Store it at the store

There's a fantastic article in the New York Times by Penelope Green today. It reveals how we make unsound financial decisions when we're feeling the pinch. We'll spend dollars on gas to drive across town to save a few pennies. We'll cut coupons but not cable. We seem to lose our heads.

The advice that hit home for me -- living, as I do, in a small Brooklyn apartment -- is "store it at the store". Leslie McKee, a family manager in Pittsburgh interviewed by Ms. Green, describes how families will buy too many bulk "bargains" without being able to easily store them at home. Then, she explains, they hire her to help organize it all. Not only that, they'll actually use the items much faster than they normally would, erasing any of the savings.

I love me my Costco membership, and there are currently 38 rolls of toilet paper in my apartment. But this article made me stop and wonder: is it worth it?

At Costco, I buy 30 rolls at a time, at a price of $1.02 each.

At my favorite grocery store, I get one roll at a time for $1.29.

For 38 rolls, that's nearly a $10 difference -- a fair savings. I gotta admit, though, I'd pay $10 to not have to dust my toilet paper mountain for the next three months. What was I thinking?

Being placemental

A place for everything and everything in its place.

It's the simplist organizing mantra, and it works:

I put a bowl by my front door, and I don't lose my keys.
I bought a purse with one more pocket, and I remember my phone.
I put a simple tray on a table, and the mail is in one place.

Genius!

You use your judgment to make a decision once, and then you have a place forever. It's done. Your mind can move on to more pressing matters. What's hard is that you have to actually make the decision. You have to sit down and evaluate, research, discuss, negotiate -- whatever -- and properly figure it out. That takes time and effort, and if you're as lazy as I am, you'd much rather eat a snack and read a magazine.

It's OK. There's no need for a big uber-system; just start. Pick a place in your life where you keep making the same decisions over and over (What do I need at the grocery store? How much should I spend on my friend's birthday? Do I email or handwrite my thank-you notes?), and use your good judgment to make the decison once and for all. Then move on.