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But that article featured a rather foolish person. Who stocks up on $7 cans of artichokes?

My mom! She stocks up on everything. People in my family have been known to buy a dozen $3 frying pans because they were a 'great deal'. It drives me insane - I am very minimalist because of it. I only buy what I need and I only buy in bulk if I'm out (or close). I don't need 5 bulk packages of paper towles... but I think my great aunt does. :) At least it doesn't go to waste. Sometimes they 'deep clean' and donate things they've had forever. It's a vicious cycle - buying a lot then deep cleaning. It's not, however, for me!

My mom was a hoarder, too. She blamed it on growing up in the Great Depression. I didn't swing entirely the other way, but I will never make stale Cheerios into cookies like she did, either! (YUK!)

Bargains are tempting, even for me, though -- discipline if hard, and I just lecture myself before every possible impulse buy, "only buy it if you have an actual USE for it, right now -- not later on, and not if you might THINK of a use!" It works about 90% of the time, maybe! ;^)

Great article! And timely - I've been getting swamped with store coupons in the great holiday gear-up this week, and it's hard sometimes to step back and think about what I really want or need.

I find it helps me to think of the relative cost - how many Starbucks orders would equal this sweater, and which would I rather have. Everyone has different must-haves, and it's interesting to see those differences surface in tighter economic times.

I just hope these economic times... hoping people cut back on their stuff will recondition themselves not to buy things they don't need or a bunch of crap when the economy does get better. Americans consume way too much and this is the way the universe or the economy is saying stop it already.

I went over a friend of a friend's house who has two small children..I shuttered to see all the Toys Are US kind of crap laying around, mountains of junk toys, then their was the Costco items a rediculous amount of snacks and processed foods in the cabinets. No wonder we have obesity which is a direct effect of having too stuff and not playing out doors and being fueled by crappy food. Sad to say this is the average household.

If buying a 40-pack of toilet tissue for $9.99, when it's usually $3.49 for a 4-pack bunker mentality, call me guilty. But I actually call it economical.

I am not allowed to go to Big Lots anymore for just this reason...

My dad still has trash bags from the seventies in his basement stash. How do I know? The people on the package have Brady Bunch hair and the bags themselves feature groovy flowers. He's not holding onto them because they're cool, they're just part of the backstock of trash bags - about a hundred boxes or so. I don't want to talk about the cake mix. There is a LOT of cake mix. Stale, old cake mix.

I never want to be like that, so I have some rules about only buying what I really use and only stocking up on things I go through quickly. That said, I did just get a BJs membership, because there ARE things I go through regularly - cans of tomatoes, toilet paper of course, cans of selzter, etc. I do get the sense of security that comes with knowing I won't run out of something. But limited space keeps me in control.

The pen/suit example is brilliant. I think most of us have a lot more experience buying pens rather than suits. I can tell you exactly what a “good” price is for canned salmon, saltines or a green bell pepper. A hot water heater or tires for my car, not so much…