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When was the last time you bought something brand-new and it actually needed to be new, not a secondhand purchase? Outside of food, disposable products, and some specific types of clothing, there aren’t many good arguments for buying brand-new items.
Buying a car? Go for a used car, save some money. Buying a video game system? Used will cut the price in half, or better. Designer clothes? You know you need to buy those secondhand. Let’s take a look at how buying items secondhand is good for both your wallet and the planet.
Stop buying brand-new clothes. It’s bad for the environment, it’s bad for your wallet, and it’s bad for the workers who make the clothes. Go to thrift stores or consignment shops and buy clothes secondhand. There are already way too many garments on the planet, and we’re making more all the time. It’s a ticking timebomb, ecologically, and it’s got to be addressed sooner rather than later.
Likewise, when you’re done with clothes, don’t just throw them out. Take them to a thrift store, or donate them to a charitable organization that can find new uses for old clothes. Let the cycle begin anew rather than letting the clothes rot in a landfill.
New cars are a huge rip-off. If you’ve purchased a brand-new car lately, you might not want to hear this, but it’s true. You don’t get anything special for being the first person to drive a vehicle, and you still pay considerably more for your trouble. New cars don’t retain their value well, at all, and often their resale price tanks to around half of what you paid for them within three years of buying the car.
Just go with a used car from a recent model year. This will help you stay in a newer car without breaking the bank!
If you’re in the market for a new cellphone or a new video game console, you might have noticed that these items are in short supply and are very expensive right now. There are a lot of reasons for this, but the result is that it’s tough to find what you’re looking for.
Rather than battle with other buyers to pay top-dollar for technology that will be outdated in two years, why not just buy a system or phone secondhand and save a few hundred bucks? This is also better for the environment: the fewer electronics you buy new, the fewer that get made. It’s a win-win scenario!
