Right now, there are tens of thousands of cargo containers, filled with everything from cars to computers, sitting off of America’s coasts, and we can’t unload them fast enough to meet consumer demands.
Aside from that most recent shipping debacle, the past two years have been a jarring experience for a lot of people in terms of our ability to buy the things we want and need. Store shelves are sometimes bare, and even when they’re not, we might not be able to get the things we want at prices we can agree with, and being particular about a brand has gone out the window for me. Here, I want to go through some of my academic thinking on how we can learn how to consume better in times like these.
Aside from that most recent shipping debacle, the past two years have been a jarring experience for a lot of people in terms of our ability to buy the things we want and need. Store shelves are sometimes bare, and even when they’re not, we might not be able to get the things we want at prices we can agree with, and being particular about a brand has gone out the window for me. Here, I want to go through some of my academic thinking on how we can learn how to consume better in times like these.
Learn How to Fix Things
First, I think it’s high time that Americans relearn how to fix the machines around us. Once upon a time, we had to: the Great Depression and WWII made it far too hard to get new things to justify throwing out something broken.
In more recent history, our neighbors in the Caribbean, the Cubans, have had to fix things for half a century. Now, contemporary Americans are getting a small taste of what it’s like to think that if your washing machine breaks you might not see another one you can afford to buy in the next calendar year.
I would suggest, then, instead of throwing out a broken object in your home, taking the time to learn how to fix them. When it comes to appliances and cars, there are lots of awesome videos and manuals online that will get you well along the way to doing what you had intended to do in the first place.
Second, if you don’t already have a basic tool kit, now is the time. With a hammer, some pliers, screwdrivers, and a socket set, you would be surprised at how many things you can fix. Right now, that will save you money. Later, it might be the only thing keeping a particular appliance working for the foreseeable future.
In more recent history, our neighbors in the Caribbean, the Cubans, have had to fix things for half a century. Now, contemporary Americans are getting a small taste of what it’s like to think that if your washing machine breaks you might not see another one you can afford to buy in the next calendar year.
I would suggest, then, instead of throwing out a broken object in your home, taking the time to learn how to fix them. When it comes to appliances and cars, there are lots of awesome videos and manuals online that will get you well along the way to doing what you had intended to do in the first place.
Second, if you don’t already have a basic tool kit, now is the time. With a hammer, some pliers, screwdrivers, and a socket set, you would be surprised at how many things you can fix. Right now, that will save you money. Later, it might be the only thing keeping a particular appliance working for the foreseeable future.
Be More Flexible
Now is also a great time to learn to be more flexible and patient. For instance, with meat prices going up, I’m noticing that I’m buying a lot less beef and I often can’t find some of my favorite cuts, like chicken wings.
So, to keep prices down and get the occasional serving of wings, I’ve taken to buying whole chickens and learning how to butcher them myself. Now, out of one chicken, I get two breasts, thighs, wings, and drumsticks. I freeze the wings until I have about 8, then I air fry them and they come out better than most restaurant wings.
As a bonus, it’s also taught me some new skills: I had never bought and butchered a whole animal before. The first few chickens came out a little bit rough around the edges, but now they look identical to the pre-packaged cuts you see at the grocery store. The quality of the meat is usually better, too.
Something like learning a new skill comes with its own rewards if you’re doing it to be flexible. Aside from the money I’m saving over buying pre-cut chicken, I also have learned how to make the best chicken stock I’ve had in my life. And, it’s also deeply satisfying to know that whatever I’m eating, I took a large part in making it better. What started out as a small thing to get some wings and save some money, has developed into a set of skills I plan to use a lot more broadly.
So, to keep prices down and get the occasional serving of wings, I’ve taken to buying whole chickens and learning how to butcher them myself. Now, out of one chicken, I get two breasts, thighs, wings, and drumsticks. I freeze the wings until I have about 8, then I air fry them and they come out better than most restaurant wings.
As a bonus, it’s also taught me some new skills: I had never bought and butchered a whole animal before. The first few chickens came out a little bit rough around the edges, but now they look identical to the pre-packaged cuts you see at the grocery store. The quality of the meat is usually better, too.
Something like learning a new skill comes with its own rewards if you’re doing it to be flexible. Aside from the money I’m saving over buying pre-cut chicken, I also have learned how to make the best chicken stock I’ve had in my life. And, it’s also deeply satisfying to know that whatever I’m eating, I took a large part in making it better. What started out as a small thing to get some wings and save some money, has developed into a set of skills I plan to use a lot more broadly.
Rethink Some Purchases
In general, when I’m thinking of buying anything, I try to think about it in terms of its use-value versus its commodity value. If I’m not happy with the balance of the two, it’s time to rethink the purchase.
The use-value of an object is a measure of how useful it is to you. For example, if you need to carry stuff, a bag has a certain use-value, and it will go up or down based on how good of a bag it is for your particular needs. For me, a sturdy backpack has really high use value on a daily basis, where a grocery bag would have a lot less use-value for carrying books and a laptop to work.
Commodity value is the value that the market places on the idea of the object. So if the same backpack has branded, say Gucci, and does the exact same thing as a non-branded backpack, the Gucci bag will be a lot more expensive based solely on perceived value.
This example is an exaggerated one, but you can apply it to a lot of your life: is the name on a pack of paper towels that important to you, or would you rather measure the amount you want to spend in terms of, for example, how absorbent it is. Questioning why you’re buying the things you buy, over time, will likely get you the gear you need, for less money.
The use-value of an object is a measure of how useful it is to you. For example, if you need to carry stuff, a bag has a certain use-value, and it will go up or down based on how good of a bag it is for your particular needs. For me, a sturdy backpack has really high use value on a daily basis, where a grocery bag would have a lot less use-value for carrying books and a laptop to work.
Commodity value is the value that the market places on the idea of the object. So if the same backpack has branded, say Gucci, and does the exact same thing as a non-branded backpack, the Gucci bag will be a lot more expensive based solely on perceived value.
This example is an exaggerated one, but you can apply it to a lot of your life: is the name on a pack of paper towels that important to you, or would you rather measure the amount you want to spend in terms of, for example, how absorbent it is. Questioning why you’re buying the things you buy, over time, will likely get you the gear you need, for less money.
Consider the Environment
There’s also an ecological dimension to all of this. Without being able to buy certain consumer goods, I, at the very least, have been learning how to do without certain items and not missing them at all. Where I am, for instance, it’s been about impossible to get the latest phones for well over a year.
My current cellphone is over five years old in terms of its release date, and it works just fine. As of now, I’ve skipped two upgrades that I would have otherwise have gotten, and saved myself about a thousand dollars in the process. There are also two fewer phones in dumps around the world.
If we multiply that kind of thinking over the whole American population, I think we can all learn to become a lot more resilient over time. We’ll also likely become a lot more conscious of how much, and why, we buy certain things.
My current cellphone is over five years old in terms of its release date, and it works just fine. As of now, I’ve skipped two upgrades that I would have otherwise have gotten, and saved myself about a thousand dollars in the process. There are also two fewer phones in dumps around the world.
If we multiply that kind of thinking over the whole American population, I think we can all learn to become a lot more resilient over time. We’ll also likely become a lot more conscious of how much, and why, we buy certain things.
