How do I become less materialistic???

Don’t worry about it too much peterfile. You should update your blog more often. Especially with stuff like this:

🙂

“Adventure starts at home”

🙂

I’m sorry, but,

Hahah I know! We couldn’t get the bag shut with her hair tied back, there’s too much of it!

🙂

Personally, I want to DO things. Unfortunately, those things often require some kind of equippment.

I have several bikes, but each one was bought (a long time ago I might add) for a particular purpose like say, jumping off big drops and going fast on rocky bits. Can’t do that on an XC race bike very easily.

Materialist? Hard to say.

i suffer from that mol…bits of my house could be mistaken for Ellis Brigham.

So long as the purchase is because it’s needed for your main activity then I don’t think it’s materialism. The driver of the purchase wasn’t the thing itself. If you’re buying it because you like buying stuff then that’s different I suppose (all the gear and no idea).

That said, most of us enjoy buying new kit so the line is blurred.

Amongst certain social groups social status is gained not by having a fancy car or house or posh holiday in Dubai, but by having had a ‘crazy adventure in the jungle in Vietnam’ or whatever.

Known as the travel w*nker!

Back on topic, it is pretty easy to get caught up in the consumption of stuff. Sometimes it’s just because you can – which gets easier as you earn more money. You get bombarded with ads and mags like STW with entry level bikes costing £2.5k. Your perspective gets skewed after a while.

I’m finding that I’m getting better but that maybe down to having our first baby. I’m a bit more content with what I have and want to put my money into stuff like the house.

The spreadsheet thing works petty well – especially when you see the total at the bottom.

Would you say you’re a little insecure?
My cousin comes round and won’t wear anything that hasn’t got a label, brags about his latest ‘thingamebob’ and how expensive it was but he comes across as a tad insecure. I’m sure you aren’t anything like him though 🙂

I hardly ever go shopping (not even in a supermarket if I can help it). I shop locally in independent shops and more or less buy what I need. I find large stores just have too much choice, which in my mind is not good.
We record a lot of telly programmes, so skip the adverts, then I’m not tempted.

Do you have a garden? Try spending more time in it. Try growing stuff (gives such pleasure especially if it’s edible).

George Carlin Talks About “Stuff”: http://youtu.be/MvgN5gCuLac

Anyway….you’re not really materialistic, you’ve just got spare disposable income and you like spending it.

Most of its all been said, such as wife, kids, house etc which will all drain your resources to nothing, so really it would be good if you can start saving for something worthwhile now, while you can. You need to give yourself a target such as buying a flat and work out what you need as a deposit and go for it.

I find that if you put money aside into an instant access savings account as soon as it comes in, it becomes painful to dip into it as you’re reducing the pot. Its still there, but its available if you really need it.

There are (ironically) loads of great blogs about minimalism and simplicity which might be of help to you – start with Zen Habits and follow the links – if you can tune out some of the more pretentious aspects.

One of suggestions made on those is the list to which you add things you want to buy – you have to wait 30 days before making the purchase, by which time the urge has often gone. You could also try a one-in-one-out strategy, or get rid of one thing a day for four weeks.

A more extreme version is to pack everything you own into boxes, then only unpack things as and when you need them. Anything in a box 12 months from now, you don’t need.

In terms of saving, it used to be do-able to save for a deposit for a house. I don’t see how that’s possible now unless you are on mega-money.
Cars you may as well take advantage of the credit offers.
So I spend my cash on quality items, rather than lots of crap. But I don’t see the point in saving as the economy doesn’t reward it anymore.

Cars you may as well take advantage of the credit offers.

er…no! Try saving for one, or at least half of it.

er…no! Try saving for one, or at least half of it.

Car interest is so low you might end up only paying a few hundred quid in interest. To get a new car or solve whatever car issue you’re having could be well worth the cost.

Credit isn’t intrinisically bad, it can be very good. Taking the WRONG credit for the wrong purpose is a bad thing.

b

adnewz – Member
In terms of saving, it used to be do-able to save for a deposit for a house. I don’t see how that’s possible now unless you are on mega-money…

Every generation says that.

It comes down to working your arse off and not spending. It’s simple, but it ain’t easy.

Or, buy a cheap car that you can afford?

Don’t believe it’s as easy to get on the property ladder today as it used to be, got first mortgage 30 years ago as a site labourer, can’t see that happening now?
But surely property ownership is part of the materialistic mindset being talked about, when you’ve got one you’ll soon need a bigger and better one!

But surely property ownership is part of the materialistic mindset being talked about

Maybe for some, but really owning makes much more financial sense. You are putting money into your own appreciating asset makes far more sense than simply giving it to someone else.

Stop reading magazines. They are paid for by advertisers, and they need to sell you things. Everything is awesome, a massive step forwards etc.

It isn’t, and you don’t need it.

Set yourself some goals that don’t require stuff, we all have our obsessive behaviour patterns, mine is going to the gym and keeping as fit as i can at 51.
I only have one bike and often leave guys half my age on a bike five times more expensive in my wake. Often the most rewarding things are the toughest to achieve. I’m looking forward to getting my top off in the summer rather than wearing the latest “in” shirt.

I wouldn’t argue that buying property makes more financial sense than renting as long as house prices continue to rise, but the point I was trying to make was more to do with the mindset many of us seem to develope in this part of the world, myself included, no matter how much you have, it’s never quite enough!!
Which is why the sentance finish, ‘when you’ve got one, you’ll soon need a bigger and better one.’

You are putting money into your own appreciating asset makes far more sense than simply giving it to someone else.

Plus taking on the cost of upkeep on the house, repairs, decorating, etc. Tying yourself to one location. Risking depreciation.

A colleague wanted to move to a bigger house but theirs was in negative equity so they switched it to a buy to let, then bought a second house. They now have two houses in negative equity.

Plus taking on the cost of upkeep on the house, repairs, decorating, etc. Tying yourself to one location. Risking depreciation.

Yes but you get half a million quid or whatever at the end of it, or free rent whichever you prefer. And something pretty handy you can leave your kids when you die. Persuasive arguments Imo.

And you get security. Friends of ours (a family) just got booted out of their home. Not that nice an experience. Forced to live in a dingier place that they cannot improve.

“They now have two houses in negative equity.”

Aye, and in 25 years’ time they are laughing.

As a minor start I decided to start putting off all larger non-essential purchases for 6 months – I generally find that after that long I either do want it and start to research it properly or that i have moved on.

It prob took until I was 40 to decide on this though, I am an expert on buying stuff I don’t need or use !

So long as the purchase is because it’s needed for your main activity then I don’t think it’s materialism. The driver of the purchase wasn’t the thing itself. If you’re buying it because you like buying stuff then that’s different I suppose (all the gear and no idea).

this sounds suspiciously like “so long as you can justify it to yourself, it’s not materialism” to me. which is a very slippery slope!

‘needed’ is a very flexible term too. most of us don’t ‘need’ to shave a few more seconds off that DH trail, and if suddenly we couldn’t afford a top end bike, we know that we could perfectly happily get by with a 500 quid second hand bike and still have loads of fun hacking round the forests 🙂

most of us don’t ‘need’ to shave a few more seconds off that DH trail,

Hmm, yes. Interesting point.

I used to have one bike, it was a pretty lightweight XC job with 80mm forks that I bought in 2001. It was high end though at the time, and the first top notch bike I ever had. I had been happy with my previous fully rigid V-braked bike but I’d been made redundant just after having secured a job and before I’d handed in my notice, and being rather young I blew the meagre redundancy payment. Materialistic? Dunno – rash, yes. It was more about the hedonistic spending than the actual bike, although the two meshed nicely.

In 2003 I bought a cheap road bike. I wanted to ride road properly. It was entry level, so I don’t call this materialism.

Sometime in 2004 I started wondering about all this FS malarkey, so I bought a £3k bike that had been reduced to £1.5k. Possibly materialism, but it didn’t feel like it. I didn’t want the bike because it was shiny new (it wasn’t), I wanted it because I wanted to ride FS.

Then the most rash bike purchase I ever made – the Patriot. A parts bin clearout job form the LBS, £1500 again. It was money I had but I should have been saving. I’d always wanted a long travel bike just to see what it was like, and to learn to jump off the planks at Cwmcarn. I’ve certainly learned an awful lot riding it (or its insurance replacement actually) so is this materialism? I suspect not.

If I were to replace the bike because it’s 26″, or to get some flash new thing – well, it’d cost me three or four grand, and would it be really necessary for any reason? Would that count as materialism?

The reasons I quote seemed sound to me, but a lot of purchases can be justified can’t they? Then again, some people do just by things because of percieved intrinsic ‘coolness’ rather than any sort of function.

Aye, and in 25 years’ time they are laughing.

Assuming house prices don’t tank again? (They’ll presumably have to pay capital gains tax if they sell the first house at some point?)

Assuming house prices don’t tank again?

Unlikely to be lower in 25 years time than now. Property is a good investment long term generally. And tax – yeah ok, but give me £400k if someone else’s money and I’ll happily pay £100k in tax if I can keep the rest.

expand your conciousness rather than filling your home with stuff.. There are many interesting ways to achieve this, the intensity of your self-exploration and the means of achieving it are down to your own discretion

Develop a love for romance, culture, adventure, experimentation, excitement and the unknown

I only have one bike and often leave guys half my age on a bike five times more expensive in my wake. Often the most rewarding things are the toughest to achieve. I’m looking forward to getting my top off in the summer rather than wearing the latest “in” shirt.

Ah yes, replacing materialism with general narcissism – that’s the way forward.

Burn your TV and surround yourself with an eclectic mix of interesting people (note: STW is NOT an eclectic mix of interesting people!)

office supplies chain warehouse local to me sells these canvas posters ….. oh the irony in the middle of several thousand cubic metres of mostly useless stuff:

http://www.officeworks.com.au/shop/officeworks/45x45cm-pre-printed-canvas-collect-moments-un117316?searchTerm=canvas%20print

I have started to covet time more than things lately, I don’t think I will ever be entirely cured of consumer urges, but I find It make fewer impulse purchases and consider my needs more than wants now.

Consider the idea of free time as a “commodity” for a minute, what could you do with a whole free day tomorrow?

Going for a ride is an obvious option, take kids to the park, swift half with some mate, Do some DIY, try learning a language?

And I don’t mean spanking thousands on some aspirational holiday, I mean having something that will make you genuinely happy to spend your time doing it.

I find I want less stuff now, and more time to spend doing the things that actually make me happy. It’s made me feel happier Even if my belongings are older than others and my bank balance isn’t getting topped up with overtime.

Advertising and a bit of social disconnection work on most people now to make acquisition seem like a good substitute for using our time as we really want to, instead we help talk ourselves into buying items which end up costing us that valuable time in order to pay for them.

Cookeaa.

The idea of being time rich is something I have been working on for the last 4 years. I’ve had opportunity for “career advancement”, ie promotion. But it would mean Monday to Friday 9-5, with lots of interruptions outside of those hours, plus extra hours for no extra money. I work continental shifts, 4 on 4 off. I’ve got loads of free time, I just need to be more focused in using it well.

As far as reducing spending on “needed” or “wanted” things, I now try to buy quality items, buy once. Question every purchase. I do the wish list thing too. Put something in my Amazon wish list, if it’s still there sometime later it might get a reprieve if the price has dropped and stays there a bit longer, if I can’t remember putting it in there then it gets deleted.

You (We all) have too much shit[/url]