The value in second-hand

My coworker and I got into a debate yesterday about the value of new things versus used and I thought it was an interesting commentary on consumerism in today's world.

I wanted to go shopping for winter clothes on my lunch, so I looked online to see where the nearest thrift store was. To my not-so-great surprise, there weren't any in the county. The county where I work is one of affluence - the majority of the people here are white, upper-middle class, republicans. Sure, they aren't exactly the demographic to put thrift stores in their strip malls, but that got me thinking - why is there a thrift store demographic? During the summer, the garage sales up here are always great - rich people getting rid of expensive things they barely used. You really can't lose.

I brought up that fact to my coworker and that when you grow up with less money, you tend to value it more. I work hard for the money I make, so I want it to go as far as possible. When I shop, I tend to do so only when things are on clearance and even still I get buyer's remorse. I buy second-hand because you can easily find things at half the original price or less.

She said that she doesn't buy things used because she wants to know where they have been and how they've been used.

She said that she changed her mind on certain things, though, when she got pregnant and she started shopping garage sales for baby clothes. I asked her if she ever shopped at a thrift store (Goodwill, Salvation Army, Value Village, etc) and she said she would never. Curious, I asked her why. She said she was made to shop at thrift stores for clothes as a kid and she always felt dirty. I asked if it was because she was embarrassed that someone she knew would see her there and she said yes. In my mind, thrift stores are basically year-round garage sales, so why is there such a huge difference in how you would feel about one as opposed to the other?

I think that it's an interesting point of pride to some people to spend so much money on some things - even if it isn't the fiscally responsible thing to do. People envy you when you drive by in your brand new $30,000 car. I got mine used for $9,000 - why would you pay so much for something that the second you take ownership of, it loses so much of it's value?

The only thing I really ever *always* buy new are electronics. I want to read the reviews and know that it is going to work for a long time to come if I am investing so much money.

Being financially responsible doesn't mean you're poor - it means you're smart. Buying used is my way of doing something for the environment AND my wallet.