{"id":1708,"date":"2012-12-01T16:54:26","date_gmt":"2012-12-01T14:54:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/?p=1708"},"modified":"2013-08-21T12:25:28","modified_gmt":"2013-08-21T09:25:28","slug":"5-reasons-not-to-buy-new-things","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/5-reasons-not-to-buy-new-things\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Reasons Not to Buy New Things"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><a title=\"5 \u043f\u0440\u0438\u0447\u0438\u043d, \u043f\u043e\u0447\u0435\u043c\u0443 \u043d\u0435 \u0441\u0442\u043e\u0438\u0442 \u043f\u043e\u043a\u0443\u043f\u0430\u0442\u044c \u043d\u043e\u0432\u044b\u0435 \u0432\u0435\u0449\u0438\" href=\"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/?p=1740\">\u0427\u0438\u0442\u0430\u0442\u044c \u043d\u0430 \u0420\u0443\u0441\u0441\u043a\u043e\u043c \u044f\u0437\u044b\u043a\u0435<\/a><\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s the season of materialism and without realizing it we want new things!<\/p>\n<p>We want things that promise to make life better and more exciting.<\/p>\n<p>We think that we can&#8217;t live without these things even though we&#8217;ve lived without them our entire lives up to this point!<\/p>\n<h4><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"1711\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/5-reasons-not-to-buy-new-things\/sony-dsc-113\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/DSC01546.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"640,360\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;3.5&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Picasa&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;NEX-3&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1354378694&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;18&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;1600&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.066666666666667&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;SONY DSC&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"iphone box\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/DSC01546.jpg\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1711 aligncenter\" title=\"iphone box\" src=\"http:\/\/69.89.31.195\/~sukofami\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/DSC01546.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/DSC01546.jpg 640w, https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/DSC01546-300x168.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/DSC01546-460x260.jpg 460w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><!--more-->Before we follow the herd to local shopping malls and online dealers here are a couple of things to contemplate.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h4>New things tend to wear out faster<\/h4>\n<p>When we first got married our dining room table was one that my grandparents bought in the 1920&#8217;s it was well built! 100 years ago when people bought new things they expected them to last a lifetime and sometimes longer! Today you&#8217;re lucky if that new thing is still working great a year or two down the road!<\/p>\n<h4>New things cost more<\/h4>\n<p>It&#8217;s usually cheaper to fix the old then buy a new one! There are also hidden costs in that new thing. For instance, you might be able to get a good deal on new <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/s\/?_encoding=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;h=a37c90b22c924d1132907ca3015dbb34c3ca2c39&amp;keywords=iphone%205&amp;linkCode=ur2&amp;qid=1354354814&amp;rh=n%3A2407749011%2Ck%3Aiphone%205&amp;scn=2407749011&amp;tag=sukfam-20\" target=\"_blank\">iphone 5<\/a><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.assoc-amazon.com\/e\/ir?t=sukfam-20&amp;l=ur2&amp;o=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" border=\"0\" \/> but then you end up getting a case, a car charger and a few other accessories. All together you could easily spend 100-200$ than you weren&#8217;t planning on.<\/p>\n<h4>New things only make us feel better for a short time<\/h4>\n<p>That Christmas morning excitement that we feel when we hold our new thing in our hands doesn&#8217;t last for long. Once the shiny feeling has been tarnished we set out looking for more. The more often we buy new things the quicker we lose the &#8220;new thing feeling&#8221;.<\/p>\n<h4>New things are wasteful<\/h4>\n<p>I&#8217;m not just talking about the 10 layers of packaging on every new gadget. New things waste a lot of other things!<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>They waste space in our home<\/li>\n<li>They waste our time as we try to figure out how to use them<\/li>\n<li>They waste our money<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>New things make us want more new things<\/h4>\n<p>I once spent a week cleaning out the house of someone who was addicted to QVC! Over the years she spent nearly $100,000 on things she didn&#8217;t need and couldn&#8217;t use. Eventually the entire house was stacked to the ceiling with unopened boxes. Her family had to temporarily move out because there was no room left for them!<\/p>\n<p>This is the greatest problem with new things -they tend to make us greedy, materialistic and can be very addicting!<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>I&#8217;m not opposed to buying new things every once in awhile but we need to carefully consider our options. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you decide not to buy something new, here are a few alternatives.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h4>Invest in the old<\/h4>\n<p>My dad used to say (and probably still says!) &#8220;If I can&#8217;t fix it then it ain&#8217;t broken!&#8221; No doubt he saved our family thousands of dollars over the years by just fixing things!<\/p>\n<p>Fix something broken and make it new again. Use your hands and your brain to repurpose old things you have laying around your house.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Paint an old dresser<\/li>\n<li>Fix a broken chair<\/li>\n<li>Mend some clothes<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>Invest in relationships<\/h4>\n<p>Too often our shiny new things replace valuable time and energy that we could be investing into relationships!<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Invite a neighbor over for tea<\/li>\n<li>Make a phone call or even a trip to see friends far away<\/li>\n<li>Write a handwritten note<\/li>\n<li>Play with your kids<\/li>\n<li>Have a cup of coffee with your spouse<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>Invest in the eternal<\/h4>\n<p>How about giving to something we know will last forever? Consider a special gift to your church, helping out a missionary <a title=\"Support\" href=\"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/?page_id=483\">(I know a good one!)<\/a><\/p>\n<p>or looking for opportunities to share Jesus by serving your community!<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>The truth is Christmas is not about new things rather it is about a new life, a new heart and a new hope! Don&#8217;t let new things drown out the Joy of new life that Jesus came to give on the first Christmas!<\/strong><\/p>\n<h4>Question: How do you deal with the materialism of Christmas season?<\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><a title=\"5 \u043f\u0440\u0438\u0447\u0438\u043d, \u043f\u043e\u0447\u0435\u043c\u0443 \u043d\u0435 \u0441\u0442\u043e\u0438\u0442 \u043f\u043e\u043a\u0443\u043f\u0430\u0442\u044c \u043d\u043e\u0432\u044b\u0435 \u0432\u0435\u0449\u0438\" href=\"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/?p=1740\">\u0427\u0438\u0442\u0430\u0442\u044c \u043d\u0430 \u0420\u0443\u0441\u0441\u043a\u043e\u043c \u044f\u0437\u044b\u043a\u0435<\/a><\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s the season of materialism and without realizing it we want new things!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1711,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[31],"tags":[59,240],"class_list":["post-1708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-writing","tag-christmas","tag-materialism"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/DSC01546.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3izZc-ry","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6655,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/4-reasons-why-your-stuff-is-one-of-the-gospels-greatest-enemies\/","url_meta":{"origin":1708,"position":0},"title":"4 Reasons Why Your Stuff Is One of the Gospel&#8217;s Greatest Enemies","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"July 6, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"I have to admit there was a time in my life when Christina and I would walk through one of our favorite neighborhoods lined with turn of the century Victorian homes and Craftsmen style architecture. \"Wouldn't it be nice to have that one there?\" We would often ask as we\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Writing&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Writing","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/category\/writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/pablo-e1467752033396.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/pablo-e1467752033396.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/pablo-e1467752033396.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":46,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/church-in-the-park\/","url_meta":{"origin":1708,"position":1},"title":"Church in the Park","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"March 29, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"This is a new Russian Orthodox church in Cherkassy. 3 years ago when we were here they were still working on the exterior. Now it appears the exterior is mostly complete, with real gold domes and everything.The church is built right in the middle of a park. The church just\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General Updates&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General Updates","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/category\/updates\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":372,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/good-soil-in-kiev\/","url_meta":{"origin":1708,"position":2},"title":"Good Soil in Kiev","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"December 11, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"This morning I arrived in Kiev to take part in our first Ukrainian led \"Good Soil\" seminar. I had originally planned to drive, but when the snow started coming down on Thursday we changed our plans and bought a train ticket. The memories of last Decemberare still fresh in our\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Ministry&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Ministry","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/category\/ministry\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4298,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/what-these-ukrainian-self-defense-force-members-said-was-shocking\/","url_meta":{"origin":1708,"position":3},"title":"What These Ukrainian Self-Defense Force Members Said Was Shocking!","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"August 27, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Last week I met several members of Ukraine's Self-Defense force and what I learned from them was shocking! I spent the last five days with a bunch of our students hiking through Central Ukraine during what we call \"Extreme Institute.\" We camped in church yards and every morning and evening\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Ministry&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Ministry","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/category\/ministry\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/photo-8.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/photo-8.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/photo-8.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":19,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/train-benches\/","url_meta":{"origin":1708,"position":4},"title":"Train Benches","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"March 2, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"I showed a picture of this train bench yesterday afternoon while speaking at the Bible Study in Kuna. Right away a couple of people said, \"We used to have benches like that here.\"I grew up with these old train benches in our house. From ever since I can remember they\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General Updates&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General Updates","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/category\/updates\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":18,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/super-heroes\/","url_meta":{"origin":1708,"position":5},"title":"Super Heroes","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"March 1, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Have you ever wondered why little boys (and sometimes big boys) are so attracted to super heroes? Today we ate lunch with the Clancy's. They have a 4 year old daughter and a little boy who just turned 3. They also have a bunch of dress up clothes. When Mishael\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General Updates&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General Updates","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/category\/updates\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1708","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1708"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1708\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2968,"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1708\/revisions\/2968"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1711"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}