STUFF: RIPPED FROM YAHOO!!!

Stop Buying Stuff You Don't Need
by Dayana Yochim
Thursday, December 24, 2009

We may be getting used to tightening our belts. But that doesn't mean we're happy about it, because, let's face it: We love stuff.

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We love shopping for stuff, setting stuff up, displaying stuff, and demonstrating our stuff's superiority (in speed, capacity, color, taste, size, you name it) to the other, lesser stuff out there.

Of course, no discussion of stuff is complete without a tip of the hat to George Carlin's famous monologue about it. (Watch it here. PG-13 rating, FYI.) "The whole meaning of life is trying to find a place for your stuff," he observed. "That's all your house is ... a pile of stuff with a cover on it."

Good point, George. Think about it...

* • Why do most people move? To find a bigger place for their stuff.
* • When someone breaks into your house, they're not interested in your fourth-grade mementos. No. They're after the good stuff.
* • Stuff is so important to us that an entire industry exists simply to keep an eye on it. (Container Store Addicts Anonymous, anyone?)

A lot of people have issues with stuff. However, all stuff is not created equal.

Your two piles of stuff: Most of what we spend our money on can be categorized in one of two ways: 1. Stuff we need. 2. Stuff we want. (A subset of No. 2: Stuff we claim to need -- for which we dream up elaborate justifications for buying to tell our spouses, friends, or bosses -- but as we all know, it's really just stuff we want.)

In the "need" pile are the obvious things like shelter (mortgage or rent), food, good health (medication and medical attention when necessary) and the means to earn a living (transportation, hot water for a shower, and appropriate shoes).

Everything else? Well, you know where to pile all that stuff -- right over there in the mountain of "wants."

Of course, stuff consigned to the "want" pile isn't necessarily bad. It's fine if it brings you joy, you can afford it, it makes your life or someone else's better, is not a choking hazard, and it's stored safely away from open flames.

What makes "wants" problematic is when you pay for them with tomorrow's dollars by putting them on a credit card and not paying them off in full, or when you acquire things simply to temporarily patch over an emotional void that no tangible acquisition can truly fulfill.

What to do when "want" is a four-letter word: If you find that your "wants" are consuming your mind, garage, and attic, there are some things you can do to cut down the pangs of acquisitiveness.

On one of our more popular discussion boards on Fool.com, "Living Below Your Means," members have offered some great tips on getting into the "want less" mind-set:

Avoid situations that make you want more stuff:

* • Put catalogs right in the recycling pile without reading them and unsubscribe ASAP.
* • Ignore the commercials on television. And whatever you do, don't turn on the shopping channels.
* • Don't hang out in shopping areas for recreation.
* • Stop window-shopping online. It's too easy to fill up your cart and click "buy."

Face the reality of acquiring that new [fill in the blank]:

* • Put the price in perspective: How many hours do you have to work to pay for the item?
* • Institute a waiting period. Often the excitement over a new gewgaw wears off after a few days -- or even hours.
* • Pay for it in cash. Studies show that forking over actual currency makes the pain of a purchase much more real than just putting it on plastic.

Realize how much junk you have now, and how much trouble it is:

* • Take a complete inventory of your house contents for insurance purposes. You might be surprised by the bounty of stuff you already have.
* • Do a weekly "27-fling boogie" a la Flylady: Go through the house and find 27 things you don't want to keep anymore)
* • Visualize moving all of your stuff to a new home, or your heirs going through everything after your death.

Appreciate the stuff you already have:

* • Keep warranties.
* • You worked hard to afford it in the first place, so perform basic repair and maintenance.
* • Lend things you don't use frequently to other people.
* • Fill your time with enjoyable -- and free! -- activities, such as spending time with family, playing sports, or pursuing a hobby. That leaves fewer hours in the day to pine for stuff!

Hi-ho, hi-ho, it's off to the mall we go anyway: Of course, at some point you're going to have to replenish the pantry, replace some lightbulbs, and maybe even buy some stuff to keep the other stuff you have in good working condition.

But before you reach for your wallet, do some pre-shopping prep so you acquire only as much stuff as you really need.

After years of training, Fool.com writer Dayana Yochim is ready to enter the Ironwoman competition and triumph in the Target-shopping challenge, where every item in contestants' shopping carts that's not on their original list results in a score reduction.