Many wealthy people are little more than janitors of their possessions.
–Frank Lloyd Wright, architect (1867-1959)
The Cost of a Coat
I sold a coat on the internet today. My daughter asked me if I made any money on it. My answer wasn’t simple.
“Let’s say I spent $35 on this coat, and then I sold it today for $35. Did I make any money?”
“No,” she answered.
“Yep,” I replied. “Now let’s say I spent $35 on this coat eight years ago. It’s a great coat, good quality. But no one wore it. Ever. It’s sat in the closet for eight years and moved with us to three different homes in two different states. It’s just taking up space. We don’t have enough space! And it no longer even fits anyone in this house! So I sold it for $35. Did I make any money?”
“I guess you kind of did?” she tentatively suggested.
“That’s what I think, too.”
That equation isn’t too difficult. Here’s a tougher one.
I’ve been working hard to simplify my home and reduce our belongings. I’ve taken to heart the idea that at some point, we stop owning our stuff, and our stuff begins to own us. We have to take care of our things, and we can’t seem to get rid of them. Maybe an item has sentimental value; maybe it has monetary value; maybe we’re afraid of not having “enough”; maybe we get tired just thinking about dealing with all our stuff.
So let’s go back to that coat, which I actually sold for $50, minus a time investment of approximately 45 minutes spent photographing it, writing a description, uploading everything to the internet, then creating a shipping label, packing it up, and finally driving that coat to the post office.
I did initially buy it for $35, I think. It was on clearance. So, did I make any money? I value my time pretty highly, so this isn’t looking too good.
Now let’s take one more step back. Instead of asking if I made any money, let’s ask what I gained, besides money.
- I never have to move that coat again.
- I never have to think about that coat again. (After this blog post is finished!)
- I never have to find space for it in an already overcrowded home.
- I never have to worry about including its value in my insurance policy.
- I never have to worry about how to get rid of it, or how to get my money out of it.
I’ve spent HOURS on this coat over the course of eight years.
What if I’d taken a different approach? What if I had given that coat away, brought it to a donation center, or donated it to a homeless shelter?
I would have given something back. Not much, but something. Like I said, it was a good coat. It sold (quickly!) for fifty bucks. That coat might have kept someone warm, someone who couldn’t afford a new coat.
So not only would I have gained everything in the above list, not only would I have saved all that time spent selling and shipping the coat, but I’d have done something “good”. And that means something to me.
I think I lost a great chance to make something off that coat.
And I think I will be researching the best ways to make my donations count in my community.
Of course, this whole dilemma could have been avoided if I had not bought the coat in the first place. But that’s a story for another time.