Change Your Buying Habits and Save a Ton

Raising children is expensive, especially in this hyper consumerist society. But it doesn’t have to be, and part of making it less expensive is to change how we think about stuff.

Things we can buy fall into three categories: consumables, investments, and heirlooms. In the past, most things we bought were investments and heirlooms; but our culture is doing its best to shift everything into the consumables category. To save money we have to shift the balance back to consumables being the smallest category. When we have fewer things that are consumable, we protect the environment better, save more money, produce less waste, and teach our children to respect and care for things they own.

Minimalism likes to allude to this relationship, but it never comes out and says what it means to own things intentionally. So lets explore what things fall into each category and how we leverage them to our best advantage.

The Consumable

If it were up to capitalism, everything would be a consumable because they make the most money for businesses. In fact, things that are decidedly not consumables have planned obsolescence built in to try to force consumers to buy things again. Entire industries have popped up to make things that were previously not considered consumables into consumables.

Items that are inherently consumable include:

• Food
• Water
• Energy
• Gas
• Toiletries
• Anything that gets destroyed over the course of its use (play dough, pillows, etc.)
• All single use items (pictures, printer toner, etc.)
• Anything you intend to use until it breaks irreparably (small appliances used almost daily, toilets and fixtures, many kitchen utensils, towels, etc.)
• Experiences

Then we have items that should not be consumables, but society is turning them into consumables. These things include fast fashion and furniture, baby stuff, cooking utensils, and even cars. Did you know there are non-stick pan options that you could hand down to your grandchildren? Furniture made of real wood can last your whole lifetime and then some, and it can be repaired. High quality baby things last for more than one baby and can then be resold.

Consumables add up to cost us more money then everything else combined, and they typically don’t do anything to build wealth. Every dollar you spend on a consumable is gone forever.

The Investment

An investment item will bring you long term gains in one of two ways: you can sell it; or its long term use will save you time, money, or energy. Most items we buy should be investment pieces. Investment items are higher quality than consumable items, but they don’t have to be significantly more expensive. Most of our investment items are bought second hand and then we use our time and energy to fix them up if they need it. Buying second hand and refurbishing can save you thousands on initial investment, and then make you money when you sell the item.

It is easy to see how buying a solid wood dresser on craigslist would be an investment piece, but what about other items? How are they investments?

Baby items have a short turn around time. Our culture encourages us to buy new baby clothes, toys, even cribs for each child. Marketers push the idea of “girls” and “boys” versions of items, and they make clothing seasonal or branded prompting parents to try and keep up with trends (Frozen was so last month, we are on to Trolls now…). All of that pushes the idea that these expensive baby items are consumables. But if you are conscientious about your purchases, children’s items can be investment pieces. A high quality, unbranded, generic, organic cotton shirt can last through multiple children in the same household and then be sold to another family. You can buy high quality wooden toys second hand, use them for all your children, and then sell them for what you bought them for. Good, high quality swaddle blankets can be sold when they are done or you could hand them down to your grandchildren.

Even breaking even on some items is a great thing. I bought my daughter’s entire 2T sized wardrobe for $20 using LetGo. It is all organic cotton and very neutral. All my subsequent children will wear these same clothes; and when the last one outgrows it, I will be able to sell it on for that same $20. Of course there are some things that will be destroyed over the course of normal child play, especially as they get older, but a good portion of what children need to thrive can (and probably should) be bought second hand. Anything in good shape when the child is done with it can be sold on. When you start thinking of children’s items as being usable for more than one child, you start buying less and making it higher quality. Less is more here.

Baby items aren’t the only investment pieces. You can look at your own wardrobe as investment pieces. Fast fashion assumes each item is only worn 3 times. If a fast fashion T-shirt is $5 and falls apart after the 4th wear (which is typical), then I have to replace it (conservatively) once a month. That comes out to $60 in replacing that one T-shirt a year. Conversely, if I buy a high quality shirt brand new for $20, I have saved $40 over having to replace that fast fashion shirt. If I buy the high quality shirt second hand, then I could save even more.

We can’t expect every item of clothing to last forever. Shirts last longer than pants, and high quality outerwear could last a lifetime. Buy quality when you know something could last a while, and buy crap for things that never last (I haven’t had a pair of pants last longer than a couple of months since I stopped growing).

Then there are investment pieces that save you time or energy. An LED bulb will pay for itself in energy savings. A food processor or blender (if you cook a lot) could save you hours of time, which ultimately saves you money and gives you more time to spend doing what you want.

Really evaluate each purchase on its investment potential. What is it saving you? Does the item free up more time and make a daily task easier? Can you sell it when you are done with it? Will it have a longer life which keeps you from needing to replace it more often? If the answer is no to all of these questions, and it is not a natural consumable, consider buying something else.

The Heirloom

An heirloom piece is even higher quality than an investment piece. These items are often hand made, repairable, and they can be very expensive. Heirloom items are ones you purchase (or inherit) with the intent of passing them on. They benefit from consistent care and should be main staples for use.

Heirloom items we have include our dining table (not the chairs though), jewelry, some select baby items, art, some scrapbooks/ memory books, a few pots and pans, and handmade furniture.

It is likely the heirlooms category will be the smallest category of stuff you own. That is as it should be. We don’t need to be burdening the next generation with tons of stuff. But buying some items with the intention of passing them on is a great thing. It gives us permission to buy things of very high quality.

You don’t have to think of heirlooms as only including things we pass on when we die, they can be passed down at moments when our children need them most. When you left home, did your parents let you take your bed? How about a dresser? Some pots and pans, maybe? Everything your parents gave you when you left home was an heirloom.

As we build our nurseries, or accumulate items when the child grows, consider buying key pieces (like furniture) with the intent of passing them on when the child leaves home. Everything they don’t have to buy saves them money, which is part of how generational wealth is built. In fact, heirlooms are where we build the most generational wealth.

A Quick Word on Fun

At first glance, this all feels very boring. It feels like you cut out all the fun from life if you have to pick everything that comes into the house based on its investment potential. Here is the thing, these rules apply predominately to the tools of life, not the fun of life. If all your “fun” falls into the consumable category, that is fine. The value you obtained from those items was the fun, it didn’t need to provide more than that. Conversely, if your hobby produces a product that you then decide to turn into a casual investment, cool.

Keep in mind, not everything falls into the fun category for everyone. I use my car to get from point A to point B. All of our family’s vehicles are over 20 years old, well maintained, and fairly comfortable. They have lasted us years, and we expect them to give us at least 10 more years of life before we are forced to trade or sell them and get something more reliable. But I have friends where their cars are hobbies in and of themselves. They race with their daily drivers. Some of them have sunk over $100 k into their cars. They won’t get that money back, but they enjoy every moment of it. I would never advocate they stop, I only advocate that they buy quality that lasts so they don’t have to replace parts as fast.

If what you are looking to buy is just a tool to you, ask yourself if you actually need it. If you do, try to buy at least an investment piece (assuming it isn’t naturally a consumable). But if the item you are buying is for fun, make sure you will use it and then buy the quality that makes sense for your level of commitment to the hobby.

What are your favorite money saving buying strategies? Leave a comment below!

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