We’re in the “think more” versus the “feel bad” business!
What do Henry David Thoreau and Marie Kondo have in common? Thoreau is perhaps most well-known for authoring Walden (A Life in the Woods). You could describe his 1854 book about living simply as the 19th-century forerunner to Marie Kondo’s modern-day The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up (The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing). Scholarly snobs may balk at this suggestion, but there is no denying the parallels that can be drawn between the two. What first made the connection for us was the Thoreau quote: “The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.”
Neither Thoreau nor Kondo set out to write books.
Neither Thoreau nor Kondo set out to write books. Thoreau engaged in a social experiment and was encouraged to write down his experiences and findings. Kondo was a highly sought-after professional organizer who couldn’t personally meet the demand for her time, so she wrote a book that people could work through on their own. She’s almost a one-person industry helping people rid themselves of debilitating amounts of clothing and other underused personal possessions.
But both provide insight into why “The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.”
Even though their work is separated by 160 years, both authors provide insight into why the cost of items can far exceed merely the amount of money paid for them. Many of us have yet to master how many things we truly need. Today’s speedy spending environment just makes it so easy to buy. This is why the “shop-more” winter holiday gift-giving season is the perfect time of the year to adopt the household policy: “In this family, we think before we buy.” But let’s be clear: Gifting Sense is not in the “feel bad about spending business”; we’re in the “let’s get kids to think a little more before spending business.” There is a difference.
We’re not in the “feel bad” business; we’re in the “think more” business.
Disclaimer: We do not think gifts or shopping are bad. (We ourselves can shop with the best of them!) We don’t believe that neater people who buy less are better humans. What we do believe is that traditional gift-giving practices generate a lot of waste and that the frequency of gift-giving makes it the perfect vehicle to deliver quick but meaningful, just-in-time lessons on how to spend wisely to school-aged children.
When you buy a gift, you pay a monetary price, which typically includes not only the cost of the item but also some sales tax and maybe even shipping expenses. If the purchase was made across a border, add duty. If the purchase was made in a store a town over, add fuel costs and your time. Gifts are often wrapped and accompanied by greeting cards, which can also add cost. In a perfect world, the gift receiver loves, appreciates, enjoys, or at least uses what has been given to them. But if the gift doesn’t fit the bill and needs to be returned, more life has to be spent…you get the picture.
We’re not in the “feel bad” business but rather the “think more” business. We just know that when kids slow down and really look at a spend, they spend differently.
One of the best gifts parents can give their children is the knowledge that thinking before buying does NOT mean you never get to do or buy anything fun. Slow spending doesn’t have to be bad-tasting medicine!
Baseball coaches are smart cookies…
If the young people in your life received a gift they would really use and appreciate this coming holiday season – would it matter to them that a group of family members had collectively paid for it? Would their happiness be less because the gift wasn’t a complete surprise? Would anyone miss the unpleasantness of seeing a child not be able to mask their disappointment upon opening a gift they are unlikely to ever use or enjoy? Wouldn’t you love to teach your children about the value of a dollar in a natural, engaging way? It’s world-series season. As Brad Pitt famously quipped in the movie “Moneyball,” “Do we care how a baseball player gets on base?” No, we do not!
Let’s help today’s youth understand that careful spending isn’t necessarily “bad-tasting medicine.”
This year, when holiday gifts enter the dinner conversation, consider Thoreau and his contemporary, Marie Kondo. Free your whole family from ever again asking themselves if an item “brings them joy” because you no longer purchase items that don’t. How? Ask your family to consider what they might really use and appreciate for a holiday gift with our free, safe DIMS – DOES IT MAKE SENSE?® SCORE Calculator. You can even use the automatically generated DIMS SCORE® report to help your extended family members crowd-fund one larger, more meaningful gift.
Our tool was purpose-built to help kids understand the full value of a request and that some requests are just too expensive for one person to pay for. No personal information is ever collected, and no paywall is ever crossed. We’re a free public good. All we want to do is help today’s youth understand that careful spending isn’t necessarily “bad-tasting medicine.”
Because the true price of anything “…is the amount of life you exchange for it.”
And then spend your life this holiday season on the stuff that we all know really matters: being with the people you love and enjoying your favorite family meals and traditions.
Don’t dread your January credit card statement. Feel great about the fact that you are giving your kids one of the best gifts ever – the knowledge that anyone can get and use financial information to make their life better. In this case, by taking a few minutes to ask & answer simple questions about typical childhood purchases before any money was spent, they’ll be able to avoid disappointment, reduce waste, improve family harmony, and protect the planet all at once, for free.
When an early personal finance lesson lets young people work on a problem that matters to them in real-time, such as “Should I buy this item or experience?” It doesn’t taste bad at all!
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