How does one refrain from buying CDs??

[ghost of miles]

How does one refrain from buying CDs?

I offered this in one of the other threads. Its somewhat complicated, but its definitely worked for me:

Buy a house with a mortgage you can barely afford.

This sounds suspiciously close to a certain political party's strategy re: taxes, the deficit, and cuts in federal spending!

I tend to enact one-month buying bans upon myself, in order to catch up with what I've already purchased. (I also do this with books, another "growth product" in the Johnson-McNellen household.) Problem is that I sometimes--ah, well, often--binge when that one-month period ends. Come day two of the aftermath, I can be found rolling back and forth on the floor, laughing maniacally in a sea of CD wrappers and sales receipts as I enter hour 25 of a new-music listening marathon...

[GA Russell]

My method is to listen to every CD I own before buying another. That can cause quite a delay!

[mikeweil]

SHEESH! I'm glad I'm not alone _ I thought it was only me !

C'mon! I don't believe a single word!!!

p.s. give up - or give in - it's useless

[mikeweil]

My method is to listen to every CD I own before buying another. That can cause quite a delay!

This always might bring up the desire for those still missing .....

[Noj]

How does one refrain from buying CDs??

Not by doing what I did today--spent 87 of the 90 dollars in my wallet, not leaving enough money for lunch. My ears are hungrier anyway.

[AmirBagachelles]

Since moving last summer, I have spent a lot of time listening to and looking at what I accumulated over the past few years, and I have been a net seller for about six months, some on the board, some on Ebay, even getting $4-5 per disc for the dregs at the Jazz Record Ctr. I can still sell for another two years and I won't have unloaded everything I would like. It feels great. Sell all the crap you don't listen to, never listened to, won't listen to very much, and you will be amazed at how low your purchasing appetite becomes. I did learn what I like most and what I get enthusiastic to maybe go hear live, and so I do spend more (now maybe $50-60/month) at the one store in NYC that caters to my tastes (Downtown). But I don't buy CDs anymore at Tower or J&R, where I used to lurk. My credit card statements look great. Invest your time selling, and you will learn a lot about your own tastes, and fill in the blanks about the value of your time and your money.

[Shawn]

Simple...UNEMPLOYMENT. I've been "between jobs" for many months now and I haven't bought a single CD...but I've had to sell quite a few. A humbling experience but it does put life in perspective....

[Jazzmoose]

I remember that approach, Shawn. Decimated my rock collection. Hope things pick up soon!

[gdogus]

Since moving last summer, I have spent a lot of time listening to and looking at what I accumulated over the past few years, and I have been a net seller for about six months [...] I don't buy CDs anymore at Tower or J&R, where I used to lurk.  My credit card statements look great.  Invest your time selling, and you will learn a lot about your own tastes, and fill in the blanks about the value of your time and your money.

That's some intriguing advice. I'm a pillar of self-restraint compared to some who've posted in this thread, but I do like the idea of concentrating on and exploring one's tastes as a way to reduce CD spending. Seems more productive, somehow, than an artificially-imposed buying ban or burying the jar of music money on the backyard, or whatever.

Edited April 10, 2004 by gdogus

[danasgoodstuff]

Losing my $ in poker machines works pretty well to cut down on my CD purchasing, unfortunately...

[LAL]

Well thanks y'all for the suggestions. Some methods described should be worth exploring, once I get over the current spending binge.