These Trinkets Were Once Treasures

I’ve just tried to organize my bedroom.  And what have I found?  Hundreds and hundreds of items.  Or, if you can say, trinkets, that were once treasure.  It’s a song line from Bon Jovi, titled Lost Highway.  Really, what I consider important in the past, seems very trivial right now.

My current profession is a valuer, so I tend to translate items into money.  Let’s count what cost me to buy those things I can actually live without.

1. Tens of audio cassettes, let’s say 50, each about Rp.20,000-25,000.  That’s Rp.1,000,000.
2. Hundreds of computer CDs (games, softwares, etc).  Let’s say another 200, each about Rp.10,000-25,000.  That’s Rp.4,000,000.
3. Hundreds of movie and MP3s, Rp.5,000 each.  Let’s say 200, that’s Rp.1,000,000.
4. Hundreds of books (and keep counting).  Let’s say about 250, ranging about Rp.30,000-350,000.  Well.  This is the biggest chunck of my cost each month.  It’s quite hard to quantify, but let’s say about Rp.50,000 each.  That’s a whopping Rp.12,500,000.
5. What more?  Electronics.  This is the biggest single expense in modern life.  Okay, this computer (cost about Rp.12,000,000)  is out of context, because I need this one.  What I didn’t really need is my PDA (Rp.2,900,000), handphones (Rp.4,000,000++, but I gave them to my brother), and my CD player (Rp.2,000,000).
6. My clothes.  Many many of them I use no more now.  Each about Rp.50,000-300,000.  Let’s say 50.  That’s about Rp.10,000,000!
7. Anything else?  My playstation (Rp.1,000,000).  Right now I still love my Nintendo DS (Rp.1,700,000).
8. Miscellanous.  Let’s say another Rp.1,000,000.

So, that’s add up to… Rp.53,000,000 including everything, Rp.41,000,000 excluding my computer, or Rp.35,000,000 if half of my books is of use (and not imported and/or overpriced).

I’ve incurred a cost of over Rp.35 million in the course of, let’s see… 3 years.  That’s Rp.12 million in a year, or about Rp.1,000,000 a month.  I started with a salary of Rp.1,500,000 a month.  So, I was spending more than half of my salary for trinkets then (maybe more).  But wait, let’s count my total income in my working life… umm… about Rp.90 million.  Okay, so I’ve doubled my college fee, but I spent a third of my money on trinkets… how sad.  The money I should invest, and grow…

Now I get much more than that, but… after this realization, I save, and invest.  I better loaded up with assets than with trinkets.  Why?

Wait, before we got there, let’s count the value of my trinkets…

Books… maybe 25% of my cost… about Rp.3,000,000.  Audio cassettes and computer CD… worthless.  Electronics… worthless.  Playstation… worthless (broken).  DS (maybe Rp.600,000).  This computer maybe Rp.2,000,000.  The scrap value of my trinkets is Rp.5,600,000.  That’s less than 15% of the cost incurred!!!  No wonder many people stay in middle class all their life, if they live like me all the time.  No matter how big the income, the toys keep getting more and more expensive.  A Nokia N-series or iPhone will cost me more now than ever.

Okay, so what’s the better way to live?  I can’t hold my shopping.  That trinkets were once treasures, remember?  They were important (some are very important even) to me some time in my life.  Well, I still shop, but I’m shopping things that can go up in value.  Now I don’t collect CDs anymore.  I collect stocks.  I don’t collect electronics anymore besides the essential.  I collect apartments (only one actually).  I told my loved one to collect gold if they wish to shop, instead of fancy clothes or shoes.

I can’t say that I’m going to be rich soon, but if I’m to be a collector, I better be collect things that can go up in value.  Only several things fit this definition.  Books can provide knowledge, and it will give interest exponentially, so that’s still OK.  Electronics is a big no.  CDs are also a big no.  Luckily I have internet now, so the boring computer is no more.  There’s always something new in the net.  Toys… No.  Clothes… maybe a few choice ones (and hopefully cheap).  What fits the definition are:  real estate (house, apartment, land, shophouse, kontrakan, etc), stocks (sure…), art (if I know what I’m doing), and gold.

Common sense?  Yep!  But sometimes common sense is not so commonly done.  There’s shopping malls, advertising keep calling us to buy.  And friends that are keeping up with the Joneses.  Whew.  These days…