I have recently found myself, in conversation with acquaintances, making frequent references to a “rough economy” and also took a gander at how maybe it is time for a sea-change in our ways of thinking as consumers. Since then, I have begun to detect signs that this might not be as easy a transformation as I had hoped for. I wrote what I wrote before and then dwelled on it some more and came to the realization that our Western economic structure and out natural inclinations are against us in any such endeavour.

I imagine any real cynic will say that I should have deduced that from the outset but I am now and again just too guilty of being an idealist. I really hoped that with the need to tighten our belts that we would all start to find ways to do without the glittery and new and be happy (at least for the shorter term) with what we already possess. I was thinking that now would be an ideal time for a revival of the idea of maintenance over replacement, but then again, maybe not.

Really, you know it is going to be a hard sell when even your own government is against you – albeit inadvertently. I have always had a problem with the fact that with many consumer electronics so often it really is cheaper to replace something rather than maintaining what you already have. A while back I needed to replace the installed battery in my electric beard trimmer. The short of it is that any estimate I got on it would see me paying at least as much to replace the sodered in battery as it would cost for the latest model of that brand of trimmer. I ended up going and buying the new model and recycling the old one – but only because they could not guarantee a very long lifespan on the old one if I got the battery replaced. that was frustrating. Another example of this is with DVD players and CD players; If your player should up and stop working, then you might find that the cost of repairs may perhaps be as little as a few dollars (say for something like just a faulty disc loading mechanism), which is great, or it might set you back about as much as a brand new player would (if we are talking about more internal issues). Really,who would not want to go and purchase a brand new player for the similar price tag, especially if it should happen to come with additional bells and whistles and a brand new warranty to boot? I have also championed the conservation of your trusty kitchen appliances whenever possible, yet when I start hearing individuals protest that they could get a brand new appliance for just a little more than the expense of a few required appliance replacement parts, I am not astounded that they may choose to go the new route. I have read complaints on different household appliance forums from people who have discovered to their disappointment that the cost of the crock pot parts (such as a replacement lid or liner) that they require would probably end up costing them just about half the cost of that initial crock pot. Ouch. When the factor of cost is a wash in the equation then most folks will go for the new if for no other reason than we lack discipline on such issues, even while we know the benefits to the environment of following the mantra of ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’. I guess it is just a somewhat fuzzy concept in the back of our brains for the majority of us. Now we have this latest endeavor by the US Federal Government to kick start consumer spending by introducing its recent ‘cash for clunkers’ program which is encouraging Americans to get rid of their older car for a shiny new one. Now it may well be that the majority of the trade ins are in actuality near the end of their days of service, but I would not be bowled over to hear that a number of still decent cars got traded in along the way. Not stunned at all. Anyhow, at some point in the imminent future I genuinely do expect this discussion to take on a whole new feeling of urgency, but only time will tell…

Your decision to maintain or replace is not an easy one – even during these tough fiscal times.

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