Everyone’s Got One. What’s Yours?
Posted by John Draper | Filed under Smart Shopper, Take Control
Everyone has one of these. It’s the thing we can’t walk away from, the thing that grabs our interest and says, “Take me home.” It might be stuff. It might be an activity. From picking up a morning coffee we simply can’t live without, to buying another pack of smokes, to getting a weekly manicure, we indulge ourselves over and over as a matter of course. The problem with not being aware that we have this little Gimmie Gremlin living in our heads is that we will respond to it without even being aware that we are doing so.
My Gimmie Gremlin used to be books. If I went any where near a bookstore I was guaranteed to walk out with a new acquisition. I didn’t even think about it. I was near a bookstore so buying a book just made sense. It was “convenient”. It was my “only vice.” It was AUTOMATIC! Ooops. Automatic spending? That doesn’t sound too healthy does it?
Not all Gimmie Gremlins are bad. After all, if you’re down to just one Gimmie Gremlin, giving in seems like your reward for being a good little boy or girl. I don’t drink alcohol. I don’t smoke. I don’t buy tons of clothes or shoes or jewelry. So buying books seemed like such an insignificant thing.
Sure, I could have taken my book money and stuck it in an investment plan, but I would not have derived the joy I did from buying the book. And since having fun is a big part of keeping the balance in life, book buying was a foregone conclusion.
The problem comes when we respond to the Gimmie Gremlin without thinking about it. We just ante up for that pizza home delivery, that software upgrade, that annual gym membership we never use, without thinking about whether or not what we are doing is actually working for us. And without thinking about the cost. If you buy a cup of coffee for $3 every day on the way to work, that’s costing you 3 x 5 x 52 = $780 a year. If you’re having $30 a month automatically deducted from your account for a gym membership you never use, that’s costing you 30 x 12 = $360 a year. And if you’re buying two $20-bottles of wine every week, that’s costing you 20 x 2 x 52 = $2080 a year.
If you have a bunch of Gimmie Gremlins all at work at the same time that can get very expensive. It’s often enough to throw your budget out of whack without you ever really coming to grips with why you just can seem to get to the end of the month before you get to the end of the money.
So here’s a challenge:
- Figure out what your Gimmie Gremlin is.
- How many of these little suckers do you automatically respond to?
- What does it cost you each time you respond?
- How much is each Gimmie Gremlin costing you each year?
- How hard would it be to Just Say No to your Gimmie Gremlin(s)?
- What else could you do with the money you’re currently spending on your Gimmie Gremlin(s)?
If you think and think and think and still can’t figure out what your Gimmie Gremlin is, then carry around a little notebook with you for about a month, making notes on everything you spend money on. At the end of the month (wait until the end) review your list and your Gimmie Gremlin should pop right out.
I took a good hard look at my book buying and cut way back. Now I can walk through a bookstore without feeling I have to make a stop at the cash register. Instead, I compile a list of titles I want to read and then “register” at the local bookstore where friends and family can go in a pick out something they know I’ll enjoy.
Yet another vice down the tube. Now what am I going to do to get to hell so I can be with my friends?
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October 8, 2008 at 5:50 am
Books are also my Gimmie Gremlin! A tight budget means I have cut back and the library is getting a great many more visits from me. Although I have to confess I did break down and bought a new book from a secondhand book store. It’s “The Bogleheads’ Guide to Investing” and was US$10. I intend to use it so I can get my (tiny, tiny) pay raise to make the $10 back and some!
October 8, 2008 at 6:23 am
Although I have a box of books on the floor fresh from Doubleday Canada, I can’t say they are my gremlin. I don’t know…I don’t think the Gimmie Gremlin is my spending style because when I want to, I can pass up anything. My problem is going months without shopping and then the big binge..I guess I’m like a “bulimic spender”. (minus the purge) When I get the urge to spend money (about twice per year), nothing is safe! Maybe you can do an article on this…
October 8, 2008 at 10:13 am
Mine is dance classes, novels and restaurants.
Taking dance classes kinda petered out after having my kid but I don’t regret it spending that money at all. It’s something I invested in myself, something that built the person that I am today. It paid off in many other ways – the friends I made, the knowledge I’ve acquired. Same with books. I treasure having a good library of classical novels. If it’s really worth reading it, it’s worth having a copy. I love re-visiting them, and I feel that if I don’t have a copy, they would just dissapear from my memory (I have a really bad memory, sigh).
My bad gimme is definitely restaurant food. That I have to tame.
October 8, 2008 at 11:09 am
I’m a book lover as well but I’ve curbed the Gimme Gremlin by visiting the local library. When I borrow a book that I absolutely loved and I know I will re-read it in the future, I will put it on a Gift Wish List at Christmas time. Who knows, maybe Santa will buy it for me! And if he doesn’t, I will buy it for myself at some point…most likely when I feel like re-reading it again.
October 8, 2008 at 11:41 am
My Gimmie Gremlin was also books! I love to read… but then I re-discovered my love for the library and although sometimes I have to wait in line to read the book I want it makes me feel pretty good not to be spending all that money on books… and good for the enviroment too!
I don’t have any other Gimmie Gremlins… I brew my own coffee at home and I’m not into expensive clothes or jewellry…
as a result – my daughter is becoming the same. We used to love shopping together for STUFF… now we love finding ways to save money together! It really is a great feeling to be teaching her all about saving and spending wisely. I love my parents but they didn’t teach money management to me and it took me a long time to learn it on my own…
October 8, 2008 at 12:27 pm
My Gimme Gremlin would be high-end handbags and I have quite the collection in my closet. The sales associates at Holt Renfrew and Coach know me well. However, I have really toned that down and do not at all feel the desire to buy another handbag.
Another Gremlin of mine is monthly facials and they are not something I plan to give up. I enjoy them far too much and I work them into the budget.
I am trying to use the library more frequently as I used to buy books quite often. There is one book I really want to read and I am 27th in line at the library. I may just ask for it for my birthday in November.
October 8, 2008 at 1:08 pm
Gail, On a seperate note do you do follow ups with the people you work with to see if their still on track, scared straight, off the rails again or just blew the show’s loot on CRAP. Thank god the new season is here.
October 8, 2008 at 2:34 pm
My Gimme Gremlin, if you can call it that, seems to be my skincare products and natural health supplements, but I think they work themselves out over time. Today I spent $200 on my entire skin care line, but it lasts me 6+ months, so I don’t think that’s enough to break the bank. Ditto with vitamins and herbal supplements…they cost more upfront, but they last for months and I haven’t had to shell out money on OTC remedies, so I think I’m ahead of the game. It hurts to purchase in the beginning, like today when I realized I needed new everything, but if it’s a moisturizer here or eye gel there, it’s not so bad.
And like another poster, I purchase things for myself once a year, alternating seasons. 2007 was Spring/Summer wear, this year was Faull-Winter. So now next year when I realize my 3 pairs of lowly shorts are faded and holey, I won’t feel bad about buying more because I know I’ve gotten good use out of my clothing.
October 8, 2008 at 3:58 pm
Oh this is easy…. my secret mistress – my beloved house. Power tools, decorative rain chains, upgraded shingles, new faucets…. whatever she asks of me I deliver and try to justify in terms of raising the value of my house. Problem is I can’t really say that I would or wouldn’t buy a house because of a faucet (now electrical, roof yeah).
October 8, 2008 at 4:11 pm
Very cute Geoff.. does your wife know about your mistress?
October 8, 2008 at 4:27 pm
Know? She’s my enabler.
October 8, 2008 at 5:59 pm
My Gremlin is definitly books, loads of them. As I live in a 99 % french area, no way can I borrow from the library, so……I have an avid readers card from Chapters/Indigo. I buy mostly online, saves 10%, cause the nearsest store is 40 plus mins away, buy more than 39 $ each time which gives me free shipping, a definite plus. I indulge 1 a month….terrible habit, but an enriching one. Wish I could swap with a friend would make it so much cheaper. Used to do the purse thing, no longer. I say I am getting better, only my great kids are getting older, gotta love them!!
Have a great one everyone!
October 8, 2008 at 6:43 pm
Books used to be a vice. Then one day I looked up my monthly spending and I had spent almost $500 on books in that month! (It’s not actually hard, hardcovers can be up to $40 each.)
Now I just go to the library. The library has a neat system where it’ll autoreserve authors that I like as they come in and so all I have to do is go and pick up the books. It’s actually more convenient than the store.
My vice is gourmet food. But since I cook it at home, the occasional splurge doesn’t hurt like restaurant food would. Very rarely does it go over my $175/month grocery limit.
October 8, 2008 at 9:21 pm
My Gremlins used to include books, books, and more books. I have in the last 5 years or so rediscovered my love of the library! My partner and I definitely have indulged in the Eating Out/Take Out Gremlin a lot in the past – at times it was 2-3 times/week in part due to our busy schedules. We’ve definitely realized that the cost can not be justified and that we tended to eat so poorly when we ate out. So now we are really making hard choices and maybe have one or two meals out a month. We don’t have cable TV (good old rabbit ears!), we rarely go out to the movies (borrowing from the library instead), we don’t buy new music and we are minimalist with our clothing purchases although we do believe that 2 quality pieces are better value than 5 cheap ones.
I definitely still have 3 Gremlins that I am battling but it’s better than before. I do like to buy a few magazines a month. I have one subscription that I am considering canceling – but it’s less than $30 a year. If I cancel the current subscription I would replace it with the one i have been buying. I do read both titles cover to cover several times so I know I get use of out of them.
I do love lattes and coffees. At one point it was a latte a day and sometimes another one. Now my partner and I limit ourselves to a latte each on Saturday after yoga class (we have gym membership and we use it a bare minimum of 4x/week!!). I had gotten to the point of not buying Tim Hortons at all, but I admit lately I have been slipping. Any suggestions Gail on how to tame that beast?
My other Gremlin that I will struggle with is the ‘treats’ – the chocolate bar, the muffin, etc. I admit that this will probably be my albatross. Like you mentioned with the books, I think this I rationalize this one a lot. The I don’t drink, smoke, buy books, see movies, eat out at restaurants all the time, am pragmatic in my clothing purchases, etc… can’t I have the Hershey’s Kisses rationalization. There is no need for them, for my health or my pocketbook but the treats are a siren call and then I add in the argument that I may be hungry so I ‘need’ it.
However I am working hard on the last Gremlins. I def don’t need the treats or the coffee although I don’t see a need to cut out the Saturday latte but the several Tims a week is not necessary on any level. The food is not beneficial to me physically and I rather put the savings towards having the nicer meal out once a month or maybe putting some extra money into the savings account – especially with the current economic situation…
October 8, 2008 at 10:06 pm
For all of us bibliophiles…
http://www.wired.com/techbiz/people/magazine/16-10/ff_walker?currentPage=all
October 9, 2008 at 2:18 am
http://www.bookmooch.com a good site to look into for all those book gremlins out there
October 9, 2008 at 11:59 am
Books are my weakness, especially cookbooks. I now use the library as much as possible, which saves me money and shelf space. I do buy some books but not as many as before. Those I purchase are now definitely “keepers”.
I’ll have to check out Christina’s bookmooch suggestion.
October 12, 2008 at 9:47 am
My vice is educational toys, board games and hardcover children’s books. I have learned over the past 2 years to buy all toys on a online used website that I can bargain down the price via email since I am unable to do it face to face and use freecycle- where you ask for the toys you need and I offer toys that the children don’t use anymore.
As for the children’s books I use the scholastic book orders that come from school and buy all kinds discounted so I can give them out for birthday parties and Christmas gifts. When I do buy a beautiful hardcover it is used for my family and I will take the same one out of the library for my daycare so mine doesn’t get worn out. They are the one thing that I would like to be passed down to my grandchildren one day…
and board games are great because you stay in many nights for the price of going out once.
August 27, 2010 at 3:14 am
my gimme gremlin? anything at a super great price/clearance! only stuff i use of course.