In defense of hoarding

Minimalism, it's all the buzz in PF and money management. Declutter your life, get time for yourself, and such are the touted benefits. But is there a downside? Can having stuff be beneficial?

Of course, given my couponing habits it's no small stretch that I'd defend hoarding, or stockpiling as it is. Why buy bodywash at full price three months from now, when they're paying me to take it home today?

Minimalism is often touted as environment friendly, but the way I see it, it's not. Except for those minimalists living Robinson Curoso style (having the necessary hunting/foraging skills to survive independently) they rely on modern society to provide instant access to life's necessities. Take a basic like food, in the past people had to store it for the coming winter because nothing was growing so you had to live off your stockpiles. But now with cheap oil to transport food around the world, supermarkets always have a constant influx of fresh foods, so no need to stock up, because it's always there.

Though hoarding to just have stuff, and otherwise buying more things that you won't use is bad. Having your own personal scrap heap is unlikely to add value to your life. But if you understand your things to be assets much like your cash and stocks, then you can make hoarding work for you.

To me stockpiling and owning things is about preparedness. The scenario I always imagine is that if an item for a minimalist were to suddenly break, they'd need to replace it, and fast. Supposedly this item is necessary and unique (else it would have been removed), thus it needs immediate replacement. As we know time is something we pay for, if you can wait you can usually get better deals. So they end up having to pay a premium for urgency in replacing the object. Now a conscientious stockpiler may have a replacement, or a substitute product, or even the tools to repair it.

I'm still a fairly thrifty spender I just get what I need, but not necessarily exactly when I need it. For instance I know our bedsheets are getting a bit old, so I'm on the lookout for a good deal, and when I find it I'll pick up a set. Then when we do replace our current set, I'll have it and not have to scramble last minute and pay exorbitant amounts for it.

Basically having a stockpile is both insurance and an inflation/price spike hedge. It's having a spare tire, that extra is a form of insurance. Also if the prices of commidities rise I've already bought them at pre-inflation prices, I've lost no buying power on what I already own. That said it's not like I'm keeping hundreds of barrels of oil in my basement (though I do have a fuel tank for my heater I guess).

To be fair, minimalism has it's place as well as stockpiling. It does no good to keep around things you'll never use (too many extra clothes), but at the same time don't throw out all your winter coats just because it's summer. And buying something does have a risk, you might actually not need it, it may expire before it's used, the cost to own it could outweigh the savings (true of most insurances). But with things that have seasonal or other price variations, buying low and selling high is just as applicable here as stocks.