Have you ever bought an item home from the market or shops only to find nowhere to put it? We may have found you a solution. Sea kayaker and explorer ‘Gadget’ explains her philosophy to having ‘just enough’. Budgeting is the key.
I am a sea kayaker nicknamed ‘Gadget’. I’ve always seemed to find the most amazing things to bring on my kayaking expeditions. It has become such a joke that at my last club Christmas party my present was a battery-operated insect deterrent. So, as you can imagine my kitchen is full of gadgets and is often referred to as the ‘Gadget Graveyard’!
Recently, while a friend who lives in a very small apartment stayed with me, I learned a new philosophy. I was extolling the virtues of one of my gadgets when the response came back, “I have a rule that if I buy anything for my apartment, I have to decide what I will throw out. It doesn’t matter if it’s a new garlic crusher or a new dress – if one comes, one goes.”
This concept shocked me, but then I thought to myself, “this would be an excellent way to control the urge to buy, buy, and buy some more”. The chances are that if you have to justify an expense and work out what it would replace, then the urge to buy will pass.
So next time you have the urge to buy something new, be it a gadget or a shirt, think if there’s anything you can discard in its place.
Glenis Phillips SF FIN – Designer of Financial Mappers
Further Reading
Here are some additional articles I have found for you:
- Budgeting 101: How to Budget Money (Nerd Wallet)
- Budgets: Everything you need to know (The Balance Money)
Disclaimer: Financial Mappers does not have an Australian Services License, does not offer financial planning advice, and does not recommend financial products.
