Why pay more? I'll tell you why.

I want to pay more for my things.

I just bought a slip-n-slide for my kids at the end of the summer. I bought it at 75% off for $2.34. My kids like it and have lots of fun on it. We didn't need it though. If it cost $20 I wouldn't have bought it. How many times have you seen something you liked and bought it because it was on sale, not because you needed it? If you are anything like the average North American, the answer would be: often. I am just as bad as the next person, although I am becoming increasingly aware of it and trying to change it.

Wants Versus Needs

Modern society is driven by want, not need. Once our basic needs are met we look towards our wants. Wants are never met. When you find what you want, do you ever, EVER just say "ok, I got what I want, I don't want anything else anymore"? I don't. I soon think up something else I want. And if it's cheap, I buy it. "Hey great! I don't really need this new sweater but it's gorgeous and it's on sale so I am buying it!" If I can't afford it I won't buy it. And, in fact, if it is so totally out of my price range that I know I will never get it I no longer want it. Of course if it is made in China and is cheap enough for me to buy then maybe I DO want it... need it? No.

So exactly who gets any money when a slip-n-slide is bought for $2.34? How can that possibly be made for $2.34? A NY Times article states:

In 2007, factories that supplied more than a dozen corporations, including Wal-Mart, Disney and Dell, were accused of unfair labor practices, including using child labor, forcing employees to work 16-hour days on fast-moving assembly lines, and paying workers less than minimum wage. (Minimum wage in this part of China is about 55 cents an hour.)

Certainly, the Chinese labourers are not making money on the slip-n-slide. In fact, by buying the slip-n-slide I just forced Chinese labourers to suffer more. Yikes.

The working conditions in Chinese factories who supply us with our unnecessary things suffer terrible working conditions, despite international efforts to change them. From the same source as above:

And so while American and European consumers worry about exposing their children to Chinese-made toys coated in lead, Chinese workers, often as young as 16, face far more serious hazards. Here in the Pearl River Delta region near Hong Kong, for example, factory workers lose or break about 40,000 fingers on the job every year, according to a study published a few years ago by the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.

Why? Because we keep buying things so cheaply. The Chinese employers are trying so hard to make money and keep costs down they put their employees needs and safety last. All this in a country where the government is so intent on getting ahead there are not enough regulations or people to enforce them.

Do I really need it?

If I had to pay more for my slip-n-slide (or anything else I want but don't need) I would think twice about buying it. Do I really need it? How much will I pay for something I want but don't need? Let's say that slip-n-slide cost $20. I wouldn't have bought it. Would my kids be any worse for the wear if I didn't buy it? No. In fact, by buying it just because it is on sale, I am teaching my children to do the same. "Look kids! This is only $2.34. Let's get it!"

What Do We Value?
How much would the slip-n-slide have to cost me before I value it more? I don't dry it out and fold it up until summer is over and the slip-n-slide is so sun-damaged it won't last another year. Who cares though? It only cost me $2.34. I can buy another one. If the slide cost me $20 or maybe $50 you better believe I would be out there putting it away when the kids were done. Actually, I wouldn't have bought it in the first place. So, we place more value in things that cost more, and we spend more time taking care of it so it lasts longer.

How About Quality?
How much are we willing to spend on quality? It's only a made-in-China piece-of-junk slip-n-slide. It's not going to last long. Play with it until it falls apart. I don't care. So why are we buying a piece of junk that isn't going to last? Why spend the money in the first place? Because it's so cheap, that's why! We would never have paid $20 for a piece of junk like that. They don't last long enough to make them worthwhile. But in our disposable society, when we have disposable income, why not just buy it for $2.34, use it up and throw it out? We are filling our landfills with cheap things that are made in China. They don't last because the companies who make them can't afford to buy quality materials since North Americans don't want to pay more. It's a vicious circle, really. We want to pay less, so the Chinese make poorer quality things out of poorer quality material so they can afford to sell it to us at the price we want to pay. Then it breaks and we throw it out. It's not even worth fixing since buying another one is so cheap.

So why pay more? By paying more:

• We only buy the things we need.
• We value the items more
• We fix them rather than throw them out
• We get better quality items
• We aren't contributing to injury and poverty of Chinese labourers

How can we pay more?

• Invest in high quality items and services that you really need
• Look for fair trade products
• Buy locally and support your local economy
• Buy environmentally-friendly products and services
• Stop shopping at Walmart and other big box giants who practice the "rock bottom price" motto

How to teach children about spending?

I know a lot of parents who promise to buy their kids a treat (toy or snack) if they behave while shopping. This is actually teaching children to buy things they don't need. Another, more profitable way to reward children is to give them -say- a dollar instead of a cheap toy. They can take it home and save it. This teaches children to save money, and consider what they are spending their hard-earned money on. It is also usually cheaper than buying a toy, and if you are only buying them a $1 toy anyway, you are contributing to the cycle of over-spending on unnessesary things.

If I stop impulse buying and only purchase quality things that I need I will be saving money in the long run. I could be saving someone's limb, someone's youth, or someone's life. I will be teaching my children a good lesson on wise spending. And this will all lead to a greater, and longer-lasting sense of self-satisfaction than falling prices ever could!



This post has been linked to Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways Blog Hop.
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Dr Suess Wouldn't Shop At Walmart

My No Spend Month