We filled the back of our minivan with mostly books to be donated.
I’m in the midst of a HUGE household project. One of my goals for the year is to rid my house of everything except what I love or use. I started in my master bedroom this week, and I made a big discovery. Actually, I’ve always known it, but I’ve been in denial. I love books. And so does my husband.
As I was going through stacks and stacks of books, trying to decide what to keep and what to give away, I remembered buying a lot of those books. A lot of them, and I do mean A LOT, were impulsive purchases. When I started going through the stack, I had a 5 shelf bookcase overfilled with books, and two big piles of books just sitting on the floor.
And honestly, it was hard to put some of the books in the give away pile, which I think is ridiculous, because I can find most of them at the library, if I ever have a desire to read them again.
In the end, my husband and I gave away probably 3/4 of our books. We filled the back of the minivan with stuff to take to Goodwill, and I sold another big box of books.
Thinking about my experience, it occurred to me that everyone probably has something that they’re prone to spending money on. For some it may be coffee. For others, clothes, for others kitchen gadgets. And since people fascinate me, I thought I’d ask you all what you irrationally spend money on. So what’s your weakness? Do you avoid going into bookstores, like I do, because you know if you walk in, you won’t come out empty handed? Do you like technology? Clothes? I’d love to hear what you do to try to avoid spending money. Or do you just give in and spend it? Please tell!
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Without a doubt, books. Last year I went on purge, giving away over 1,000 books to our public library. And was still left with easily another 2,000 on my shelves. Slowly but surely I am listing some on e-bay and giving away more and listing some on PaperbackSwap.com. There’s a sense of comfort to see shelves lined with books. Isn’t that odd?
I wish I could go to your thrift store to peruse your old books. LOL.
I can relate to the books weakness. Before I got married I used to buy books all the time, read them once and then put them on the shelf. My wife cured me of that one as she is a compulsive organizer who gets rid of anything we don’t regularly use. I still occasionally buy a book, but now I’ll more often than not turn around and re-sell the book on ebay or more often amazon. The library is my best friend now.. For example – i just went on a week long trip to san francisco. In the past I would have bought a guide book for the trip, but this time I went to the library and got 3 of this year’s san fran guide books for free! and I don’t have to resell them now! I love the library!
My weakness is electronic gadgets. I USED to have to have the latest and greatest gadgets. Since I’ve started my financial turnaround, I’ve been doing alot better. Having the latest gagdet can get expensive FAST.
I don’t have a real “weakness” – just seem to fritter my money away on little things, and it drives me nuts!
In terms of your books, I totally believe in donating to Goodwill, but if you are trying to save, get rid of debt, live frugally – why not sell them? I sold some books & videos last year on Amazon and Ebay and made over $800, which I put in my emergency savings fund.
Just something to think about!
For me, I have 2 weaknesses, the first is books. I have been a bookworm my whole life and I have had to train myself to only peruse books at the used bookstore or in thrift shops. That way, if I make an impulse buy it is for only a few buck.
The second is clothes, I love clothes, accessories, handbags, you name it. I am a fashionista. I have over the years learned how to treat myself to those purchases by going to thrift stores and such.
Everyone has a weakness, but I think it is OK to splurge here and there when it is for something you truly love and will appreciate.
Take Care
LJ
I am a book hoarder too. I realized at one point I had at least 50 books sitting in my bedroom (that is where I put the ones I haven’t read, the other’s go in the bookshelves around the house or in the basement. We won’t count those.) So, I realized at the rate I read, b/c I have two toddlers that take up most of my time, I had at least two years worth of reading sitting on my floor. You would think that alone would say enough already, but no if Oprah says I should read it, I buy it. My other weakness is magazines. I guess I just think somewhere in these pages lies the secret key to life that is going to transform me. I have decided to put a halt on all reading material for the year!
Yikes, a lot of problems with books, myself included. I just need to avoid B&N outright, because I almost never walk out of there empty-handed. Then I kick myself later when I see the price I paid vs. Amazon’s price!
Books here as well. Also DVD’s. We went through a spell where we bought at least 5-10 every week. Most were horrible!! Also doing a little house cleaning, and it is amazing at the things you find…a lot I don’t even remember buying!!
Lynnae, most of the books I buy and read are always either donated to Goodwill, or I “sell” them to Half Price Books for a few pennies and use that money to buy my next great read.
Lots of book lovers here, I see!
@katie – I thought about selling all of the books, and I’ve done that in the past, but to sell them, I’d have to store them until they sold. And I’ve found that when I’m decluttering, I really just need to get things out of the house, so I opted to take the tax deduction instead. I did manage to sell a few of them at cash4books.com, which doesn’t pay nearly as well as ebay, but at least it’s something.
Yup. It’s books for me as well. If I even thought of traveling somewhere I would buy the guidebook. I recently sorted through my books – at first I was giving them away but then decided to sell them on half.com (part of ebay) It’s really easy and I’ve already made $75 in a few weeks.
Mine will sound weird – I’m a knitter, and my greatest weakness is buying yarn! Especially when the “good stuff” goes on sale, I find myself justifying the purchase, even though it’s so not a need. And I don’t think I’ve ever walked out of a yarn shop empty handed. :0)
My biggest weakness is books. Because I have a Master’s Degree in theology, I have spent two decades collecting various books for education and for general pleasure reading. In fact I have collected over 3500 volumes.
However, lately I have been wading through all these books and sorting them in various groups building stacks to put on Ebay. It has taken me several years to break the habit of buying a book just because I thought “I needed it.”
I’m periodically prone to buying DVDs which I won’t watch more than a few times. This only happens a couple times a year, but it makes me feel dumb every time I realize it. Some were for projects (I took a couple English/Film classes) which makes me feel a bit better.
I’m going to try to sell them or just hang on because there aren’t too many. As for books. HA! I think I’ve managed to cut back on my book acquisitions pretty well. But some pruning would be useful. I just can’t imagine life without them.
Yep, books for me as well. I used to go to my local bookstore and pick up titles in their 3 for 2 section at least twice a month if not more often. Now I am a library girl, I’m trying not to buy a book this year at all (actually haven’t bought one since last October). I’m finally learning patience, I’m currently #44 and 122 on the waiting list for 2 titles!
I actually still go to bookstores just to browse occasionally, I like to tempt myself and then walk away, luckily my library is only half a block from my nearest bookstore.
I second the gadgets mention. that is my other weakness. Lately i’ve been pretty good about it, only buying something after I’ve sold enough stuff on ebay or amazon to pay for it. Never credit. My latest gadget a new 32″ LCD television in our living room – a replacement for our old TV that recently died.
My big weakness is scrapbooking stickers. I just bought about 10 packages of stickers yesterday. My rationalization is that almost all of them were 50% off :) I do use them up when I scrapbook, and I do get a lot of joy out of scrapbooking, so I guess it’s a decent thing to spend money on. Plus, they run about $1/package when they’re half off, so it’s not too expensive!
I have to go with MM on this one. I can’t seem to pass up a “bargain” on a DVD that I’ve been wanting to see when I see it in the sale bin. I rationalize this by comparing the cost of an actual night out at the movies ($18 for tix, $10 for snacks, $30 for a sitter) with the $10 – $12 sale price.
For the ones the wife and I like, it’d probably be cheaper to rent since we rarely watch any given movie more than once or twice. While I’ve been boycotting Blockbuster for years and will never do business with them again – long story – I’ve considered a Netflix membership but haven’t pulled the trigger yet.
It’s far more justified for the kids’ Disney/Pixar movies, though, as they get watched over and over and over again.
Combined with the $$ savings (vs the theater) is the ability to watch it on our schedule. We may by it when we see it, and not view it until a month or so later. No worries about returns or late fees. Over the years, though, we have “collected” quite a mess of Videos/DVDs.
Books used to be my passion as I was growing up. Working, raising kids, and a rather (un)healthy addiction to online games has pretty much destroyed my reading habit, however. In just the last few months we have carted boxes and boxes of paperbacks and hardbacks (mostly ones that I collected and have stored and carted with us for over 20 years) up to Half Price Books and sold them off.
@Karen – that odd feeling of “comfort” you describe, at least for me, was an incredibly strong sense of nostalgia. While most of them had been boxed for years, it still saddened me greatly to give them up. :)
I definitely have a book addiction. Every week or two I check out a tote bag full of books from the library, and also,(I hate to admit it) I get 3 different sets of mailed books (Love Inspired) every month! This is obviously my weak area, but I enjoy the books so much… My husband’s hobby is hunting, mine is books (and internet and magazines). I don’t dare go to the local bookstore, BooksAMillion, because I could spend hours in there and megabucks. Thankfully, I learn from your site ways to save money! I’d be really in trouble otherwise:)
Another book hound here. I’ve gotten better about those for me, although I need to reign in my husband. Now I spend them on my son. I somehow justify it because books are a good, educational tool for a 2-year old. True. The ones at the library are just as good. And if there is one from the library that he can’t live without, it might be worth purchasing.
However, I try to give all of my books away to small libraries. I know you can sell them for cash or get a receipt for good-will for a write-off. We are not so in-need of cash though and feel that if we donate them to a small library (who are usually more than happy to take them off of your hands), more people can enjoy them without spending any money. And if I ever want to visit a favorite friend, I know where to find it. =)
I’m usually not a commenter, but I have to chip in here. =] I have two big weaknesses, and I guess I should be thankful they’re not expensive ones. First off, I have a hard time looking through Hot Wheels cars in Wal-Mart and not leaving with at least one. It’s even harder to resist knowing they’re only $.97 each. (And yes, they’re for me. I have my small collection so far hanging on a wall.)
The second is leaving Petco without buying another cat toy, the little $1 or less ones. There are quite a few of them laying around my house. My cat loves to play with them, but he can just as easily be fascinated by twist ties as a $1 mouse.
my big weakness is thrift shopping for clothes, jewelry, purses and shoes. i can’t tell you the number of times i have donated right back to the thrift store things i have impulse bought there!! i don’t know if this is true everywhere but our thrift store has an exceptionally large selection of better name and designer goods, things i never would have been able to afford anywhere else, but i can get them for 2.99 and 5.99, sometimes even less. i cannot even walk INTO the store without coming out with a new outfit!!!!!!!!
I love your project! I want to start getting rid of stuff around here, too. It’s amazing how much stuff a person can have, you know?
For me, it’s just odds and ends of stuff. Not a lot of any one thing–just a bunch of misc. junk.
For me and husband its food. We just love food. We don’t go to fancy restaurants or fast food joints. But I do cook a lot. And mostly when it comes to fresh fruits and veggies I don’t think twice. But yesterday I winced when the scanner at safeway told us that the Cherries are 8 $ a pound! Yes sir 8 $. I just informed the lady at the counter we wont have them. I love Cherries but I love my 8 bucks more.
Strangely enough, it’s computer equipment. It used to be books, but I can find enough to read on line nowadays. Dropping a few hundred for computer stuff seems a lot easier than it did years ago (unfortunately).
I’m trying to keep things under control, but that new Terabyte external drive for <$200 is pretty sweet!
We love to eat out. It has to be the biggest leak in our budget. We could have a house full of food and we’ll still decide to go out to eat. I thought once we had kids we’d scale back, but I think we eat out more often now!
Books, kids clothes, and Chinese rice bowls. OF course I only let myself shop at the thrift shop so that helps. :)
Books are incredibly addictive. I’m lucky enough to work with a non-profit that gets a huge donation of books that would typically get recycled. In exchange for a few hours work sorting the children’s books in the donation, I get to take a few for my own reading. When I’m done, I donate them to some local low income housing communities. I also have the benefit of Powell’s in my backyard to sell books back to, so I make sure I rotate my collection.
My other collection seems to be candles. I never set out to hoard, but they tend to be fairly inexpensive and I don’t burn them regularly so they last a long time. I have a hard time getting rid of them because I can use them in case of an emergency.
Books and magazines are my weakness. I just have to pick something up to read.
Ok, have to admit that I read your post and remembered I needed a book for my book club and bought it on line. ( I did check the library first but there are 41 people ahead of me reserving it.)
I love books. I do manage to keep my impulse book buys reserved to the thrift store. I can load up on 10 or 15 books at a time. I do read them all though….eventually. Last summer I went through my bookshelves and made a huge pile to get rid of. Then I went on Amazon and anything worth over $4 I sold online.
why are you throwing away books?
I’ve been selling my old books on half.com- you can too- check it out- it’s a legit site now owned by ebay.
Toys for my son and extras at the grocery store are my two biggies. I just love to buy handmade wooden toys and they generally are pricey compared to lead laced plastic crap. I don’t buy often, but if I find one wooden dinosaur I love, I might end up buying 4. The worst is how often a trip to the IGA for a gallon of milk turns into $40 spent. But my husband and I are really focusing and this quarter we’ll pay off 20% of the consumer debt we accrued during law school.
How are books a weakness? I guess if you just stash them and never open them???
Books are a writer’s, an editor’s, or a scholar’s stock in trade.
Sure, in my seven bookcases you’ll find many books that I don’t use every day — but few that I don’t pick up at least once over the course of time. Without a library in my home, I would have to drop what I’m doing, get in my car, drive to a university or large public library, find what I need on its shelves, look up the information I need, write it down, turn around, get back in my car, drive home, and get myself engaged in my work again. And I would have to do that frequently, since many of the books I use are not online full-text.
What an enormous waste of time that would be!
Even if you don’t use the written word in your paid work, books are the wellspring of the educated mind. When you empty your bookshelves, you impoverish yourself. IMHO. :-)
@Patrick – I’m not throwing away my books. I donated them. I’ve sold on half.com many times, but most of the stuff I had this time was only selling for a dollar or two, which isn’t worth it after I buy the envelopes to mail them. The tax deduction was a better option this time around.
@Funny About Money – I agree that books are important, and believe me, I still have four shelves full of books that I kept. The problem is that I live in a very small house, and I had so many books, that trying to store them all was stressing me out.
Fortunately, I live in a small town also, so when I want a book, I can log on to the library’s website, reserve the book, and then walk to the library to pick it up. And since I don’t use books for work, I don’t have to worry about breaking my work cycle to pick up a book.
It’s all about balance, and I had way more books than I had space. Now that 3/4 of my books are gone, the rest fit into the space that I have. And I can find them, because they are all neatly stored in the bookshelf, whereas before they were in piles where I couldn’t find anything.
I’d have to say that books are my weakness…but having access to a good public library or two…plus a paperbackswap account…I really am set!!
There was a book I REALLY wanted to have…but didn’t feel like spending the money on…so I put it on my paperbackswap wish list with autorequest turned on…almost 10 months ago!! It is shipping out to me today!! Patience can be a virtue, as this is a book I will keep on my shelf!!
Now if only I could get my clotheshorse husband to part with some more of his clothes…I still think 130 shirts are WAY too many for any one person to have!!
Do you think we have so many book hoarders here because we are all READING blogs? I really do laugh thinking about all of us reading everyones blogs online with hundreds of books around us!
Ok, so for my non-book weakness it has to be fabric, or anything sewing related!
I am a design student on a “tight budget” so in the years past I though that meant I HAD to buy all on-sale fabric I could get my hands on. Now I have a pretty strict no-buy rule when it comes to fabric, but I have to expand my thread collection to use all that fabric! Ahh! One day I will be free!
@A – I never thought of that, but you’re probably right. We all obviously love to read, since we’re all reading blogs. And it is kind of funny to think of all of us on our computers with piles of books lying around! LOL
I’m right with LJ above :D I buy books and clothes. I haven’t bought much of either in the last year and I’m looking forward to being debt free(!!!) and being able to buy some here and there finally :)
My closet is pretty big already and I don’t need to be buying any more clothes… but I want to! Ugh, I can be such a whiny kid inside sometimes. I wrote about my recent challenge to purge my clothing in my blog. I figured I’d mention it since we’re on the topic ;)
http://www.antishay.com/?p=39
I always scoffed at “collectors” with their knick knacks they have to dust and their china cabinets full….until I realized I was a collector too. My shame? 2 sets of blocks, multiple Mr. Potato Head sets, 95 puzzles etc. all for my son…one set of blocks didn’t fill up the storage cubes so I bought a second set! It’s a sickness….
I sat here reading these comments, thinking about what MY weaknesses were. I was dismayed to find I could list quite a few! However, I am a bargain shopper, so it is not as bad as it would seem.
Books, of course. Hardly ever buy a new one, but have a huge stash of books I want to read, also magazines. Then I go to the library, bring home a pile, and rarely get any read. When I return them I can’t resist taking a peek in the NEW BOOKS section, and on it goes. It’s magnetic! To break the cycle I have to finally return the books in the drop box after hours, then I am ‘free’ for awhile.
I love thrift store shopping, always carting home things I think will be useful. It’s difficult to make room for my new purchases. I especially like ‘rescuing’ vintage linens, saving them from the rag dealer, but just how much of this stuff can you use!
My hobby is making Altered Books, although to be honest, I should say my hobby is COLLECTING anything that can be used to make an altered book, because I think that is the part I like best! I have all the tools, all the supplies, but can’t seem to actually make any books!
I have a lifetime supply of candles (they were all such bargains!) which I hardly ever light.
OK, this one is a little strange… I am addicted to the color Teal,or what I would call any ‘ocean’ color. I can walk into any knd of store and the things that are this color will immediately jump out at me, I am like a moth drawn to light. It is as if there is a magnetic force field drawing me to it. Usually I HAVE to buy it, even if not needed.