Time and Money

Have you noticed how the situation you are in effects your attitude to spending money, to your assessment of how much should be spent and when to bargain?

It is strange how different times and places create different behaviour in us. When haggling abroad we can get very excited about fifty cents. Most of the time, we’ll have a default amount to be worried about, maybe 20-50 Euros. Of course, we put an extra zero on if we are spending money of someone else, such as our employer. Then there are other times, for example during moving house, when we are making so many purchases at such speed that we lose our discipline. How many of us have casually bargained away a couple of thousand Euros when buying or selling a house? Think how much haggling in Greek markets that equates to! And then there is the fitting and furnishing. There is a period when we just value progress more than value, where we are prepared to make major decisions and fritter away cash at a rate we are not used to.

Maybe it is a good thing, as otherwise our stress levels might escalate out of control and our capacity to damage relationships with it. There is obviously a trade off with time and stress involved. Yet I’m sure many of us look back at a moving time months later and ask ourselves how we managed to spend so much so quickly and with so little discipline. I’m not sure there is a solution, beyond being aware of the risks.

Though I do know it is worth stepping back a bit and doing some currency conversion when on holiday. Fancy rejecting that beautiful top just because the trader wouldn’t come down from three Euros to two Euros! Enjoy a good haggle, then spend anyway, as long as you have space in your luggage. If not, nowadays you might find the top costing you forty Euros, courtesy of Ryan Air.

These thoughts are prompted by my recent house moves. It is said that moving house trails only death and divorce in the degree of stress it gives us. I think I’ve moved up to 20 times in my life – in contrast to one divorce and not many deaths of loved ones – and I’ve always thought this was a bit exaggerated. It is tough, but not that tough really. Anyway, here are another couple of thoughts from the house move.

First, moving always reminds me of the respect I should give manual workers. A couple of Fridays ago I endured a day of heavy lifting of furniture and I hated it. My body is still complaining at me two weeks later and the bruises on the insides of my wrists are still there. This was after a small shift compared with what the professionals put in day after day. Admittedly they have some tools and some techniques to make their burden lighter, but even so fair play to them for what they achieve. With the influx of Asians and East Europeans, it is hard to make much of a living doing this sort of thing, yet manual workers work hard, hard, hard.

Next, my love for IKEA was only made stronger by moving. What a marvellous concept, and what flawless execution. Everything about IKEA just oozes quality of operation and customer service. The selection is fantastic. The design is superb, balancing creativity with cost and practicalities such as parcel size and ease of assembly. The workers in the store are well trained. And every aspect of the experience has been tested again and again. My main visit was during the day on a Friday, and the experience was a pleasure, at least until the heavy lifting started. Even paying the bill was fun, as we tried to push five trolleys through the checkout, and the total was small for what we bought. Then I had to go back on Sunday afternoon for a return and a couple of extra purchases, which allowed me to observe IKEA and full stress level. Despite the crowds of people everywhere, their relentless operational focus meant that the bottlenecks were ironed out. The visit was hardly fun but still impressive. What a great place. And how on earth do they deliver that quality at that price in their restaurant?

Finally, I’m sure it is available if I look on the internet, but I’d love to have had access to a simple checklist of items to keep handy during the chaos of the move. Some are obvious, such as keeping a kettle handy at both ends for workers and yourself, and keeping a close watch on true valuables like jewellery and passport. But we made many mistakes with less obvious items. Would you believe we sent over a kettle and coffee but forgot to send any mugs? You can never have enough black bags or kitchen towels. I kept a close eye on my mobile but managed to bury the charger, thereby rendering the mobile useless after a short period just when it was most needed.

So roll on move twenty one, I’ll try not to make any mistakes. And welcome back to normal times, with spending returning quickly to a more comfortable level.