From Rags to Riches V: Banish Big-Box

I finally switched around the title to this series. I started with "from riches to rags" due to my spending too much money in Las Vegas last February and living high and crashing home and hitting low. Now I feel the tables have turned and I am ready to embrace riches again. Really, I am ready.

I have been keeping tabs on my spending for over four months now and I am proud of my mindfulness. I have been watching every dollar go in and out of my wallet and writing down the direction at which it is being spent. It has made a larger impact than I thought it would when it comes to my monetary decisions and overall consumerist attitudes. I still love to shop, but now I move even further toward quality versus quantity, which also (thankfully) turns to better for the environment.

My latest move toward this trend is to step off of my affinity of cheap, disposable furniture. I read a revealing book excerpt of Ellen Ruppell Shell's "Just Don't Ask Why It's So Cheap" in The Globe & Mail (thanks Carla Robinson) today that reminded me that IKEA is a not just a place to buy cheap stuff to get your place looking less All in the Family and more Desperate Housewives in a jiffy. It is actually a company that engages in many unsavory business practices, employs slavery wages in third-world countries, is damaging for the environment, and pushes consumerism back to a feverish level reminiscent of the fifties.

I have reformed from that article and now will take a fresh approach to decorating my pad the old-school way. Actually saving money toward a piece of furniture desired (currently lusting after a couch with chaise lounge) and then making a sound purchase of furniture that will outlive my handbag.

The next alternative failing my ability to save thousands of dollars is to recycle and reuse and purchase a Craigslist item of furniture that is desired. My last purchase was an additional kitchen cupboard for extra storage, which saved me and my partner $50. I read in some financial book years ago that a great way to save money is to buy something second hand if you are able to (especially important when it comes to items with high depreciation, like a car).

I think that these two approaches combined will end up saving me money in the long run. I read "Buy once, cry once" somewhere and I think that is a good adage. Clearly I am not going to buy one set of furniture in my lifetime but maybe if I choose wisely, it will last longer than my current handbag.

See Related Posts:
The Art of Consinment: From riches to rags IV
Cooking for dollars: From riches to rags III
Keeping in line: From riches to rags II
From riches to rags
MALM Madness