New Year Sales

Apparently they’re big in Japan

My daughter just got up early and went out to the New Year sales here in Sendai (for people not in Japan, the New Year sales are basically like Black Friday in the US or the UK, but with less fighting).

A few years ago, I used to eagerly read through all the flyers that came with the newspaper on New Year’s Day and get a thrill at the cheap prices and huge possibilities contained therein. I was particularly fond of the electronics.

It’s been a few years now since I last did that. Now I pay little attention to sales and discounts. If I need something I just buy it, and don’t worry too much about ‘cheap’ things or bargains.

Looking back, I believe the sequence that led to me losing interest in mindless consumption was thus:

1. I read Y0ur Money or Your Life, and did the exercise where you add up all the money you have ever made or received in your life and how much you have now, and compare the two. Brutal!

2. I really thought hard about what is important to me (having enough money to deal with any emergency, travel, books, good food).

3. I learned about compound interest.

4. I started applying the concept of opportunity cost. Basically multiply the cost of anything by 5-10 (because that is how much future money you are giving up for it) or 300 (that is how much you would need in investments to pay for it from passive income. I guarantee you will start looking at prices in a different way!

5. I saw my investment plan take shape and start producing income. For me, income is the only important metric (I talked about this a bit in the financial stability post) and seeing it grow is a good way to keep goals front and centre.

I’ll be posting about goals for 2015 soon. Hope you are enjoying a holiday (or some judicious purchases in the sales).

2 Responses

  1. I have never understood why anyone would buy a bag without know what was inside! My sister-in-law runs out on New Year’s Day to get these.
    I read “Money or you Life” 10 years ago (after having a baby and being out of the workforce our finances were in trouble)! Before that, I wasn’t a huge consumer, but now I’m even less so! We kept track of all our income/expenses for 6 months (as recommended in the book) and totally turned around our situation. Saving because easy. Spend less, make more.
    I’m now at a point where I can spend for fun! But not mindlessly.