Comments on: Why Do You Buy?

By: Judy G..

Judy G.. — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 05:58:35 +0000

I don’t quibble with the idea of five Whys. I just wish the author hadn’t used buying books as an example. Publishers today have enough problems in this digital age without your encouraging them NOT to buy books! (I am not a publisher) Since you’ve set aside the money anyway (a good thing), buy the book and then give it to the local library for their booksale so it can then raise money for the library.

By: haverwench

haverwench — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 19:52:50 +0000

For those who have asked, here’s an example of a case in which the five whys lead to the conclusion that yes, I actually should make this purchase:

1. Why do you want to build a media PC? – So that we can watch shows on Hulu and other sites, as well as downloaded videos, on our TV.
2. Why can’t you use your old laptop for that? – Because it’s incredibly slow and cranky and it keeps crashing in the middle of a show.
3. Why can’t you use your desktop machine? – Because it’s too big and noisy and power-hungry, and it throws off too much heat.
4. Why can’t you use your MacBook? – Because that’s a work computer, and it can’t spend its life hooked up to our TV set.
5. Why don’t you just watch that stuff on your computer instead? – Because the video quality is poor, and there isn’t a comfortable place to sit while doing it.
6. Well, gee, then, I guess you actually should build a new media PC.

Asking the five whys was still useful, because it showed that we weren’t buying frivolously, and we could go ahead and spend a few hundred bucks on the components without guilt.

By: Evita

Evita — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 16:56:50 +0000

A little obsessive maybe?
Honestly, I cannot see myself spending that amount of time introspecting each time I open my wallet…..
but if it works for you, GREAT!

By: Steve

Steve — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 16:44:36 +0000

I think this article would be improved with an example of an item passing the “whys.”

Also, for those rare ones of us who want to follow the opposite of financial advice (e.g. I want to encourage myself to trade my relatively plentiful money for time, happiness, etc) how can I flip this one around? The “Five Hows”? “How will this improve my life?…”

By: Claudia

Claudia — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 16:26:57 +0000

One of the things I do is divide the cost of the item by my hourly wage. I then ask myself do I really want to work 3 hours to buy this shirt or 8 hours to buy these shoes,etc. Or in the case of the Ipad, that’s almost 3 weeks of net pay. Although, in the case of the Ipad, I’m not interested anyway. I read blogs, news, etc on the computer, no way do I want to read books other than “real” books. I can’t see curling up with a Kindle or an Ipad.

By: Debbie M

Debbie M — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 13:50:26 +0000

I think that the word “need” could be replaced by “want.” In these examples, he finds better ways to fulfill his want.

Then it’s easier to see that one could get through the five questions and still buy something. (I thought it was going to happen with the cheese, but it turned out he liked feta more for his salads.) After five questions, it’s certainly possible that you could see that you have a want that is not currently being fulfilled and for which you cannot think of a better way to fulfill it than what you are now considering.

And even in one of the cases above, he still is buying something (some bleu cheese, some feta).

By: Ken

Ken — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 11:44:21 +0000

I think this can help when looking to buy something larger (appliance, tv,computer). If the one you already have works well, you don’t HAVE TO upgrade….you just want to follow the Joneses…we know where that will take us.

By: David/yourfinances101

David/yourfinances101 — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 10:03:42 +0000

Great stuff, except for I wouldn’t go thru this anytime I wanted to buy “anything”.

For minor purchases, sometimes you’ve got to just let go.

If not, the whole thing of living frugally and saving can just be too draining.

By: Jules

Jules — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 09:01:03 +0000

I’d think that if you could bear to stand there and think about buying something, you don’t *really* need it.

While it’s great to ask yourself whether or not you need something that you want, I’ve always figured that if it’s planned for, you may as well buy it. I usually plan on buying one book a month (and before anybody jumps on me for not using the library: I live in a non-English speaking country; English books in the library are mostly thrillers or stuff I don’t really like reading), and for the most part, I stick with it.

By: her every cent counts

her every cent counts — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 07:18:27 +0000

Great article, though I wonder if I used this “why” strategy if I’d ever buy anything. Which… maybe isn’t that bad(!) but on the other hand it seems like I should be able to buy some things that don’t meet the “5 why” requirements for the pleasure of buying. There is nothing I really “need” with the exception of a roof over my head (I could live in my car instead of in an apartment and shower at the gym… do I really need an apartment?), a laptop for my job, and some clothes that look decent for work. Oh, and food, but it doesn’t need to be fancy food. Other than that… well, I don’t need anything. I could talk myself out of every single purchase I make this way. I think it’s important to go through the 5 why’s exercise and sometimes let yourself ignore the results. :)

By: Molly On Money

Molly On Money — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 02:07:57 +0000

This is also a practice in ‘Lean’ thinking for problem solving and getting to the root of a problem. It’s called the ’5 why’s’ and I don’t just use it at work but at home.
I love your use of it!

By: Joan

Joan — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 01:08:08 +0000

This is a good technique for finding out the cause of a problem, too. We use it at work to track down errors. If something is wrong, you do the “five whys.” You end up with a lot of useful information – for instance, systems that put too much responsibility on one person instead of a team – and you get rid of the whole “whose fault is it” thing and get to “how can we prevent it” instead.

By: kristine

kristine — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 00:31:49 +0000

good post

By: Gena

Gena — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 23:20:53 +0000

Thanks for this. It’s a message I REALLY needed to see today.

By: anna

anna — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 22:19:44 +0000

JGonzales,

overdrive is who my library uses also so i’m sure it is the same system.

By: anna

anna — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 22:17:50 +0000

@Ryan I’ve never actually used the program, I prefer hardback books and cds to files but I just looked it up and you can ‘check out’ 12 audio files at a time and must return the file before you can check out another one. I’m imagining a iTunes sort of set-up where you have to sync your phone/kindle etc. to your computer and drag the file back to the library to trade for another one? I just know it was something I definatly didn’t imagine a library having and was impressed that mine does. I’m sure if the library made this knowledge well known a lot more kids (I live in a college town) would be using the library.

By: Derek

Derek — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 22:17:20 +0000

Regarding the library ebooks: in my experience, the digital book is DRMed so that it’s active with only one user. Then it expires and the next person gets it.

By: jgonzales

jgonzales — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 22:14:12 +0000

Ryan, yes, they do, usually 2 to 3 weeks (depending on the length your library regularly loans books). There are a few books giving classic books away in audio format. Overdrive is the company that works with my local library.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 22:08:43 +0000

anna, that’s interesting. Is there some sort of DRM that makes the file useless after a few weeks? Otherwise, isn’t the library just giving away books?

By: Nicole

Nicole — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 20:28:42 +0000

But all the cool kids have one…