Is having to much "stuff" the problem ?

houseboatdream

What an interesting thread - it has prompted me to post whereas usually I am just a 'lurker'. OH and I often debate "stuff" and the psychology of acquiring it. It is quite pertinent to us now, as we are preparing for our "Grand tour" of Europe we are trying to get rid of as much 'stuff' as possible - already ebayed the cd collection, lots of car boot sales and freecycle. Its still a year til we go and we haven't even cleared the loft yet! Where did all this stuff come from?? We have gone from having between us two x two-bedroomed houses (one rented furnished)and a three bedroomed house, to one two bedroomed house (had a load of stuff in a storage unit for a while too).

I get really sick of all the stuff. When we go off for a week in the campervan we have just the exact right amount of stuff in there to live quite happily. I get back home, look round the house and think...how will I ever get rid of it all? Where did it come from?

Whilst I have got the debts down to just the A&L loan now, in the past all of this stuff has been paid for on credit cards. I went through a phase of getting a 0% card at the beginning of the year spending on it for six months without really thinking...."Mr Egg can pay for that" knowing that i would be able to pay it off with my end of year bonus. Oh, if only I had realised then that a few years down the line I would be getting rid of all these impulse purchases on ebay, if I hadn't spent and had saved the money i would already have left the country.

Re: your survey - our position is:
) A computer at home - yes, 50% paid for by work as I often work from home2) car - need car for job, but fully expensed company car provided, so I just have to pay the tax :-(
3) camcorder - no camcorder
4) ipod - yes, 3 x mp3 players between us, but not i-pods
5) sat nav - provided by employer
6)mobiles - one contract mobile paid for by employer, OH has PAYG dinosaur, £5 credit in last year!!!
7) tv - one bog standard 32" TV
8) lap top. - OH has £400 laptop he bought himself
9) play station - none
10) dvd's or CD's. - sold all cds on ebay - the DVD collection is next!
11) full sky package. - no sky (hardly ever watch TV anyway)
12) digital camera. - camera provided by employer for my job, occasionally use it ourselves
13) dishwasher. - no dishwasher......except OH of course

nielingren

lol well here i go

1) 4 computer at home. me and my mum have the net net at work but only i can do what i want on it.
2) 2 cars
3)No camcorder
4)No ipod
5)tom tom one sat nav
6)both have phones mums is PAYG mine is con
7)4 tv in the house (all crt type)
8)one laptop.
9) no play station
10) some dvd's or CD i have mostly mp3.
11) we don't any tv package but do have 4mb net from NTL
12) one digital camera.
13) dishwasher.

oops_a_daisy

1) A computer at home - yes between DD & I only bought because work offered interest free loan and DD needs it for school
2)Have just one car - One company car which costs me a fortune in tax
3)No camcorder - got a comcorder a few years ago - bought and paid for
4)No ipod - got a shuffle which DD & I share
5)no sat nav - havent got that yet and get lost...a lot
6)until recently one pay as you go mobile between 2 of us - 2 free mobiles used and cost £10 per month in top ups
7)one tv in the house - 1 TV in front room not plasma and 1 portable bought by my Mum & Dad in my bedroom
8) no lap top - see No 1
9) no play station - ex BF bought DD a nintendo which she has hardly ever played on as she is too busy with activities
10) we don't have many dvd's or CD's. - same here - just do free downloads onto the shuffle
11) we don't have the full sky package. - basic NTL digital package
12)no digital camera. - got one for Christmas last year
13) No dishwasher. - got one with a bonus from work 5 years ago but it broke months ago and have not replaced it yet untill I can afford to buy one outright


so I seem to have most of your list but I do not consider myself to be the type to keep up with the Joanses. I had debts at the beginning of this year of £8500 and now down to ( see my sig ) but those debts were not down to purchasing any of the above ( well maybe about £400 of it ) - they were down to being totally useless with money.

Mrs_Sparkle

I don't think there's necessarily a link- people get into debt for many different reasons. For me it started when my parents suddenly stopped supporting me through uni after the first year of a 4 year course and I have only just dealt properly with my attitude to money since joining MSE. For what it's worth, here's my luxury possessions list:

1) A computer at home- yes, we have a cheap laptop
2) One car which my husband needs for work. I pay £120 a month for a train ticket :-(
3)No camcorder
4)No ipod
5)no sat nav
6)a mobile each but both work ones which don't cost us a penny
7)2 TVs, a 5 year old widescreen and a portable that I've had for 13 years
8)See (1)
9) no play station
10) We very rarely buy CDs or DVDs- think once or twice a year maybe
11) we don't have the full sky package.
12)digital camera- yep, we have one of these
13) No dishwasher- yep, this too but a cheapie

If I'm being honest my overspending is 50% due to clothes and grocery overspending and 50% due to some unexpected expenses involved in buying the house and getting lumbered with my ex's credit card bill.

Phoenix79_2

Bestthingsinlifearefree wrote:

1) A computer at home (both use internet access at work;)
2)Have just one car (I cycle to work). Our car is 6 years old ie. year 2000 reg.
3)No camcorder
4)No ipod
5)no sat nav
6)until recently one pay as you go mobile between 2 of us.(mobiles are not camera mobiles) only when she became pregnant did we buy a mobile for me.
7)one tv in the house (non plasma)
8)no lap top.
9) no play station
10) we don't have many dvd's or CD's.
11) we don't have the full sky package.
12)no digital camera.
13) No dishwasher.
.

1) PC - no
2) Yes i have a car....and a very nice one.....although i did sell my 'fun weekend' car
3) Camcorder - no
4) ipod - yes
5) Satnav - yes....its a godsend! I'll have never got out of Berkshire on thursday if it wasn't for that!
6) Contract phone (works out cheaper than payg)
7) Widescreen crt tv
8) Laptop - yes
9) Playstation - no
10) Music/Films - download majority
11) Sky+ multiroom
12) Digital camera - no
13) Dishwasher - no

I guess it looks very materialistic......but my debt was down to spending too much going out having fun. The gadgets i could afford.

lil_me

1) A computer at home - 3 PCs
2)Car - 2 old cars, one 1995 one 1994 one 4x4 and one 'luxury saloon' they are described as. 3 quad bikes.
3)Camcorder - yes
4)Ipod, no bought cheaper MP3 players. 2 of.
5)Sat Nav kit for partners work
6)2 payg 1 contract (business use)
7)LCD tv and 3 others
8)lap top , yes bit of a dinosaur but it works
9)Playstation 2, few other games consoles.
10) Sky is about mid range package
11) Cupboard full of DVDs some CDs
12) 4 digital cameras - not top notch but have them
13) No dishwasher

And no debt

When I was in debt it was because of buying essentials and having an extremely low income. Had no luxuries then.

Mrs_J_3

1) A computer at home (both use internet access at work) We have a laptop used for OH's PhD
2)Have just one car (I cycle to work). Our car is 6 years old ie. year 2000 reg. We recently sold my 9 year old car for a 4 year old (hopefully) more reliable model.
3)No camcorder Me neither
4)No ipod I was bought this as a birthday gift a while ago
5)no sat nav I have a map, works just as well for me
6)until recently one pay as you go mobile between 2 of us.(mobiles are not camera mobiles) only when she became pregnant did we buy a mobile for me. We both have mobiles, but we tend to be out and about, so they do get used
7)one tv in the house (non plasma) We only have the one tele, but it as OH is a gadget freak it's LCD.
8)no lap top. see point no. 1
9) no play station Have a PS2, which will be sold to part pay the purchase of a PS3 when/if it arrives in the UK
10) we don't have many dvd's or CD's. HAve too many of these, but these have been accumlating for 15 years +
11) we don't have the full sky package. Freeview
12)no digital camera. Bought as a Christmas pressie
13) No dishwasher. My OH

I didn't run my debts up by buying big one off itmes, but through lots of stupid little things as I was a bit bored and lonely at the time. I would go shopping as it was easy to do when there was no one else around and if I'm honest I like nice things. My attitude has changed though, and I'm attempting to declutter my house aswell as my credit cards, so the urge to buy stuff has diminished hugely.

I think I should point out, that the debt in my sig is my own debt, which I ran up and I am paying back. My OH has the funds to buy gadgets, which of course I benefit from the use of. However, even though he has no money worries, my money saving ways have rubbed off on him and he's been selling old gadgets to pay for new things in true mse style.

tomstickland

Great thread.
I went to PC world to buy a replacement keyboard last night (I had a beer disaster with previous one).
The store was a shrine to pointless tat in my opinion. Shelves and shelves of plastic electronic goods with flashing lights. Stuff you certainly don't need. I agree, we were perfectly happy 20 years ago.

The net + broadband is my one and only vice. When I broke my keyboard I looked at the screen and was "oh my God, what am I going to do now?". I had to turn the computer off, finish the beer and go to bed. Shock.

sashacat

fascinating thread! I do believe that people ( ok, some people) get into debt because they buy "stuff" they think they need. Someone said on here that they need a sat nav for work...how did they manage to work a few years ago before sat navs???
my list is...I have an old computer at home with bb
I own my car which is paid for ( I saved up and paid cash)
no camcorder
no ipod
no sat nav
mobile on contract
small old tv (not digital)
no laptop
no playstation
no dvds ( and no dvd player)
about 15 cds ( all presents, never bought one)
no sky
digi camera chrissie pressie 2 years ago
yes dishwasher ( chrissie pressie last year)
and no debt.. because I only buy when I can pay cash with savings. if my tv or dishwasher break down they won't be replaced until I have saved up the money

cathybird

I should add that I don't think my debts are down to buying big stuff (with occasional exceptions), they're down to simple mismanagement of money, buying lots of little items on credit and not paying attention to how they added up, particularly books and nice, yummy food.