I Wish I Had All the Money Back I Spent on Stupid Stuff!

[cschin4]

I have a basement full of "junk". And, that's what it is. Unfortunately, it took me a long time to learn not to buy more useless stuff that would end up in the basement. I have toys out the whazzo because I bought too many toys for first child. And, I have every kitchen gadget, swiffer, etc which i rarely if ever use. I also have multiple bikes, a battery operated motorcycle that the kids rode about 3x and so forth. I dread Christmas because I just don't want to buy anymore useless junk. I am finding I don't mind spending on "experiences" like a good meal, travel ,etc. But, I want to start traveling lighter. I shudder to add up what I spent on all this stuff. Probably would be retired by now! I am not in debt and everything was paid for but it just seems so wasteful.
Even now when I shop I still see stuff I want or looks "useful". I always have to take a step back and ask myself "will I really use that" or not.

[PrincessPerky]

Well look on the bright side, you figured it out now! Just in time to shop for consumable items, or experiences to share for Christmas! (instead of 'stuff' to clutter up others basements.)

[disneysteve]

I feel the same way. I think this is a fairly normal thing to learn over time. When we are younger, we tend to be more into stuff. As we get older and, hopefully, wiser, we learn to appreciate quality over quantity and experiences over things.

As Stephen Wright said, you can't have everything... where would you put it?

[Ima saver]

I agree with all of you. I don't even like to shop anymore. We went to the Villages in central Florida. They had all kinds of neat shops and I didn't even want to look at any of them.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by Ima saver

I agree with all of you. I don't even like to shop anymore. We went to the Villages in central Florida. They had all kinds of neat shops and I didn't even want to look at any of them.

Same here. I've posted before about not enjoying trips to the mall anymore. We used to go to the mall when we had nothing to do on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. Now, we simply don't enjoy it. There is very little that appeals to us there.

[Hypersion]

Resell the items on fleabay.

[scfr]

Fortunately, there are almost 7 months until the spring garage sale season, which gives you tons of time to prepare if you decide to have one!

[kilcher]

If you have stuff laying around you wish you hadn't bought sell it on eBay. You'll get a fraction of what you paid but at least it's something. And I find it to be kind of a cleansing process. Get rid of it and don't buy more.

[cschin4]

Here are some of my dumb purchases just walking through the basement and estimated loss:
power wheels car $200 ( I thought that would be a fun Christmas gift- I think the kids used it for about 5 min)
multiple helmets, pads, bats, balls, air gun, sports equipment, bikes, ride ons (at least $5-20 a piece)
CD's, VHS tapes, cassettes, small kitchen gadgets (waffle maker, water distiller), chair pads, books, books, books (before I discovered the library)
board games we never play (Candyland, etc - everyone wants to play games with their kids right)
toys, toys, toys - 1st child got alot of toys. After I realized what a waste all the cheaply made plastic toys were I quit buying but they still got alot of stuff from relatives they never played with
too many clothes - my youngest son is a sports fanatic and absolutely will not wear anything without a logo or number. He would just wear the same shirts over and over and over. Took me awhile to figure this out.
storage containers - of course I was going to get "organized". It never happened and the more storage containers, the more I filled them.
Bigger house - Instead of getting rid of stuff, of course we bought a bigger home.
Costumes, tools we don't use, etc.

I know I could have a yard sale but I had one once and it was a pain. And, I didn't make that much and didn't unload that much stuff. If I am going to haul it all to Goodwill anyway, I figure I will take it all and just take a tax deduction.

I feel your pain!

Donating all your extra stuff that is costing you mental discomfort to get the biggest cash return is great. Just remember there is a yearly max that you can take per year...I believe $500. So since it is only October you could break up the donate, do some now and then donate in January to get next years deduction.

It sounded like alot of the items are brand new. With christmas coming up, or someones birthday, you could see if any of the people you plan to give gifts to are looking for the items you have....Regifting is not a crime. I know of some things that have been regifted to me and they were perfect for me. If I know it is a regift and it is perfect for me I make sure the gifter knows how much I like the item.

I know the feeling, besides the fact you hate looking at the wasted money you think of all the wasted space. Get rid of the stuff so you are not looking at it and always reminded of the wasted money. We have a internet company here that I use, it is free to list items you want to sell (unless you are a business). You could see if there is something like that in your area. You would probubly get more for the resale of the motorized vehicle than if you try to donate it.

Good luck

[cschin4]

Thanks! There is no yearly max that I know of. I took a deduction of over $1500 last year. I think we all tend to hold onto stuff because we paid good money and hate to just let it go for free. In reality, the stuff no longer has much value and I get to the point where I just want it gone.

[marjorie]

When I realized I was doing the same thing at Christmas I started our 3 gift rule. If it's good enough for.... LOL

[stefan@usaindebt]

For the last 5 years I must have spent at least 5 grand on useless stuff. Thats basically how much it costed me to learn how to control my shopping obsessions. Especially when I moved out of my parent's house when I turned 18, I was swiping the plastic 10 times a day. Now I am still recovering. An expensive lesson

[tabbycat31]

I know the feeling. I just moved, so I had to deal with packing/unpacking all the stuff.
I donated so much of it to the local SPCA's thrift shop

[Homebody]

I am like Ima and DisneySteve. I hate shopping. I don't need anything or if I do, like a new pair of jeans... I go buy that and get out of the store.

I am afraid when I have grandchildren I might want to go nuts, but have told the girls I am doing savings accounts for the future little moochers, not a bunch of crap.

Full disclosure: I am a recovered shopper. I used to go with the girls to the mall to browse all the time when they were growing up. We made our share of dumb purchases.

[MonkeyMama]

I am happy to say I learned this lesson pretty young. I probably stopped buying crap around age 26 or so.

BUT I still have my fair share of crap.

These days my problem is more the crap everyone buys us (& the kids in particular). I used to feel bad about getting rid of gifts from close friends and parents and stuff, but it gets easier with time. WE have a big house and it is amazing how much it is filled with this stuff. You tell them a million times you don't want gifts. I really tried... A few friends and family respect it, and the rest shouldn't be surprised when they find their gifts at Goodwill.

[InDebtInDC]

Originally Posted by MonkeyMama

I am happy to say I learned this lesson pretty young. I probably stopped buying crap around age 26 or so.

Wow, there's still hope for me yet

Originally Posted by MonkeyMama

These days my problem is more the crap everyone buys us (& the kids in particular). I used to feel bad about getting rid of gifts from close friends and parents and stuff, but it gets easier with time. WE have a big house and it is amazing how much it is filled with this stuff. You tell them a million times you don't want gifts. I really tried... A few friends and family respect it, and the rest shouldn't be surprised when they find their gifts at Goodwill.

I hate this. I have a small efficiency and I have way too much stuff from others.