Stuff is an extremely illiquid asset. Unless you have some plan for selling that valuable thing you got so cheaply, what difference does it make what it's "worth?" The only way you're ever going to extract any value from it is to use it. And if you don't have any immediate use for it, you probably never will.
Companies that sell stuff have spent huge sums training us to think stuff is still valuable. But it would be closer to the truth to treat stuff as worthless.
In fact, worse than worthless, because once you've accumulated a certain amount of stuff, it starts to own you rather than the other way around. I know of one couple who couldn't retire to the town they preferred because they couldn't afford a place there big enough for all their stuff. Their house isn't theirs; it's their stuff's.
Fighting Materialism Mentality Continued: The Value Of Stuff
In continuing the conversation about fighting materialism (that seems to be my niche here), I just read an essay by Paul Graham that further emphasizes the limited value of stuff:
1 comments:
Amazing Point! Thanks for posting. I've been thinking a lot about this topic lately. I just finished reading "The Freedom of Simplicity", it goes really indepth on this topic. I really like the idea that the things we own get their value from how much we use them, not from some price given to them. Good stuff.
-Lara Laity
Post a Comment