others are more obscure. But sometimes it’s good to be reminded of even the most obvious ways to look after your clothes. After a while, greater care for your clothes will become second nature.
Prevention is better than cure
* Always wear an apron when cooking. This rather obvious tip applies just as much when frying up a quick omelette as it does when settling in for some serious baking, as oil stains are extremely difficult to remove. After a while putting on an apron will become automatic and you won’t have to think about it.
* Use napkins (serviettes) when eating. The same principle applies here; placing a napkin or serviette on your lap before eating will soon become second nature.
* Keep some old, ratty clothes in your wardrobe that you wear just for domestic tasks. You may think it’s fine to weed the garden in jeans, but grass stains are very difficult to remove! Even a bit of housecleaning is better done in old clothes, or at least with an apron.
* Eat and cook mindfully – stay focused on what you’re doing and you’ll be less likely to spill food!
* Always iron clothes according to the instructions. If you’re ironing delicate fabrics, iron your clothes inside out. For extra care, keep a large handkerchief near your iron and place it over a section of fabric before ironing it.
Mindful maintenance
* Check the label on a piece of clothing before you buy it. You may still decide to buy it if it says ‘dryclean only’, but at least you’ll be forewarned that the garment will be more expensive to maintain.
* Sew buttons on properly as soon as they become loose, so you don’t run the risk of losing them (this tip is actually aimed at yours truly, who tends to turns a blind eye to loose buttons).
* Hang your clothes up in dry, mould-free cupboards. Use plastic from the drycleaners to safeguard them from dust.
* Air the room you store clothes in regularly.
* Don’t use mothballs to store out-of-season clothes safely. Store them in cedar chests or vacuum-sealed bags (but you do need to wash them first if you’re doing this). Moth repellents made from herbs and essential oils are another alternative, but I wasn’t able to ascertain how scientifically effective these methods are. This website has useful information on making your own herbal sachets while this website provides info on which essential oils are effective in repelling moths.
* When you’re sitting in front of the TV, use the time productively – use a decomber to remove pilling from pullovers, brush your clothes with a clothes brush, and catch up on your mending.
Wiser washing
* If you’re buying a new washing machine, buy a front loader. It uses less water and is gentler on your clothes.
* Always check the washing instructions on the label. If in doubt, a cold wash is best.
* For delicate clothes and those you want to preserve, consider handwashing for at least the first few months. Wait until you have a few clothes in the same colour and do a batch at a time. Ensure that you’ve dissolved the laundry liquid in the water before you put the clothes in. This is easier to do in the warmer months when it’s easy to take advantage of natural solar power to dry them.
* Don’t wash your clothes more often than you need to. This blogger has some useful information on washing clothes less often. If you work from home and just put on something for a couple of hours to go out in, depending on the weather it may be okay to wear three or four times – or even more! For me it depends on whether I’ve worn clothes next to my skin – I confess that with cardigans and jackets that I wear for only a few hours at a time, I may not wash them for many wears. Use your gut feeling (along with your sense of smell!) to decide whether clothes need a wash or not. Airing clothes is a great way of reducing the need to wash them.
* To keep track of clothes that you’ve worn but don’t yet need to wash, set aside part of your wardrobe space and store them there.
* Jude’s (my mum’s) tip: If your clothes don’t need a wash, hang them up as soon as you take them off at night to air them and prevent creasing.
Delightful drying
* If you have a dryer, try to minimise your use of it. Dryers wear clothes down faster, and can damage the elastic in clothes and underwear. Needless to say they’re also energy guzzlers.
* Line drying is great for clothes, although not for woollens and anything that will stretch. Hang the clothes their full width, pull them down to minimise wrinkling and include space between each one to maximise drying. If it’s a hot day, don’t leave clothes that can fade out in the sun too long. Also, check your line on a regular basis for worn-out plastic, as this can expose the wire and lead to rust.
* Don’t keep your pegs on the clothesline – store them in a peg bag in the laundry.
* Dry woollens on a flat surface after gently removing excess water. Place a towel on a large square drying rack, and carefully arrange the garment on the towel so that it’s as flat as possible. If the day is warm enough, place the drying rack out in the sun. For quicker drying, turn the garment over when one side is ‘done’!
Savvy stain removal
* There is loads of information on the web about getting rid of stains, but be careful. Try more gentle approaches first and then proceed to more drastic solutions if these fail. Test substances out on the fabric first if possible. Don’t use hot water on the stain in the first instance and don’t rub the stain if the fabric is delicate, as this may damage the fabric permanently. If in doubt, it might be worth taking the garment to the drycleaners.
Useful sources of information regarding stain removal can be found here and here, while this is a good article on using green methods to remove stains.
Until next time!
If you enjoyed this blog entry, you might like Be a Creative Stinge - 12 Great Tips for Cutting Your Spending and Saving Money.
9/28/11
Labels:
Bricks-and-mortar stores
,
Friends
,
Leisure shopping
,
overspending
When you shop with friends, are you encouraging each other to overspend?
Writing The Inspired Shopper really got me thinking about how I buy fashion. Currently I have a moratorium on most mainstream brands, and am buying only from those with ethical (but not sustainable) accreditation, as well as secondhand clothes.
Recently I went clothes shopping with a friend in Acland Street, a tourist precinct near St Kilda beach that is famed for its cake shops, but in recent decades has succumbed to commercialisation. We wandered into one of those overstocked stores that sells obscure brands made in China and has prices that scream ‘sweatshop’. I didn’t buy anything myself, but when my friend held up a bright red fitted jacket and asked me what I thought of it, I found myself encouraging her to try it on.
While I was still completing The Inspired Shopper, I visited my dentist for a check-up and clean. I mentioned that I was working on the book as I was getting seated on the dental chair, and this gave my dentist and her dental nurse permission to discuss their shopping lives – I listened avidly, only able to nod vigorously, as tubes and drills were stuck in my mouth! The dental nurse confessed that her friends often encouraged her to buy expensive items that she often regretted when she got home.
Shopping with friends is a recreational pastime that never loses popularity. It’s fun, uplifting and a great distraction from whatever problems we’re dealing with. But friends can exert undue pressure on you to buy something, particularly when it comes to fashion. This can be difficult to resist, but often it’s their own agenda they’re pursuing, not yours.
Why does this happen? I think the human tendency to help other people spend their money actually starts with empathy rather than greed. Perhaps your friend is urging you to purchase that bright orange sundress because she’d like to buy it herself but it doesn’t suit her; or perhaps it’s beyond her budget and she knows that you can afford it.
Or perhaps your friend is addicted to shopping and, like a heavy drinker who needs to get drunk with others, wants a spendthrift companion to justify her own overspending.
In my case, the red jacket didn’t fit with my ethical beliefs, but I was still willing to encourage my friend to buy it.
My friend doesn’t have a spending addiction – in fact, she’s pretty careful with money – and neither do I. But what if she had had an addiction? Can friends shopping together encourage each others’ compulsive buying habits? Are you more likely to overspend if you go shopping with a friend?
The answer to the last question may be yes. According to retail guru Paco Underhill, women often spend more time and money when they shop with a friend than when they shop alone. (This is especially the case with teenage girls, who spend more money when they’re with a group of friends.)
It doesn’t have to be that way – when you’re shopping with another person it’s possible to have fun even if you arrive home empty handed. Here are some tips:
* Give yourself a breather before buying. If you're out shopping with friends and you see something you think you want to buy, ask your friends what they think, but don’t buy the item; ask the store to put it away for a few hours. Wait until it’s time to take a coffee or food break and then use the time off to decide whether you really want it.
* Use the day purely for recreation, not buying. If you think it might be too hard to make a buying decision with friends around, you could decide to simply enjoy the socialising and browsing aspects of the day without buying anything. If something catches your eye, you can always ask to have it put away for a few days, and return later to buy it if it still feels right.
* Try the ‘broken record’ technique. If your friends are insistent about you buying something, you can calmly refuse, without changing your tone or expressing anger, every time they insist. Each time you have to repeat yourself, change the wording slightly, eg ‘Thanks for your input, but I’ll have to think about it’; ‘I value your opinion, but I just don’t feel like buying that’.
* Shop with friends who are in touch with their intuition. It’s sometimes possible to harness the intuitive energy of others to make better decisions. I have a friend who is quite intuitive, and when I’m having trouble making a decision, she lets me know what her intuition is telling her; this sometimes helps me get more in tune with mine.
* Get into the habit of shopping with friends at thrift shops and recycle stores. Because the choices made at these stores tend to be more individualised and you have to hunt for goods that are right for you, you’ll probably put less pressure on each other to buy.
* Let other people make their own decisions. It’s important to let go when you think that a friend or loved one is making a poor shopping decision. Offer your opinion if it’s sought – and if you’re sufficiently close, even if it’s not – but let the other person make up their own mind.
* Look at your own motivations when shopping with friends. If you sometimes play the role of shopping addiction ‘enabler’ yourself, ask yourself why you want your friends to spend their money and whether you need to work on your own attitudes to spending.
Until next time!
If you enjoyed this post, you might like How to Distinguish between a Good and Bad Impulse Buy.
Read More
Are You a Shopping Addiction Enabler?
When you shop with friends, are you encouraging each other to overspend?
Writing The Inspired Shopper really got me thinking about how I buy fashion. Currently I have a moratorium on most mainstream brands, and am buying only from those with ethical (but not sustainable) accreditation, as well as secondhand clothes.
Recently I went clothes shopping with a friend in Acland Street, a tourist precinct near St Kilda beach that is famed for its cake shops, but in recent decades has succumbed to commercialisation. We wandered into one of those overstocked stores that sells obscure brands made in China and has prices that scream ‘sweatshop’. I didn’t buy anything myself, but when my friend held up a bright red fitted jacket and asked me what I thought of it, I found myself encouraging her to try it on.
While I was still completing The Inspired Shopper, I visited my dentist for a check-up and clean. I mentioned that I was working on the book as I was getting seated on the dental chair, and this gave my dentist and her dental nurse permission to discuss their shopping lives – I listened avidly, only able to nod vigorously, as tubes and drills were stuck in my mouth! The dental nurse confessed that her friends often encouraged her to buy expensive items that she often regretted when she got home.
Shopping with friends is a recreational pastime that never loses popularity. It’s fun, uplifting and a great distraction from whatever problems we’re dealing with. But friends can exert undue pressure on you to buy something, particularly when it comes to fashion. This can be difficult to resist, but often it’s their own agenda they’re pursuing, not yours.
Why does this happen? I think the human tendency to help other people spend their money actually starts with empathy rather than greed. Perhaps your friend is urging you to purchase that bright orange sundress because she’d like to buy it herself but it doesn’t suit her; or perhaps it’s beyond her budget and she knows that you can afford it.
Or perhaps your friend is addicted to shopping and, like a heavy drinker who needs to get drunk with others, wants a spendthrift companion to justify her own overspending.
In my case, the red jacket didn’t fit with my ethical beliefs, but I was still willing to encourage my friend to buy it.
My friend doesn’t have a spending addiction – in fact, she’s pretty careful with money – and neither do I. But what if she had had an addiction? Can friends shopping together encourage each others’ compulsive buying habits? Are you more likely to overspend if you go shopping with a friend?
The answer to the last question may be yes. According to retail guru Paco Underhill, women often spend more time and money when they shop with a friend than when they shop alone. (This is especially the case with teenage girls, who spend more money when they’re with a group of friends.)
It doesn’t have to be that way – when you’re shopping with another person it’s possible to have fun even if you arrive home empty handed. Here are some tips:
* Give yourself a breather before buying. If you're out shopping with friends and you see something you think you want to buy, ask your friends what they think, but don’t buy the item; ask the store to put it away for a few hours. Wait until it’s time to take a coffee or food break and then use the time off to decide whether you really want it.
* Use the day purely for recreation, not buying. If you think it might be too hard to make a buying decision with friends around, you could decide to simply enjoy the socialising and browsing aspects of the day without buying anything. If something catches your eye, you can always ask to have it put away for a few days, and return later to buy it if it still feels right.
* Try the ‘broken record’ technique. If your friends are insistent about you buying something, you can calmly refuse, without changing your tone or expressing anger, every time they insist. Each time you have to repeat yourself, change the wording slightly, eg ‘Thanks for your input, but I’ll have to think about it’; ‘I value your opinion, but I just don’t feel like buying that’.
* Shop with friends who are in touch with their intuition. It’s sometimes possible to harness the intuitive energy of others to make better decisions. I have a friend who is quite intuitive, and when I’m having trouble making a decision, she lets me know what her intuition is telling her; this sometimes helps me get more in tune with mine.
* Get into the habit of shopping with friends at thrift shops and recycle stores. Because the choices made at these stores tend to be more individualised and you have to hunt for goods that are right for you, you’ll probably put less pressure on each other to buy.
* Let other people make their own decisions. It’s important to let go when you think that a friend or loved one is making a poor shopping decision. Offer your opinion if it’s sought – and if you’re sufficiently close, even if it’s not – but let the other person make up their own mind.
* Look at your own motivations when shopping with friends. If you sometimes play the role of shopping addiction ‘enabler’ yourself, ask yourself why you want your friends to spend their money and whether you need to work on your own attitudes to spending.
Until next time!
If you enjoyed this post, you might like How to Distinguish between a Good and Bad Impulse Buy.
9/26/11
Labels:
Carbon footprint
,
Recycling
,
Sustainable design
In its 26-year history the Fringe Furniture Exhibition has proven to be an accurate barometer of emerging talent, trends and ideas in interior design and architecture.
So much so that it now has iconic status as a central part of Melbourne's annual Fringe Festival, a showcase of innovative and cutting-edge art across a range of genres.
The theme of this year's exhibition, 'Dancing in the dark', fittingly deals with the elephant in the room when it comes to the future of design, and indeed Life As We Know It - sustainability. Forty-five up-and-coming furniture designers have responded to what seems like an overwhelming environmental challenge with a tiny 'dance step' towards a greener future. Their work is showing in an industrially themed space fittingly located in the picturesque Abbotsford Convent.
There were plenty of enthusiastic visitors when I popped along last Saturday afternoon. Some of the works opted for a homely aesthetic that privileged function over form. But a number of works delighted the eye as well as the conscience.
David Davenport's square table with diagonal legs, made from recycled Australian hardwoods, was an example of classic elegance melded with contemporary design. Christopher Shaw's 'Maeva' cabinet, made from Sydney bluegum, and Ryan Straford's 'Red Hill' seat, made from oak wine barrels, both used shape and texture to create warmly pleasing furniture. MacGregor Knox's 'Rosa' (pictured below) a bold curvilinear lounge chair made from salvaged sequoia wood and reclaimed soft urethene, created visual impact through exaggerated form.
The lightshades in particular shone - pun intended. Who knew recycled champagne bottles could be so attractive? Ashley Allen, that's who. Then there was Sally-Anne Mill's flamboyant chandelier collection, 'Spring collection II', made from salvaged springs. This collection deservedly won the Best Design Addressing the 2011 Fringe Furniture Theme award, as well as the Lighting Design award.
But the highlight for me was the collection of 'Mr.Cooper' pendant lights by Kate Stokes (pictured above). Inspired by the old tin can telephone, the lights are made from spun copper and combine modern simplicity with a charming retro feel.
The exhibition is on at the Abbotsford Convent, 1 St Heliers St Collingwood, in the Industrial School building in the Sacred Heart Courtyard. It runs until 8 October, from Thursday to Sunday, from 11 am to 5 pm. Entry is free.
Until next time!
If you enjoyed this post, you might like Kylie Kwong Partners with Oxfam to Bring Fairtrade Design to Your Table.
Read More
Furnishing the Future: Fringe Furniture Exhibition Showcases New Design from Old Materials
In its 26-year history the Fringe Furniture Exhibition has proven to be an accurate barometer of emerging talent, trends and ideas in interior design and architecture.
So much so that it now has iconic status as a central part of Melbourne's annual Fringe Festival, a showcase of innovative and cutting-edge art across a range of genres.
The theme of this year's exhibition, 'Dancing in the dark', fittingly deals with the elephant in the room when it comes to the future of design, and indeed Life As We Know It - sustainability. Forty-five up-and-coming furniture designers have responded to what seems like an overwhelming environmental challenge with a tiny 'dance step' towards a greener future. Their work is showing in an industrially themed space fittingly located in the picturesque Abbotsford Convent.
There were plenty of enthusiastic visitors when I popped along last Saturday afternoon. Some of the works opted for a homely aesthetic that privileged function over form. But a number of works delighted the eye as well as the conscience.
David Davenport's square table with diagonal legs, made from recycled Australian hardwoods, was an example of classic elegance melded with contemporary design. Christopher Shaw's 'Maeva' cabinet, made from Sydney bluegum, and Ryan Straford's 'Red Hill' seat, made from oak wine barrels, both used shape and texture to create warmly pleasing furniture. MacGregor Knox's 'Rosa' (pictured below) a bold curvilinear lounge chair made from salvaged sequoia wood and reclaimed soft urethene, created visual impact through exaggerated form.
The lightshades in particular shone - pun intended. Who knew recycled champagne bottles could be so attractive? Ashley Allen, that's who. Then there was Sally-Anne Mill's flamboyant chandelier collection, 'Spring collection II', made from salvaged springs. This collection deservedly won the Best Design Addressing the 2011 Fringe Furniture Theme award, as well as the Lighting Design award.
But the highlight for me was the collection of 'Mr.Cooper' pendant lights by Kate Stokes (pictured above). Inspired by the old tin can telephone, the lights are made from spun copper and combine modern simplicity with a charming retro feel.
The exhibition is on at the Abbotsford Convent, 1 St Heliers St Collingwood, in the Industrial School building in the Sacred Heart Courtyard. It runs until 8 October, from Thursday to Sunday, from 11 am to 5 pm. Entry is free.
Until next time!
If you enjoyed this post, you might like Kylie Kwong Partners with Oxfam to Bring Fairtrade Design to Your Table.
9/22/11
Labels:
Budget shopping
,
frugality
,
money
Discovering new ways to save money and reduce consumption is a creative act - once you're on the journey to frugality and buying less, it never ends. After a while, thinking up new and different ways to save money and consume less becomes a habit.
Below are some of the things I do to cut spending and stick to a budget. While the focus is on saving money, some of these tips will help reduce your consumption and therefore waste. Do you have any creative stingeing tips you’d like to share?
1. Get more from your groceries. When a bottle or container of a liquid product such as dishwashing liquid, moisturiser or shampoo is getting low, leave it tipped upside down in a plastic cup (with the lid still on), giving the liquid the chance to travel to the lid. Do this until you’ve used it all up. Do a similar thing with cooking oil, leaving the bottle standing upside down on a wad of newspaper. If there’s still a decent amount of product in there and the bottle is made of thin plastic, see if you can cut the bottle using scissors (be careful doing this!).
2. If you’ve bought goods in bulk, use them sparingly. Storing goods in larger quantities can encourage you to use more of the goods at a time. A study conducted by Pierre Chandon and Brian Wansink in 2002 noted that people tended to consume some products at a greater rate if they were bought in bulk. To curb your unconscious eagerness to use up the product, try to challenge yourself to make it last as long as possible. Alternatively, transfer the goods to small containers to give the illusion of a lesser amount being available.
3. Cut down on the amount of washing powder you use per wash by at least a half. A washing machine mechanic once told me that washing powder companies encourage consumers to use far more product than they need to; this can actually reduce the effectiveness of the wash. Front loaders require less soap powder than top loaders because they use less water, but the advice applies to both types of washing machine.
4. Re-use tissue boxes. Don’t like spending a lot of money on tissues but prefer boxes with attractive patterns? Buy a fancy box of tissues and when they’ve run out, keep refilling the box with store-brand tissues.
5. Halve the money you spend on tissues – literally! Tissues are two-ply – simply divide them into their separate sheets before use, and use one sheet at a time.
6. Renovate your car as an alternative to buying a new one. Do this only if you’re sure your car is reasonably mechanically sound and that you will be holding onto it for a number of years. For example, have the windows tinted and the exterior and interior detailed, and, if you can afford it, treat yourself to any new accessories you’ve been thinking about.
7. Park your money in a credit union rather than a bank. The overall fees are usually much lower, and internet savings accounts can offer excellent interest rates. My credit union allows me to conduct a certain number of transactions for free every month, including using another bank’s ATMs. When you’re comparing the fees of different financial institutions, look at fees for out-of-the-ordinary transactions (eg cheque dishonour, bank cheque, account overdrawn) as well as the usual account-keeping fees, as the former especially tend to be far lower for credit unions.
8. Spend less money on recreational items by swapping with friends. Do your friends and family have similar tastes in magazines, books, computer games or DVDs/Blu-rays? Arrange with them to swap these items so you end up buying fewer. Sort out your DVDS, books and games, store them in alphabetical order, and set up your own ‘library’ so you can keep tabs on who is borrowing what.
9. Make your own greeting cards. There are many ways to do this; for example, the internet is loaded with free vintage images that can be printed out for use in cards as well as items such as calendars. If you’re not the crafty type, stake out places to purchase cheap cards and buy them in bulk a long time before the relevant birthdays, choosing them to suit the individual recipients. Discount stores and large galleries often offer relatively cheap cards, and galleries also sell art postcards that are cheaper than standard greeting cards.
10. Make your own Christmas decorations. Use odd pieces of wrapping paper, and cut them up into strips of equal size. create a loop with the first strip using sticky tape or glue, then link each strip in the ‘chain’. Hang the decoration from a mantelpiece or wall.
11. When it comes time to renew your home and car insurance each year, shop around. Prices can vary hugely for very similar products, so it’s worth comparing your premium with those offered by other companies to ensure you’re still getting a good deal. Even if you want to stay with your regular insurer, give them a call and bargain them down if you think the price has increased too much from the previous year.
If you enjoyed this blog entry, you might like Green Fingers: Gorgeous Gardens on the Cheap.
Read More
Be a Creative Stinge – 12 Great Tips for Cutting Your Spending and Saving Money
Discovering new ways to save money and reduce consumption is a creative act - once you're on the journey to frugality and buying less, it never ends. After a while, thinking up new and different ways to save money and consume less becomes a habit.
Below are some of the things I do to cut spending and stick to a budget. While the focus is on saving money, some of these tips will help reduce your consumption and therefore waste. Do you have any creative stingeing tips you’d like to share?
1. Get more from your groceries. When a bottle or container of a liquid product such as dishwashing liquid, moisturiser or shampoo is getting low, leave it tipped upside down in a plastic cup (with the lid still on), giving the liquid the chance to travel to the lid. Do this until you’ve used it all up. Do a similar thing with cooking oil, leaving the bottle standing upside down on a wad of newspaper. If there’s still a decent amount of product in there and the bottle is made of thin plastic, see if you can cut the bottle using scissors (be careful doing this!).
2. If you’ve bought goods in bulk, use them sparingly. Storing goods in larger quantities can encourage you to use more of the goods at a time. A study conducted by Pierre Chandon and Brian Wansink in 2002 noted that people tended to consume some products at a greater rate if they were bought in bulk. To curb your unconscious eagerness to use up the product, try to challenge yourself to make it last as long as possible. Alternatively, transfer the goods to small containers to give the illusion of a lesser amount being available.
3. Cut down on the amount of washing powder you use per wash by at least a half. A washing machine mechanic once told me that washing powder companies encourage consumers to use far more product than they need to; this can actually reduce the effectiveness of the wash. Front loaders require less soap powder than top loaders because they use less water, but the advice applies to both types of washing machine.
4. Re-use tissue boxes. Don’t like spending a lot of money on tissues but prefer boxes with attractive patterns? Buy a fancy box of tissues and when they’ve run out, keep refilling the box with store-brand tissues.
5. Halve the money you spend on tissues – literally! Tissues are two-ply – simply divide them into their separate sheets before use, and use one sheet at a time.
6. Renovate your car as an alternative to buying a new one. Do this only if you’re sure your car is reasonably mechanically sound and that you will be holding onto it for a number of years. For example, have the windows tinted and the exterior and interior detailed, and, if you can afford it, treat yourself to any new accessories you’ve been thinking about.
7. Park your money in a credit union rather than a bank. The overall fees are usually much lower, and internet savings accounts can offer excellent interest rates. My credit union allows me to conduct a certain number of transactions for free every month, including using another bank’s ATMs. When you’re comparing the fees of different financial institutions, look at fees for out-of-the-ordinary transactions (eg cheque dishonour, bank cheque, account overdrawn) as well as the usual account-keeping fees, as the former especially tend to be far lower for credit unions.
8. Spend less money on recreational items by swapping with friends. Do your friends and family have similar tastes in magazines, books, computer games or DVDs/Blu-rays? Arrange with them to swap these items so you end up buying fewer. Sort out your DVDS, books and games, store them in alphabetical order, and set up your own ‘library’ so you can keep tabs on who is borrowing what.
9. Make your own greeting cards. There are many ways to do this; for example, the internet is loaded with free vintage images that can be printed out for use in cards as well as items such as calendars. If you’re not the crafty type, stake out places to purchase cheap cards and buy them in bulk a long time before the relevant birthdays, choosing them to suit the individual recipients. Discount stores and large galleries often offer relatively cheap cards, and galleries also sell art postcards that are cheaper than standard greeting cards.
10. Make your own Christmas decorations. Use odd pieces of wrapping paper, and cut them up into strips of equal size. create a loop with the first strip using sticky tape or glue, then link each strip in the ‘chain’. Hang the decoration from a mantelpiece or wall.
11. When it comes time to renew your home and car insurance each year, shop around. Prices can vary hugely for very similar products, so it’s worth comparing your premium with those offered by other companies to ensure you’re still getting a good deal. Even if you want to stay with your regular insurer, give them a call and bargain them down if you think the price has increased too much from the previous year.
12. Look after your clothes, even if you buy cheaply. If you have a top loader, consider handwashing some types of items you normally wouldn’t, at least for the first few months of wear. When you need to replace your washing machine, keep in mind that front loaders will be more gentle on your clothes, as well as being more environmentally friendly.
Until next time!If you enjoyed this blog entry, you might like Green Fingers: Gorgeous Gardens on the Cheap.
9/18/11
Labels:
Decision making
,
Emotions
,
Intuition
,
Letting go
,
Relinquishing
,
Supermarket shopping
The impulse buy – the expensive item you come home with when you actually intended to pick up a packet of pasta, a jar of anchovies and some tinned tomatoes – is an institution in our shopping culture. ‘I just bought it on impulse’, we say, or ‘I was just passing and I saw it and I had to have it’.
Impulse purchases are unplanned purchases. They often occur at cash registers where goods are displayed so as to tempt shoppers as they leave the store. You’re most vulnerable to an unwise impulse buy when you’re tired, hungry, or feeling low.
The irony of the impulse buy is the contrast between the buyer’s lack of conscious planning and the lengths that stores go to in preparing their ambush. About 60 per cent of what we buy is unplanned, and store displays are carefully designed and positioned to tempt us to reach for our wallets or add an extra item to our trolleys on the spur of the moment.
The internet is rife with its own triggers for impulse buying. Anonymity, easy use of credit cards, navigational software and a seemingly infinite number of choices make the internet an ideal environment for encouraging us to buy on impulse.
Impulse buys aren't all the same
The difference between an impulse buy and something you buy intuitively – something that you really do need and want – isn’t always obvious. In fact, they can sometimes be the same thing – it depends on the reasons behind the purchase.
Often when we buy things suddenly, we’ve actually been planning the purchase for a long time. One evening my brother-in-law Robert came home with a shivery little ginger-coloured spaniel. He’d supposedly bought the pup ‘on impulse’, but his two young daughters had been nagging him to get them a puppy for over a year. Perhaps Robert hadn’t planned to buy the puppy – but his unconscious mind had.
On the other hand, if you’re feeling low and find yourself poised to purchase some overpriced video game based on a blockbuster that you enjoyed at the cinema, although you have no idea whether the game itself is any good, this is less likely to be the result of intuition.
So how do you distinguish between a good impulse buy and an unwise one? Here are some tips to keep you on track.
1. Have a budget in place. A budget with allocated spending for different categories gives you a structure that helps you to identify whether you can afford the item that’s clamouring for your attention.
2. Start a Priority List. A Priority List, which I describe in detail in my book The Inspired Shopper, makes a great supplement to a budget. It’s basically a list of all the things you want and need. Prepare this list slowly and mindfully, noting how you feel as you write an item down. Do you really need the item or not? Could you repurpose something instead?
If an item you get the urge to buy on impulse is on your Priority List, it may be something you want and need. But you still need to ‘check in’ at the time to ensure that it feels right to buy it.
3. Get in touch how are you’re feeling. There are many emotions that can tip us over into wanting to buy. Sometimes the item may be directly related to how you’re feeling (a chocolate bar when you’re hungry) or sometimes it’s just that you’re desperate to buy something – anything – and the item conveniently presents itself in front of you! Common feelings that can set off the urge to buy are sadness, disappointment, anger, fatigue, hunger – but even positive emotions like joy, triumph and relief can lead us to buy.
4. Tap into your intuition. There is another layer of experience deeper than emotions – your intuition. It’s always there, regardless of how you’re feeling. Once you’ve worked out how your intuition responds in shopping situations, you can always rely on it. Start to experiment with it in simple scenarios, like choosing the best bunch of celery, and go from there.
5. Let go of the item. Letting go of an item before you decide whether to buy it – a process I call relinquishing – is very similar to a cooling-off period. But it doesn’t rely on moving physically away from the item, or waiting a long time before making a decision. What’s important with relinquishing is that you actually let go of the item mentally. You decide that you won’t buy it, place it back of the shelf or rack, and then you stop to listen to how your intuition responds. Does it feel genuinely wrong to leave the item behind? Or is there a sense of relief?
The impulse buy and your Priority List
An impulse buy that your unconscious has been planning for a while may sometimes be a good thing. Deliberately hunting out a new wool wrap, kitchen trolley or pair of summer sandals can lead to a long, fruitless and debilitating search; when you most feel you need something, you often can’t find it.
The Priority List lets your unconscious do the searching for you. When you have an idea of all the things you need, you can be proactive without really trying because your unconscious mind will be on the lookout for those items. When the right item appears, you’ve checked out the specifications, the price is right and you’re ready to buy, snap it up.
However, in the case of any significant purchase, you’ll need to carry out research before you buy. You can delay what would otherwise have been an impulse purchase by researching the item once you’ve found it.
Should you buy something on impulse if it’s not already on your Priority List? Ultimately you make the rules – how much structure you need depends on how prone you are to overspending, and how confident you are that you can stick to your budget.
The more you practise, the better you’ll be at distinguishing between intuitive and purely emotional shopping desires. It’s better to err on the side of caution if you’re unsure –you can always put something on your Priority List once you find it, and go back and buy it when you’ve had time to decide whether it will genuinely enhance your life.
Until next time!
If you enjoyed this post, you might like How to Stay Calm When Shopping Online!
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How to Distinguish Between a Good and Bad Impulse Buy
The impulse buy – the expensive item you come home with when you actually intended to pick up a packet of pasta, a jar of anchovies and some tinned tomatoes – is an institution in our shopping culture. ‘I just bought it on impulse’, we say, or ‘I was just passing and I saw it and I had to have it’.
Impulse purchases are unplanned purchases. They often occur at cash registers where goods are displayed so as to tempt shoppers as they leave the store. You’re most vulnerable to an unwise impulse buy when you’re tired, hungry, or feeling low.
The irony of the impulse buy is the contrast between the buyer’s lack of conscious planning and the lengths that stores go to in preparing their ambush. About 60 per cent of what we buy is unplanned, and store displays are carefully designed and positioned to tempt us to reach for our wallets or add an extra item to our trolleys on the spur of the moment.
The internet is rife with its own triggers for impulse buying. Anonymity, easy use of credit cards, navigational software and a seemingly infinite number of choices make the internet an ideal environment for encouraging us to buy on impulse.
Impulse buys aren't all the same
The difference between an impulse buy and something you buy intuitively – something that you really do need and want – isn’t always obvious. In fact, they can sometimes be the same thing – it depends on the reasons behind the purchase.
Often when we buy things suddenly, we’ve actually been planning the purchase for a long time. One evening my brother-in-law Robert came home with a shivery little ginger-coloured spaniel. He’d supposedly bought the pup ‘on impulse’, but his two young daughters had been nagging him to get them a puppy for over a year. Perhaps Robert hadn’t planned to buy the puppy – but his unconscious mind had.
On the other hand, if you’re feeling low and find yourself poised to purchase some overpriced video game based on a blockbuster that you enjoyed at the cinema, although you have no idea whether the game itself is any good, this is less likely to be the result of intuition.
So how do you distinguish between a good impulse buy and an unwise one? Here are some tips to keep you on track.
1. Have a budget in place. A budget with allocated spending for different categories gives you a structure that helps you to identify whether you can afford the item that’s clamouring for your attention.
2. Start a Priority List. A Priority List, which I describe in detail in my book The Inspired Shopper, makes a great supplement to a budget. It’s basically a list of all the things you want and need. Prepare this list slowly and mindfully, noting how you feel as you write an item down. Do you really need the item or not? Could you repurpose something instead?
If an item you get the urge to buy on impulse is on your Priority List, it may be something you want and need. But you still need to ‘check in’ at the time to ensure that it feels right to buy it.
3. Get in touch how are you’re feeling. There are many emotions that can tip us over into wanting to buy. Sometimes the item may be directly related to how you’re feeling (a chocolate bar when you’re hungry) or sometimes it’s just that you’re desperate to buy something – anything – and the item conveniently presents itself in front of you! Common feelings that can set off the urge to buy are sadness, disappointment, anger, fatigue, hunger – but even positive emotions like joy, triumph and relief can lead us to buy.
4. Tap into your intuition. There is another layer of experience deeper than emotions – your intuition. It’s always there, regardless of how you’re feeling. Once you’ve worked out how your intuition responds in shopping situations, you can always rely on it. Start to experiment with it in simple scenarios, like choosing the best bunch of celery, and go from there.
5. Let go of the item. Letting go of an item before you decide whether to buy it – a process I call relinquishing – is very similar to a cooling-off period. But it doesn’t rely on moving physically away from the item, or waiting a long time before making a decision. What’s important with relinquishing is that you actually let go of the item mentally. You decide that you won’t buy it, place it back of the shelf or rack, and then you stop to listen to how your intuition responds. Does it feel genuinely wrong to leave the item behind? Or is there a sense of relief?
The impulse buy and your Priority List
An impulse buy that your unconscious has been planning for a while may sometimes be a good thing. Deliberately hunting out a new wool wrap, kitchen trolley or pair of summer sandals can lead to a long, fruitless and debilitating search; when you most feel you need something, you often can’t find it.
The Priority List lets your unconscious do the searching for you. When you have an idea of all the things you need, you can be proactive without really trying because your unconscious mind will be on the lookout for those items. When the right item appears, you’ve checked out the specifications, the price is right and you’re ready to buy, snap it up.
However, in the case of any significant purchase, you’ll need to carry out research before you buy. You can delay what would otherwise have been an impulse purchase by researching the item once you’ve found it.
Should you buy something on impulse if it’s not already on your Priority List? Ultimately you make the rules – how much structure you need depends on how prone you are to overspending, and how confident you are that you can stick to your budget.
The more you practise, the better you’ll be at distinguishing between intuitive and purely emotional shopping desires. It’s better to err on the side of caution if you’re unsure –you can always put something on your Priority List once you find it, and go back and buy it when you’ve had time to decide whether it will genuinely enhance your life.
Until next time!
If you enjoyed this post, you might like How to Stay Calm When Shopping Online!
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