BUYING SECOND HAND

Frugality is a way of life. It is not something that you do this time and then do something else later on. Once you go frugal, it is wise to stay frugal, no matter how much money you make. Why let monetary success change your character? Frugality is about character. It is something that you are. Those who are frugal, do not become spendthrifts overnight. Frugality is always a virtue. You cannot live virtuously and be a spendthrift at the same time.

We are not living in times of frugality. Credit card debt proves this. People are living beyond their means. They do not have a budget. They do not understand finances. People will pay full retail. Malls are crowded with people. The majority of these people are not interested in saving money. They are emotionally controlled by money. Spending money makes them feel better about themselves. Some people are trying to keep up with the in crowd. The in crowd shops at the Mall.

The in crowd is characterized by group think. These people are motivated by what the group thinks and does. This is why Mall stores cater to the young. Most of the young people do not have to be responsible for their spending. Their parents want to keep the peace with their children, so they capitulate to their children’s whims. If their child wants something, they whine until mom gives in and buys it for them, just so their children will feel better about themselves and so that the group will accept them, so they think.

Frugal people are motivated from within, not from without. They are self-contained. They do not need the acceptance of the group. The frugal make their own decisions based upon what is the wisest course of action. The frugal have thought their system through ahead of time. They act, not react. They have goals and then work toward those goals. They have separated the essential from the non-essential. They concentrate on what is most important to them, not the group.

I buy most of my clothes second hand. No one has come up to me and said, "Hey, aren’t those clothes you’re wearing from Goodwill?" No one knows where I bought my clothes because I am wearing brand names that someone else paid full retail for and I paid just a fraction of the original retail price. I can grab an arm full of clothes for what it cost someone else to buy just one pair of pants.

The Mall will have multiple people buying their clothes at full retail this weekend. The frugal would rather buy second hand and with the money saved invest in productive uses. The frugal are always looking for ways to save money so that they can invest their savings in productive enterprises. The spendthrift is more concerned with whether or not he is wearing the latest fashions so that he will be the rave of the group.