Don't Buy Unless It's Broken

Dear readers, you must be wondering what the title is about? What's this joker talking about? Who wants to buy broken stuff?

What I meant to say is, when was the last time you bought a new item only because the current item you are using is totally wrecked, broken and unusable? If you are like most of us, its most probable that you do not remember..unless your laptop just conked out. As hardcore consumers, we tend to use items only till about 30% to 50% of its total usability before throwing or trading the item in for a new piece.

I'm sure frugalists( Is there such a word?) can think of many reasons as to why this behavior is wrong but here I am going to state 2 that comes to mind.

1. We are wasting money by not fully utilizing the item we buy and even worse, we buy another item that does exactly the same thing. It might be newer, shinier or a little faster, but does it justify throwing away your current item when it can still be used for another couple of years?
2. We are indirectly destroying the world, we are taking too much of the Earth's resources to create all these items which we just waste by not fully consuming or utilizing. We waste so much food, water, oil, coal, paper and much much more. I feel that we should be more efficient in consuming and only buy or take what we can fully consume.

We are all guilty of wastage. I know because although I'm trying very hard, I still get tempted immensely when a new tech gadget comes out..( Samsung Galaxy S4...Hint Hint...). But we must all try to learn and change as we age. Remember that no one is perfect and life is a never ending learning journey.

With this, I urge you to try to use most of your stuff till it breaks or becomes unusable from this day onwards. Save both the Earth and your bank account. Buy or take only what you can consume!

As always, save more, spend less and invest wisely.