I was a bit groggy and tired from a long day of work the day before, and I had not yet had my coffee when Mrs. Happy Philosopher greeted me with a colorful bag with decorative paper sticking out of the top.
Mrs. HP: “I got you a birthday present.”
HP: “But it’s not my birthday…and I’m not allowed to accept presents this year.”
Mrs. HP: “But it will be your birthday someday, and you can’t refuse a gift from your wife. Plus I’ve given you something to write about. You’re welcome.”
Checkmate.
I opened the bag, and much to my surprise there was a brand new cover for my cell phone. It was not fancy, just one of those rigid ones that wraps around so if you drop it hopefully the screen doesn’t shatter. I chuckled a bit and thanked her as I contemplated how this little bit of ‘stuff’ fits into my buy nothing experiment.
Happy Philosopher vs. Cell Phone Case
My old cell phone cover was causing me a lot of problems. Not ‘tire blowout on the interstate in a snowstorm’ level of problems, but it was falling apart. Since I don’t upgrade my phone with any regularity, the accessories have to last a long time. The covers and cables usually wear out before the phone unless they are well-designed. This cover was not. For some reason it was composed of two layers that were somehow fused together. One was a hard plastic, and another kind of pliable and soft which wrapped around the lip of the phone. Well it started splitting a few months ago. At first it was small, but eventually grew to involve several centimeters. It was catching on my pocket and eventually it would not hold the phone in place when the split got large enough.
I first tried super glue, which worked really well for about 2 days until it failed. Next I tried a hot glue gun which was better. The glue would hold for a few weeks in spite of looking really ugly, but eventually that would start to peel away as well. Plus the glue would get all over the place and the phone would not fit perfectly in the case. Incidentally, I was on my second round of gluing, and really felt like my technique was improving.
I had accepted my fate of re-gluing the case every now and then, but my wife had different ideas. Maybe she was worried I would eventually go through all the glue, which probably is actually more mass and volume than the cell phone case. I don’t know. She is very smart and her mind works in ways I don’t understand. In any event, the new case is awesome. It is made from some ridiculous thing called Impactium™ which sounds like a made up material from Star Trek or something, but allegedly helps your phone not break when you drop it.
Gray Zone
I’m honestly not sure if I should count this or not. It’s not a critical necessity, but it is along the spectrum of replacing/repairing stuff I already own. Based on the frequency that I drop my phone a case is mandatory unless I’m alright with breaking the screen. I’m not. It’s expensive and inconvenient to replace a screen. A cover is cheap insurance.
In spite of ‘cell phone cover-gate’ this was a very low consumption month for us all around.
Here Are Our Purchases For February:
Mrs. Happy Philosopher and Family:
- Kids shoes ($50)
- Soccer shorts ($24)
- 6-pack of kids socks ($14) – All of these first three items were replacing stuff that was too small. I think this will be a major theme going forward.
- 4 wine glasses (free) – These were swag from a race.
- Nail polish ($9) – Seems expensive to me, but Mrs. HP accurately points out this is much cheaper than a pedicure.
- Brush and comb ($8) – Apparently the little pokey things on the old brush were breaking off and it needed to be replaced. I’m not sure on the necessity for the comb as I thought all combs were indestructible.
Happy Philosopher:
- Cell phone case (gift)
In fact I actually got rid of a pair of shoes. As you probably remember from my original inventory of clothes, I have a lot of shoes. I had 4 pairs of running shoes, and have hardly been running this past year due to my back (ironically I have started running much more after giving away the shoes, but oh well). My road running shoes were a hair too small, and they were hardly worn. Whenever I went running I just threw on my trail shoes because I like them better. My sons’ running shoes were literally falling apart so I asked him to try mine on. They fit great so I gave them to him. The net result was one less pair of shoes to buy, although I will have to buy a pair of running shoes at some point if I keep it up.
One of the best things about this experiment is the fact that other bloggers are participating to various degrees in experiment of their own. I forgot to mention these last month. Here are the ones I know about. Check them out.
https://lifezemplified.com/less-stuff-less-waste/
https://www.drmcfrugal.com/buy-nothing-1-year/
https://www.dadsdollarsdebts.com/2018/01/10/buying-nothing-1-year-thats-plan/
https://buynothing2018.wordpress.com/
http://www.countdowntotranquility.com/2018/01/buy-nothing-2018-challenge/
http://thesmartfi.com/2018-spend-nothing-challenge/
http://homemade-deliciousness.net/minimalismus-2-0-1-jahr-lang-nichts-kaufen/
On to March!
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Not bad. I’ve tried unsuccessfully for years trying to even go for a weekend without spending something. I think that part of the issue is that when I do have downtime, it’s to catch up on household activities, many of which do involve either cleaning or purchasing something that we need.
Oh the dreaded cell phone case. The one I have and have been using for years was actually a gift from a client. Well, it wasn’t really a gift, it was more along the lines of, “Hey I have more cases than I need, do you want one?” Apparently, she was a part of a monthly cell phone subscription plan and would receive a new case every month. Its one of the super cheap plastic shell ones, but its been working and has survived many drops so far. Though it does have one rough edge already so I’m seeing how long it can last now. And the running shoes. I have one pair and they are starting to fall apart, but I don’t want to buy a new pair quite yet. Guess I’ll try the super clue trick for now!
You actually gave me a great idea. They make this stuff called shoe glue. It’s amazing, but I’ve never tried using it to fix a cell phone cover 😉
You are doing better than me tracking your wife’s purchases. I can’t and won’t do it. It would not be productive to my marriage. As I stated at the beginning. The goal is my own patterns of purchase and thinking. Hopefully by changing my habits, my wife will also. In fact, it has worked to some extent. I think the biggest difference is she is still seeking some closure post-fire. Filling in the gaps here and there. I respect that and thus will not interject my needs to her.
Thanks for sharing again!
Mrs. Happy Philosopher is a good sport and is having fun with it, but as with you, my goal here is to learn about myself. It is better to be more intentional and deliberate in our lives and let others observe us decide for themselves rather than lecture them on the benefits of whatever we are doing.
A doctor, desperately trying to salvage his failing cell phone case with glue and “impactum”…..
This in a nutshell is why this financial and better living blogger community is so cool. It would sound so ridiculous to most, but it’s so “cool” to us!
Hahaha! Yeah I think we are all a bit “out of the mainstream”
Thank you for including my Spend Nothing blog Post into your list. I’m afraid this spend nothing challenge won’t pave the road to future wealth for me. I am a delayed gratification kind of guy and rarely purchase things I want. In my January Round UP post I detailed the few savings I did attribute to the challenge. Btw I know you are supposed to replace running shoes frequently. I can’t do it. I run my shoes until my joints tell me it is time for another pair. Great post!
I hear you on the running shoes. Mine need replacing before they look worn out, but when me feet start hurting a bit and my legs start feeling tired I know it is time.