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Buy well, buy once

fellow.ventures

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Re: Buy well, buy once

#151

Post by nocoiner »

ip26 wrote: post #39
crazygringo wrote: post #7

> I even keep a record of all my worldly possessions in a visual catalogue spreadsheet on Airtable. 192 items at my last count. > I don't count hoodies, t-shirts, socks or usb cables but I really don't own many. I count a pair of shoes in a box as 1 item. Huh? Either you're counting things or you're not. Saying you own 192 items except for the 800 (?) you're not counting doesn't make a lot of sense. Why are shoes an…

wanting to be able to cook and serve a meal for 4 people because it's nice to eat with friends Don’t be silly, having three friends is hardly minimalist. Have you ever considered how friends weigh you down? One is more than enough, and frankly even that might be too many.

He’s gotta be ready to walk out in 30 seconds flat when he spots the heat round the corner.

Re: Buy well, buy once

#152

Post by roncesvalles »

dublinben wrote: post #60
mberning wrote: post #56

In a way I admire committed minimalists. But I often wonder what their long term lifestyle is like. Surely many of them are single (or they only count the items which are solely theirs). They surely rent at a higher rate than own property. They surely own vehicles at a lower rate. And so on. I just get this picture of a person in an urban area, living alone in a studio apartment, dependent upon everyone else for basi…

I’m fond of the conspiracy theory that the rise of minimalism is actually propaganda to placate Millennials who can’t afford the same level of material comfort as their parents and other earlier generations enjoyed.

To me, minimalism seems like a natural reaction to the transient lifestyles that people live now. A generation or two ago, many would grow up and settle down in the same town or county with 4 years of college being the most time that one spent outside their hometown. If you have a permanent home, it's easier to invest in filling it with stuff.

Today I hesitate to buy anything that I can't pack in a suitcase or wouldn't feel comfortable throwing away or donating to Goodwill in ~2 years.

Re: Buy well, buy once

#153

Post by pwpw »

mdorazio wrote: post #149
pwpw wrote: post #141

An observation I have made of my grandparents, who certainly had a bit of money, is everything they own is high quality and has lasted them years. My grandfather still has his Hickey Freeman suits and sports coats tailored and repaired by a local menswear shop. Their Dualit toaster still works while I have personally gone through many Cuisinart toasters. Their technics AV components still work with their high quality…

This sounds to me like a combination of survivorship bias and cost preference. You see the resilient things at your grandparents' house because those are the only things that have survived. All the poor quality things they purchased over the years are gone by now. Also, you and your parents probably favor lower-cost items (as do most people these days) over longevity. This may simply not have been possible in your gr…

I definitely agree with you. I would also add that I believe there’s an element of the period of time in which they had the money to purchase their goods. Many goods had been iterated upon and become the best versions while having been around long enough to make an informed decision on high quality products.

Today, we have been in a period of rapid change as technology advances. My grandparents bought the best of the analog world. Their CRT TVs were the peak of consumer sets. The world switched to LCDs when I was looking to buy a TV, which took a long time to catch up to the height of CRTs (not until OLED in my opinion). Their film cameras took exceptional pictures. Only recently have most consumer DSLRs begun to achieve the same level of quality. Their cars had battle-tested V6 engines while the cars I looked at had newer, unproven inline 4 engines that came with carbon build up issues.

So a mix of survivorship bias and cost preference but also the current state of the market. Fortunately for me, I have been able to purchase a nice PVM to play my old video game consoles on, have made use of my grandfather’s film camera and can develop the film at a local studio, and am able to buy a used car with a proven V6 engine since they are still available in the market. When buying products that will hopefully last, I first look to what my grandparents own as a starting point. Often, purchasing older goods let me take advantage of those points you mentioned.

For a current product on the market that is pretty great, I have been pleased with a Moccamaster coffee maker.

Re: Buy well, buy once

#154

Post by asimpletune »

Part of this too is the cultural infrastructure available to you. I have moved from the USA to Europe, and one thing I found surprising that’s normal here was access to artisans at reasonable prices, sometimes even lower than the mass-consumer price in the USA.

As an example, I needed to take some basketball shoes down a size. If you look up insoles on Amazon, they’re about $20 (which is insane). On the other hand where I live there was a cobbler that did the work for less.

Re: Buy well, buy once

#155

Post by mo_42 »

dublinben wrote: post #60
mberning wrote: post #56

In a way I admire committed minimalists. But I often wonder what their long term lifestyle is like. Surely many of them are single (or they only count the items which are solely theirs). They surely rent at a higher rate than own property. They surely own vehicles at a lower rate. And so on. I just get this picture of a person in an urban area, living alone in a studio apartment, dependent upon everyone else for basi…

I’m fond of the conspiracy theory that the rise of minimalism is actually propaganda to placate Millennials who can’t afford the same level of material comfort as their parents and other earlier generations enjoyed.

Millennial here and half-baked minimalist here.

At least it’s not true for me. For all my life I’ve been drowned in objects. My parents are still telling that I had so many toys.

Minimalism is a way for becoming aware of the objects around me. Not so much about the pure number of objects.

Since, I started thinking about what should be part of my life and also letting go of things I don’t really need, my savings rate has skyrocketed. Also, many things I own have much higher quality than my parents or grandparents.

I guess minimalism is a counter-movement to super-cheap consumerism.

Re: Buy well, buy once

#156

Post by fuzztester »

There's a Hindi proverb I heard as a kid from adult friends and relatives:

Mehngaa roye ek baar, sastaa roye sattar baar

Meaning, literally:

Expensive, cry once; cheap, cry seventy times.

Re: Buy well, buy once

#157

Post by mo_42 »

bombela wrote: post #9
nextos wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've done this, and it's very liberating. Basically, all things I own, including consumables, fit inside a small Org file. It's less than 100 items. I went this route because I wanted to emphasize some good habits, and de-emphasize things that I considered less valuable. The process I went through was basically thinking about my core habits, mapping said habits to some objects, and then thinking about extra objects t…

Something I am curious about. Does this list would include tools and all the thousands of parts and pieces one accumulates over the year when hobbying around?

I have an inventory.yml. It’s not complete yet but every now and then I extend it. I put everything there and belongs together in a meaningful way. For example, AirPods. I don’t list each one and the case but just AirPods. I also note when I bought it and what it costs.

Re: Buy well, buy once

#158

Post by 2-718-281-828 »

nicbou wrote: post #64
jrflowers wrote: post #35

I enjoyed this article about the minimalist man getting two minimally useful extra wallets.

I used to be interested in minimalism, but I realised that they just obsess over objects in a different way. I wanted to save money, avoid maintenance and reduce my mental load. I found people who keep spreadsheets of their stuff and debate whether it's okay to own tools or multiple coffee cups.

well, i think it is mostly a form of self-therapy where you project a mental stressor onto something you can touch, see and deal with. then you try to manipulate that stressor and heal your trauma by manipulating that object or set of objects - or maybe an animal, a spouse or your child. of course that won't work.

Re: Buy well, buy once

#159

Post by johnchristopher »

gnicholas wrote: post #144
dieselgate wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was using a broccoli rubber band as a wallet for years but they have a tendency to break after a while. Have settled on a metal binder clip and it’s worked much better - less friction in/out of pocket too

I use a broccoli rubber band as a minimalist iPhone 'case'. [1] It makes the back and bottom of the phone grippy, so it's easier to hold. It does slightly block the corners of the screen, but not much. It doesn't provide much protection in case of a drop, obviously. But the added grippiness makes drops much less likely! I have occasionally bought broccoli that I didn't need just so I could get another rubber band, af…

> It doesn't provide much protection in case of a drop, obviously. But the added grippiness makes drops much less likely!

I found popsockets and ring holders a better option in that regard https://image.gsmpunt.nl/blog/image/image_3.png

Re: Buy well, buy once

#160

Post by icoder »

jasonkester wrote: post #145

I'm a bit of a recovering minimalist, though it was never really a choice to become one. I spent the better part of 15 years living out of a small backpack, travelling ~9 months a year then flying home to work short software contracts and save up for the next trip. As a consequence, I got used to not having very many things. One pair of pants, one pair of shorts, that sort of thing. I think my policy was something li…

I find the thought of minimalism interesting, and we don't buy endless crap and try to get rid of things every now and then, but then again, if it's Christmas we've got a few boxes with decorations, if I go camping we've got our tent/mats/fridge/etc, when I go snowboarding I have clothes and my own board. Also I have hobbies that require stuff. And so on. I don't want to give up on these activities and I don't want to make them into a nightmare collecting/arranging everything each time.

And on top of that, now we have a kid ;)

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