If you want to keep up with the times, it is not enough to follow fleeting fashion trends. We still need to share modern values and understand global trends. For example, adhere to the rules of reasonable consumption. The basic principle is to spend less, but with more value.
With this approach, you will significantly reduce your daily expenses, but at the same time you will not have to give up important and necessary things or sacrifice your comfort. The rules of reasonable consumption are relevant for all spheres of life: from buying clothes and equipment to using a car and even choosing a pet.
1. Buy quality instead of cheap
Often, in pursuit of economy, we buy things that will not last long. And then we get frustrated when we eat with cheap aluminum forks, fight skin irritation from synthetic clothing, or wake up with back pain from a squeezed mattress.
Items that you will use regularly for several years should be of good quality. The point here is not the pursuit of luxury: the knives should simply cut, the laundry should not be rubbed, and the shoes should not cause a desire to take them off immediately.
Over time, you will either get tired of a low-quality item and throw it away, buying a new one instead, or spend money on expensive repairs.
Choose natural or high-tech fabrics - they will last longer than cheap synthetics. Give preference to a computer with a reserve of power: so that the hardware can keep up with new versions of software. Pay attention to the energy consumption of appliances and technologies that help you wash, clean, and cook faster. Give preference to things with a long warranty: they are more reliable, and if something happens, then you will not have to pay for repairs.
2. Update your smartphone instead of buying a new one
The smartphone has become our window into the world, a replacement for a passport, wallet and cinema. Every year, these gadgets receive a ton of new features. So, if a couple of years ago contactless payment for purchases with a smartphone at the checkout of a supermarket seemed fantastic, then now you can simply point the camera at a stranger's cool sneakers on the subway and get a list of stores where they are are sold.
If you want to enjoy all the relevant functions, you need a modern smartphone. The fresh model offers advanced solutions, high performance, good battery and cool camera. A purchase that brings value and joy. These are the things that constitute the basis of intelligent consumption.
However, there is one but: the acquisition of a new flagship every year is not cheap. And interest on loan offers, as a rule, is not encouraging.
It is easy to become a member of the program: submit an online application in the application, and the answer will come in a minute. The company delivers smartphones throughout Russia for free. And most importantly - no commissions and intermediaries!
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3. Make a basic wardrobe
A full wardrobe and nothing to wear - a familiar situation? We often turn shopping into a hobby and a pleasant pastime, and things with tags then gather dust on shelves and hangers for years. And no one will return the money for them.
New clothing collections are released several times a season. "Cheap fashion" fuels the constant thirst for consumption, but inexpensive low-quality things quickly lose their presentable appearance. And in the next season, everything is repeated.
In fact, really rich people have not been chasing fashion trends for a long time. They would rather spend money on a competent stylist who will put together a "capsule" - a wardrobe where all things are easy to combine with each other.
Of course, the "capsule" will not stay with you forever - you change, clothes change too. But a couple of trendy items per season is much better than a heap of unnecessary purchases from the mass market.
By the way, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has an even simpler approach: in the closet hanging two dozen identical gray T-shirts. He walks in them at home, goes jogging, speaks at conferences. And most importantly, he does not waste time and effort on making unnecessary decisions on choosing clothes.
4. Plan your menu for the week
Often in the store we buy something that we didn't intend to - merchandisers and marketers know their stuff. Then part of the food is naturally thrown away: in Russia, about 25% of all products turns out in a dumpster, in the USA - up to 31%. All over the planet it 1.3 billion tons waste per year! Only a quarter of this amount can feed all the people who are malnourished - and there are about 800 million of them in the world.
To produce 1 kcal of food is burned Foods & Nutrition Encyclopedia, Two Volume Set 10 kcal of fuel. Discarded Cheese Sandwich is 90The Story of Life & the Environment liters of water poured aimlessly. 1 kg of potatoes - 500 liters, 1 kg of beef - 15,000 liters. Too much spending on food that no one will eat.
In order not to buy extra food, make a menu for the week, buy everything from the list and do not rush to the store every day. Also, don't go to the supermarket on an empty stomach: you will impulsively pick up more food than you need. If you've cooked too much soup or cooked extra portions of the second course, freeze them. When you don't have the strength to stand at the stove after a hard day's work, say thank you to yourself. It is convenient to freeze both vegetables, which spoil quickly, and bread - it is enough to reheat it later in a dry frying pan.
Try making blanks like in a store. For example, if you are making cutlets for the whole family, use twice as much minced meat. Fry half of the cutlets, and freeze the rest of them. And don't hesitate to take food from home with you to work. Trendy lunch boxes and homemade meals are on trend right now!
5. Buy used things
We only need many items for a while. Especially for babies: for example, a stroller, crib or balance bike, not to mention clothing for babies. If a thing is of high quality, then it is capable of serving more than one child. And let, for example, the wheels are a little worn, and there are a couple of scratches on the frame - this does not affect safety and ride quality. This approach allows you to save on purchases that you will only use for a few months. In addition, you yourself can sell a good thing that you no longer need. As a result, the cost of ownership will be only 20-30% of the original price.
Used furniture can sometimes be bought for a penny or even found for free on message boards. And the boring clothes can be exchanged for what you like at special parties.
6. Use car sharing
Owning a car in a metropolis is more stressful than fun. It needs to be parked somewhere, regularly serviced, buy insurance and consumables - gasoline, washer, filters. At the same time, the machine is used for hardly more than a couple of hours a day - the rest of the time it just stands there, takes up space and wastes your money.
Car sharing is more profitable: you pay only for those moments when you really need a car. Do not buy insurance, do not solve parking issues. Finally, don't worry about the car being stolen or accidentally scratched in the parking lot.
In numbers, the statistics looks like this: ownership of a new business-class sedan will cost about 650 thousand rubles per year with a run of 10 thousand kilometers; a car-sharing car of the same category - about 400 thousand rubles. Lower class models are even cheaper. Healthy nerves are invaluable.
And if there are no rights, but you need to go, the services of renting bicycles and electric scooters will help out. Cheap, modern and without any traffic jams.
7. Take animals from shelters
People have pets, then move out, discover a coat allergy or other problem, and as a result, the pet ends up on the street. Moreover, the average life expectancy of an animal in the city is 2-3 years. Those who go to the shelter or to volunteers are more fortunate.
Outbred animals are no worse than those that can boast of a classy pedigree. The cats and dogs from the shelter bring no less joy than the winners of the shows. And sometimes even more - animals that have lived on the street for some time appreciate the house and human attention.
By the way, Hollywood stars actively take pets from shelters. And Russian celebrities too keep up.
8. Buy not things, but experience and impressions
Self-isolation has shown how few things we really need. And there is so much around everything that we want to try, experience, see.
Buy only what makes you happier. Don't save up for an apartment in a city you don't like. Don't try to take out a loan for a car you hate in traffic. Don't try to impress the whole subway car with expensive clothes.
Spend money on things that bring joy: travel, self-improvement, entertainment. Things will go away, and impressions and experiences will stay with you forever.
9. Give up what you don't use
Unnecessary things can take up a lot of space. Furniture, which was not found in a new rented apartment, a bread maker, with which they played around and then forgot about it, a simulator that turned into a clothes hanger. All of these things are your assets. You can sell them, give them away (and make someone happier), or recycle them. As a result, free up space - and breathing will immediately become easier.
Try to follow the rule of 100. The principle is simple: you only need to keep 100 items for yourself - no more and no less. This list should include everything: clothing, equipment, personal hygiene requirements. You will be surprised, but these items will be more than enough if you do not purchase anything extra.
By the way, this approach does not mean at all that you will have to deny yourself the purchase of new products. The main rule: if you have a new item, you need to get rid of the old one so that the total number of items remains the same.
Another bonus: Samsung Upgrade members don't have to pay the full cost of the new product. You use your smartphone for half the price, and payments are evenly distributed over 12 months. And at the end of this period, you simply change the gadget to a new one and continue to keep up with the times.
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