#034 ✰ Buy [x], Pay [x]
Four Approaches to Purchasing.
Good day to you!
Hope you’re well.
👋 For the new comers, hello and welcome! Our mission here: we want to help people free themselves from rampant consumerism, so that they can dedicate more time, money and bandwidth to be and build. 👉 We want to help you be highly intentional with what you buy.
Four Approaches to Purchasing.
Buy Now, Pay Now 🤝
Basic, simple. An exchange of money for a thing. This transaction has been around ever since money was invented. It’s pretty straight forward, as long as you have enough dollars, gold, salt or whichever money you’re using to acquire this thing you need or want.
There is natural friction in the act of purchasing. If you don’t have the capital to acquire this thing, only two options: save money to buy later, or… don’t buy.
Buy Now, Pay Later 🤯🤔
Allowing people to acquire things they’re not yet able to pay. We’ve all witnessed the amazing possibilities together with the devastating consequences caused by consumer credit. High interest rates hidden behind the appealing idea of enjoying right now a new TV or a washing-machine you simply could not afford paying cash.
Today, this practice is going one step further, with the still-under-the-radar (i.e. not regulated) Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) services such as Klarna or Clearpay. You’re now able to shop on your favorite platforms, and pay (like, really) later: on the payment page, you can choose between 1) split the cost of your purchase into 3 to 4 installments, paid every other week ; or 2) pay in 30 days. No interest. No fee.
Klarna claims to make online purchases more accessible to a bigger crowd: a “healthier, simpler and smarter alternative to credit cards”. By charging the shop instead of the consumer, Klarna is removing any possible friction between you and the acquisition of this thing.
Klarna allows shoppers to order multiple items at once, safe in the knowledge that their card won’t be debited with the full amount immediately. It means they can order the same item in several different sizes, returning the ones that don’t fit, and pay any outstanding money later for those they keep*.
Giving people access to things they (still) can’t afford concerns me.
This raises the topic of financial education. Can’t help but think about Montaigne deploring our lack of education on the challenges of quotidian life, among them money. Did you receive financial education yourself? How and by who? This is becoming top of our mind while raising a child. If you have good reads and practices on this topic I am all ears!
*Cherry on the cake - this made me stop for a bit “If you make decisions reversible, your chance of being happy goes down 60-70%.”
Buy Later, Pay Now 😌
Essentially offered by companies that produce in small batches as soon as they reach a certain amount of orders, or that leverage on crowdfunding platforms to kickstart their production. Most of the time, you won’t pick that option to buy a necessity (e.g. I need new running shoes) but rather, you’re buying yourself a front seat on an adventure. One could argue that it favors the rich. I think the feeling of “being part of building something” might bring its own pack of happiness, probably even more than the thing itself you’re buying.
Friction is in the days, weeks, sometimes months you have to wait to start enjoying your purchase.
Buy Later, Pay Later 😇
Explicit your wishes.
Challenge them.
Mature them.
Curate them.
Buy and enjoy those that stick in time. Erase the rest.
Friction it is, but you’re in charge.
I am wondering if we could somehow rank our happiness level depending on how we acquired our possessions. Any particular anecdotes or thoughts on that matter?
What’s new in 📲 the app
Track what’s coming in and out! 🗓 +📊
And reflect from a calendar or histogram view.
Build an intentional wishlist🧞♂️
Note your wishes as they come, you get to decide how long to wait before turning them into actual purchases.
Set up goals 👩🏻🚀
Who are you today, who do you want to become?
Make yourself accountable 👯♀️ [soon!]
The American Society of Training and Development (ASTD) did a study on accountability and found that you have a 65% of completing a goal if you commit to someone. And if you have a specific accountability appointment with a person you’ve committed, you will increase your chance of success by up to 95%.
By the way, Kev is using lists to give away English books, French books, English magazines and old school format’s music. If you want a tour on how to use (public) lists, talk to me ✌️
What’s new in 👯♀️ the community
We’ve adapted our sessions to asynchronous discussions in specific channels in our Discord, that we created according to the community’s interests. It’s now much more convenient to interact, given we have to deal with so many timezones!
If you’d like to be a part of this crew, here’s how!
What’s new in💡 the library
📰 “I thought buying things would make me feel better. It didn’t” : The rise of emotional spending. A great article by The Guardian (🙏 Mathias)
The reason we are buying so many items online is simple: we are online more than ever. “It’s like sitting in a pub all day when you’re trying not to drink”
📰 Personal Finance Guide: Manage your Money Like A Boss by Darius Foroux
Common sense & actionable steps to be better at running your finances. E.g. he has 3 bank accounts, checking, fixed cost and saving accounts, used as follow:"My rule is to always keep less than $800 in this account.[checking] (...) I only use this account to cover groceries and other small purchases.(...) This makes it difficult for me to make big purchases. Every time I want to buy something that’s more than several hundred dollars, I need to transfer money from my savings account. Guess what happens? I think to myself, “It’s not worth it.” That’s how I’ve saved myself from buying a lot of crap."
Our library is collaborative, so please don’t be shy and recommend the great content you’ve digested recently!
What Objet is all about.
Intentionality. Only purchase things that will make your life 10x better.
Freedom. You own the decision-making process.
Elegance. Create an inspiring environment to thrive.
We are a community of part-time serious, part-time not-so-serious, but above all non-judgmental folks ready to change our lives for the better. We are excited to meet you!
Have a lovely day!
Mathilde 🐞
