Saturday, October 25, 2008
prudent acquistions
Frugality lives next door to simplicity and they get on well as neighbors. Being frugal requires wise resource allocation and convervation. These are some questions that should be asked before making a purchase:
1) Will possessing this item bring happiness that offsets the cost?
2) Is the price fair and competitive?
3) Can I realistically use this particular size or quantity?
4) Do I need to consider the opportunity cost of this purchase?
5) What are the costs of ownership that occur after the purchase?
There are other things to consider, as well. For example, are you spending waaaay too much time thinking about this? There is a difference between frugal and cheapass rigid.
The notion of frugality does not stop once something has been acquired. Rather, the focus shifts toward conservation. For durable items, this usually amounts to prudent maintenance (e.g.: oil changes for an automobile). For consumables, it is often a question of proper storage and apportionment. There is much that can be said on this topic, but it will be reserved for future discussions.
In the interim, ask yourself this question: Is it frugal to purchase a 9 pound container of oatmeal?
1) Will possessing this item bring happiness that offsets the cost?
2) Is the price fair and competitive?
3) Can I realistically use this particular size or quantity?
4) Do I need to consider the opportunity cost of this purchase?
5) What are the costs of ownership that occur after the purchase?
There are other things to consider, as well. For example, are you spending waaaay too much time thinking about this? There is a difference between frugal and cheapass rigid.
The notion of frugality does not stop once something has been acquired. Rather, the focus shifts toward conservation. For durable items, this usually amounts to prudent maintenance (e.g.: oil changes for an automobile). For consumables, it is often a question of proper storage and apportionment. There is much that can be said on this topic, but it will be reserved for future discussions.
In the interim, ask yourself this question: Is it frugal to purchase a 9 pound container of oatmeal?
Friday, October 24, 2008
upcoming art show
On October 30, 2008, there will be an art opening at Vermillion (gallery) in Seattle. See the debut of Cheryl Gilge's Spatial Transgression series. This is an investigation of the co-dependent relationship of forms based on the conceptual idea of the blueprint. Vermillion has a bar and all of this will make perfect sense to you once you've thrown back a few.Here's Vermillion's website for more information: http://www.vermillionseattle.com/
riding the handbasket
While in NYC on October 6, I took a stroll around the crater that had been the WTC. It was late in the day and a river of sullen faces poured against me from the financial district. Once inside the World Financial Center, I saw various televisions discussing the record 800+ point intraday drop in the DJIA. By the end of the week, both the Dow and S&P 500 had been amputated by more than 18%.
The next day, I read in a major news publication that "economists believe there is an 89% chance that we are moving into a recession". It was not clear to me if the vast majority of economists thought we had something less than 100% chance of a recession or some economists flat out thought there was no recession in sight. Statistics are tricky things and once a journalist gets them in their clutches... look out.
I searched for the article so that I could speak more precisely here, but instead came upon this piece by Michael Donnelly that more than summed up my thoughts on the topic. I can't vouch for the accuracy of his analysis. But I like his style, especially where he calls one of the participants in the panel "either ignorant or willfully blind". Here's a link to Michael's piece. Be forwarned, there are graphs and numbers and such.
http://pbp.typepad.com/economy/2008/10/89-of-economists-think-were-in-a-recession.html
Honestly, I would like to sit down and have a double bourbon with one of these 11% folks because I think it would give an extra shot of optimism to my evening.
The next day, I read in a major news publication that "economists believe there is an 89% chance that we are moving into a recession". It was not clear to me if the vast majority of economists thought we had something less than 100% chance of a recession or some economists flat out thought there was no recession in sight. Statistics are tricky things and once a journalist gets them in their clutches... look out.
I searched for the article so that I could speak more precisely here, but instead came upon this piece by Michael Donnelly that more than summed up my thoughts on the topic. I can't vouch for the accuracy of his analysis. But I like his style, especially where he calls one of the participants in the panel "either ignorant or willfully blind". Here's a link to Michael's piece. Be forwarned, there are graphs and numbers and such.
http://pbp.typepad.com/economy/2008/10/89-of-economists-think-were-in-a-recession.html
Honestly, I would like to sit down and have a double bourbon with one of these 11% folks because I think it would give an extra shot of optimism to my evening.
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