Your possessions possess you

Having recently moved (only about 300 feet, but it was still an ordeal), I can attest to the truth of the headline. Way too many books. Way too many CD's. And too few items I felt comfortable throwing out, though I did dispose of some (cancelled checks from 2001, and the like).

Yet here I go again. Bought a bike yesterday (old one too expensive to fix). Bought a camera a few days before (want to have something better than my tablet to take pictures with). As an economist would say, I have a very modest propensity to save. I always think, Wow, what if I had just 10% of every bit of income I've ever had. I'd be loaded.

I have all this STUFF, despite the fact that I've never had much money. Yes, I know that's an example of The Butterfield Effect. Buddhists say to want is to suffer. I guess I should've suffered more, and wanted less. This notion is about to get a trial, as my credit card approaches its limit. I'm about to do the most un-American thing one can conceive of-live within my means for a while. Suffer!