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Why We Are So Bad at Buying Happiness

Why We Are So Bad at Buying Happiness

"Those who say that money can't buy happiness aren't doing it right."  Have you heard that joke before?  Well, it turns out that there is more than a kernel of truth in there. People are generally bad at buying happiness because: 1. We buy to keep up with the Joneses / ...

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Hair, Hair, Everywhere – the Recession Edition

Hair, Hair, Everywhere – the Recession Edition

I wrote a hair post in both 2007 and 2008, so I suppose it's only appropriate to continue the tradition in 2009! This post is dedicated to recession's impact on hair budgets. The recession is a major reason why I've been neglecting my hair a bit during these past several months: ...

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Experience, Not Stuff

Experience, Not Stuff

Experience, not stuff: I've decided to make this my mantra to live by. It'll be hard, because I like nice things (ex: shoes), but guess which of the following I remember the most? (a) A $100 leather jacket purchased in Buenos Aires, that I've worn ONCE in 3 years. (b) A $45 hour-long horse ride on ...

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What Sex And The City Taught Me About Love, Life, and Money

What Sex And The City Taught Me About Love, Life, and Money

Sex And The City: The Movie is coming out in May! I am so, so excited, and I'm betting that many Sex And The City feel the same way. Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda - you ladies have been missed! (By the way, I love the photo below - head-to-toe ...

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5 Year Travel Plan: Making Your Travel Dreams a Reality

5 Year Travel Plan: Making Your Travel Dreams a Reality

I've been struck by a bad case of the travel bug lately... I haven't been out of the country since 2007, which seems like a long time. CB and I are saving for Galapgos, but we also want to travel quite extensively in the intervening months before our Big Galapagos ...

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Graduate School: (When) Should I Go?

Graduate School: (When) Should I Go?

Graduate school is a significant undertaking both in terms of time and money. During the last few months, I've felt some pressure from concerned family members about going to graduate school. I know they only want the best for me, but I'm glad I followed my gut instinct and ...

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Should Parents Pay For College Education

Should Parents Pay For College Education

A college education has, for a large percentage of society, become the de rigueur entry-level degree. "Should parents pay for college education" is a question where the answer is always, "it depends." In today's economic climate, I imagine that many parents are having the difficult talk with their kids ...

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Free GMAT Study Resources

Free GMAT Study Resources

Taking and prepping for standardized tests isn't cheap, fortunately, there are many free study resources available online. I've taken advantage of most of these resources when I was preparing for my test last year. Hopefully you will find them helpful as well. Free Online Study Materials The GMAT Uncovered by ManhattanGMAT: A ...

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7 Steps In Overcoming Rejections In Job Search

7 Steps In Overcoming Rejections In Job Search

Rejections during job search are disappointing, to be sure. Nobody likes to be told that they were qualified candidates, but the management has decided to go in another direction. In this environment, however, rejections are common-place through out the job search and interview process. After the initial disappointment wears off ...

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How to Host a Dinner Party On a Budget

How to Host a Dinner Party On a Budget

Hosting a dinner party is always fun, but right now I need my get-togethers to be budget-friendly as well. Remember when I made crab cakes? That was for a group of 5 or 6 friends. The crab cakes were delicious and everyone loved them, but, crabs are expensive! Two pounds ...

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Pure Altruism - Does it Exist?

Pure Altruism - Does it Exist?

Every time the holidays come around, feel-good human-interest stories surface. This is a time to give to others, help those in need, and realize that the world is not as cutthroat or as competitive as we may believe. But is it true? Can people be purely altruistic? The authors of Superfreakonomics (the ...

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The Price of Addiction To Argentine Tango

The Price of Addiction To Argentine Tango

It's happened. I fell for the sultry dance, hard. (I even made its own category!) I leave class with a big smile on my face. I read Argentine tango forums and blogs. I fall asleep thinking of boleos and molinetes. I'm not sure how my wallet feels about the possible financial ...

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Old Cars: Unsung Heroes of Personal Finance

Old Cars: Unsung Heroes of Personal Finance

New Cars are shiny, gleaming, loaded with the latest technology and features. New cars get the big commercials on TV, where they swerve confidently in snow storms, zoom down idyllic country lanes, and maybe even dance a little to the sound of a state-of-the-art in-car sound system near a trendy ...

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Disney World Recap

Disney World Recap

I realized that I haven't really talked about my Disney World adventure (aside from the Dining Plan review) on this blog yet... and well, that oversight must be rectified! If you have any specific questions about Disney World, please ask away and I'll do my best to answer. We Got To ...

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Job Fairs: How to Prepare So You Stand Out

Job Fairs: How to Prepare So You Stand Out

Job fairs can be a great opportunity for applicants to interact with many different companies. But if you don't prepare adequately, job fairs can be a disaster. Last week, I attended a job fair - prior to the event I debated whether I should go. I had heard the horror ...

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How To Practice Safe and Responsible Credit Card Use

How To Practice Safe and Responsible Credit Card Use

Wait, you mean you never had a credit card education class in school? Okay, me neither. The quality of education these days! But there's no reason that high schools or colleges shouldn't offer a class like this. After all, credit card education isn't an awkward topic like the other type of ...

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Decluttered Closet –> Decluttered Life?

by WellHeeled on September 2, 2008

I know I’ve talked about decluttering before, but I haven’t been very stringent in deciding what things to toss vs. keep.

This week, I made the cut a little deeper and cleared out another bag of clothing, accessories, and knick-knacks to be dropped off at Goodwill.

This undertaking just reaffirmed what I already know:
(1) I have too much stuff – WAY more than what I need, and even more than what I want.
(2) I wear 25% of my clothes 70% of the time. I can probably cut 50% of my wardrobe without any visible impact.
(3) I’ve spent a lot of money on things that do not bring me lasting joy nor reflect my priorities.

It’s not only about the money. The time I spend wandering the stores can be better spent settling down with a good book, coffee or tea with friends, or taking a dance class.

Experience, not stuff.

It’s easy to say, hard to live by. But I should try harder to live by that.

Have you been successful at decluttering your life?

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{ 1 trackback }

When Stuff Weighs Us Down | Well-Heeled Blog
February 8, 2010 at 11:53 pm

{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }

Laura September 2, 2008 at 8:30 am

I’m the SAME way with clothes especially… moving showed me just how much stuff I have that I don’t use.

Reply

Kathleen September 2, 2008 at 9:13 am

I’m not very good at this. I also love clothes and shoes (and add bags and books to the list) and have way too much stuff. I should probably clean out my closet every season but I have a tendency to hold on to things and only do a major purging every three to five years. When I purge, however, I get rid of TONS of stuff. I’ll probably do some major decluttering when I move back across the country in a few years.

Reply

asgreen September 2, 2008 at 9:19 am

I hate clutter. I find myself cleaning through my closet every couple of months. However, somehow I still have a lot of stuff.

I have a bunch of stuff still stored at my parents house which I hope to go through when I’m home for the holidays and just get rid of. No more out of sight out of mind.

Reply

paranoidasteroid September 2, 2008 at 9:42 am

I pretty much moved the clothes I didn’t wear from my closet to a sack of back and boxes in my hallway. They’re destined for Goodwill… eventually!

Reply

savingcent September 2, 2008 at 10:35 am

I frequently go through my things … its a constant process. Sometimes I’m still attached to something for the first round of clearing, but am able to make a clean break a couple months later. I consign to a cute shop near my house, it feels nice to get a little money back for your clothes, but makes my stomach sink to think of what I paid the first time around.

I absolutely agree in the de-cluttered closet, de-cluttered life philosophy!

Reply

SP September 2, 2008 at 11:23 am

I don’t do big declutters, but I frequently go through my closet and pull out stuff I don’t wear and throw it in a donate sack. It is (psychologically) easier for me to just pull out 2-3 shirts at a time, even if I do it once a month or more.

Reply

SavingDiva September 2, 2008 at 6:09 pm

I majorly decluttered my life by moving 1500 miles in my car…However, I’ve already started to acquire new crap!

Reply

livingalmostlarge September 4, 2008 at 11:12 am

You should enter to win my book giveaway on “it’s all too much”. http://www.livingalmostlarge.com/2008/08/28/book-review-its-all-too-much How ironic!

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