There are many things that you shouldn’t buy again. Items such as cars, formal clothing, technology, new house, furniture, and occasional items are things you shouldn’t buy again. Rather, you should maintain these assets to like new status so they can last a very long time.
Most long term assets have a useful life of at least 3 years, most of the time more than that. Quality matters significantly more than quantity and it’s better to pay 10% more once rather than buy twice. If you find yourself regularly replacing these items, you are creating an excess lifestyle.
Minimalist lifestyle is great in that you own your stuff. Your stuff does not own you and keep you pegged down into one location. If you consistently replace your things, you are ultimately overpaying for your lifestyle. Not because you need these things but because you want these things.
Once you have to sell a replaced item at a heavy discount, the buyer wins. I see so many high quality items sold on Gsalr during estate and garage sales. That is how buyers can win. By waiting until one of these sales get on.
Not by finding sales and discounts at stores on occasion but by waiting until someone sells excess stuff they bought. Things like books, furniture, games, technology, and more are sold at a heavy discount. Don’t put yourself in a position to sell excess things.
Put yourself in a position to buy excess things.
This idea is separate and distinct from not buying new things. The idea is about not having to buy these items again.
Items You Shouldn’t Buy Again
The items below can be bought just once and not again. These things last a very long time and replacing them should be every 3 years or so. However, this doesn’t mean that you should never buy again, it just means that you shouldn’t be regularly doing so.
I personally rest easy knowing that things don’t break as often as I think they do. My dining table that I bought for $200 four years ago is working just fine. In 2018, I went all out and spent $2,000 on clothing for the year. I haven’t bought clothes since then.
I understand that all I have to do is maintain these items in order to live a frugal life. As long as I exercise the proper care, it will last years, if not decades.
Remember that it takes companies ages before they spend money on anything new. When I rented a uHaul truck to help with my move, it had ~140,000 miles in it already. They indicated that they had no plans to replace that truck with a new one.
There’s a reason why companies employ frugality to the max. It allows them to grow bigger quicker.
One thing that you don’t have to buy again is to SMASH that social share button for the Google algorithm, BERT 😊 . All you have to do is click it once, share it on your favorite social media network, and forget about it.
As an opponent of buying excess things, BERT encourages you to spread the word that some things aren’t worth buying twice.
So with that said, let’s explore the things you shouldn’t buy again!
1) Cars
Automakers engineer cars to last decades, depending on proper maintenance. There is no need for you to replace a car every 3 – 4 years if it is running perfectly with no problems. As long as your car provides reliable and safe transportation, there’s no need to replace it.
My friend drives a 10 year old car with 130,000 miles worth $2,500. He considered purchasing a new car when it was at 100,000 miles. However, he listened to my encouragement to not replace it until he needs to.
2) Formal Clothes
If you are in your mid 20’s or above, there’s little chance you will physically grow more. A high quality suit that you buy once will last you at least five to 10 years. Instead of looking to buy again, consider taking proper care of it. All you need to do is hang it in your closet and don’t let it get stained by food. I’ve owned mine for close to 10 years now.
3) Technology
Phones and computers are engineered beautifully to last a very long time. However, batteries for laptop and phones do not last a meaningful amount of time. That should be replaced. For the most part, the computer itself shouldn’t be replaced every 2-3 years.
I had my Mac, Windows computer, and iPhone 5s for 7 years now. It hasn’t given my problems and it is working just fine.
4) New House
People talk of “starter homes” and look to sell the first house that they buy. Usually the starter homes are in the 1,200 – 1,500 sq. ft. range and in a good but not desirable neighborhood. That is a perfect amount of space to raise a family on. We don’t need 2,000 – 5,000 sq. ft. houses to raise a family. It’s nice to have but there’s no need to buy again and upgrade from a starter home.
Chances are, that starter home is actually a beautiful property to raise a family in.
5) Furniture
Furniture is one of those expenses that is cumulative in your life. As long as you bought quality furniture, there’s no need to buy again. Couches, nightstands, dinner tables, coffee tables, beds, curtains, and more.
When most people think about replacing furniture, it’s not for functional purposes. It’s mostly for aesthetic purposes and to decorate their house even further, which isn’t a good reason.
6) Items Bought For One-Time Occasions
Do you remember that flamingo floating tube or the baseball glove that you bought for that one occasion? Learn from that mistake and don’t buy again the next time. I have a $50 guitar as a part of fulfilling a new year’s resolution.
I’ve never used it. Additionally, I bought lotion one winter for my dry skin and used it once. The second winter, I bought lotion again even though I had perfectly good lotion from the year before. That wasn’t smart. These purchases add up.
7) Decorations
Your apartment or house doesn’t need exorbitant amounts of decorations. Quality painting that you buy once to represent your tastes is good to decorate. Buying multiple paintings and swapping it out often is not good.
When it’s time to move, there’s a good chance most will have to be either donated or given away, anyway.
8) Cookware
Skillets, pots, pans, and air fryers last numerous years. A clean thorough washing after eating and it’s just as good as new. Most people buy enough silverware and plates to last at least two weeks without having to wash the dishes.
Instead of buying additional cookware, you can be diligent and do the dishes after eating. There’s little chance you’ll need to buy again.
Lots of Things You Shouldn’t Buy Again
Things don’t break down as easily these days because technology and manufacturing process is highly sophisticated. If you buy cheap things from China, there’s a good chance that it will break easily. You will spend more money by buying the same thing again instead of paying more to just buy once.
Make smart purchasing decisions.
Don’t get sucked into the marketing and psychological tricks companies use to get you to spend more. Have you ever gone to a grocery store and bought last minute gum at the checkout line? Grocery stores understand people love impulse buys. Therefore, you end up spending more money than you intended.
It is not about being cheap and trying to spend the least amount of money as possible. It is about making one quality purchasing decision that lasts for years, if not decades. You should never be cheap and exhibit the frugality disease. It’s not healthy for your wallet in the long run and it’s not healthy for you as well.
I personally do not re-buy any of the things I mentioned for at least 3 years or so. Of course, if something breaks, then I am the first in line to buy again. However, the default position is that I won’t buy until I need it. It is not that I will buy until I don’t need it.
It takes a meaningful amount of convincing for me to part with my hard earned cash. I am at a position where I can actually afford anything. However, I don’t buy everything just because I can. Even though my net worth continues to rise, my expenses don’t.
One way that I accomplish that is by resisting the urge to buy again.
