How do you justify buying something you want but don’t need?
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I put most of those types of “wants” on a timer. As in I put the link on a wishlist. If a week or two later I still actively want it and think about it and it’s within my fun money budget then I get it. More often than not I have the impulse just in the moment and forget about it again 1-2 days later.
Great approach, others have mentioned this as well. Impulse buys can be a slippery slope for sure!!
Thank you!
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I have high hopes the boardgames I've been buying lately will see the light of a game table at least once
If you create a rule that doesn’t require actually playing the games you could just put them on a table…
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Do I have the money ?
yes
Do I need to pay for something else with that money ?
no
Will I enjoy that new thing ?
yes
Let's buy it
I appreciate the simplicity in this. I genuinely wish I could think like that… and not just for buying things.
Appreciate your perspective!!
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I give myself some amount per month to spend no questions asked, so I don't have to feel guilty about it. If it's more than what I give myself in a month then I either save for a while or if I have the money upfront and it needs to be bought now I diminish the amount I give myself for the next X months to compensate.
I was thinking about this as well. For this item I can buy it outright. Then I start thinking about what is the impact in the coming months.
Do I save more to recoup faster… do I not care, haha.
Thank you for responding!!
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Well, I understand the struggle. I'll look at that shiny new thing (let's say a video card for instance) and I'll think "well, the old works well enough, and I'll just be throwing the old one out, or it will sit in my drawer for a decade and then I'll throw it out".
Or, when something breaks, I'll think, well I could replace it, but I can probably just fix it. Surely it's not a waste of time to spend 5 hours and $30 at the hardware store to fix a 20 year old toaster. Surely.
And I'm really quite good at fixing stuff, so the temptation is always there. And part of it is the environmental side, it just feels wrong to throw something that mostly works into a landfill. Like if that toaster won't turn on at all, it's probably just the power button that broke, or a thermal fuse that blew. In those cases, that's a device that is 99% fine and the fix isn't all that hard. I can't bring myself to just buy a new one and unnecessarily add to my carbon footprint.
On the other hand, sometimes you just need to eat your pride. For instance, we ended up with some very difficult kids, so life has gotten challenging. And given the everyday challenges, sometimes I just need an immediate solution for things. Sure, I could fix this, sure I could probably get this media server working, sure we're perfectly capable of cleaning up after ourselves... But right now that feels too hard so screw it, let's just buy a new one, and to hell with the media server, we'll just pay for Netflix and Disney+, and you know what, let's get someone to help clean our house once a month. Sometimes it's just about doing the things that you need to do to take care of yourself.
And yes, I needed that video card for my personal sanity.
5 hours and 30$ on a toaster… surely indeed!!
Appreciate the humor and the point you are making. Sometimes it’s easier to spend on a want than not spend.
I 100% agree on the video card!! I hope you enjoy it immensely!!
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I give myself an allowance, just like when I was a kid. Whatever I spend it on is guilt free.
I should do this, but in the context of large purchases it might be difficult. Although if I gave myself a big raise for my allowance, it might speed things up!!
Appreciate your response!!
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That's what Xmas is for. Being asked what I want by family is frustrating because I don't really want things, and few things I do, I just buy.
So anything I might like but can't justify buying goes into the Xmas list for other's to buy.
Hmmm
I wonder if I could get my family to buy me a motorcycle?! I’ll have to think about that one.Agreed though, any gift giving holiday is probably a good way to get something you may not buy for yourself. This is a good approach.
Thanks for sharing you thought!!
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I'm a nut for buying crappy, used guns. All I see is an opportunity to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. I'm like that with many used goods. "What can I do with this thing?!"
Dialed it in a bit. Now I stop and think total cost of ownership. And that can be applied to many purchases. I'll talk guns, but keep other sorts of items in mind.
How much will the initial spend really cost? Taxes, fees, shipping, etc.? Was looking at a $105 shotgun just now. Total delivered cost? $150 or so. Yeah, not such a deal with that in mind.
What do I need to go with it? Ammo I don't have? Scope/sights? Sandpaper and stain? Sling? Butt stock pad? What will I spend to get this gun where I want it?
Bought a new, single-shot, 12-gauge Hatfield shotgun off guns.com. $129.99! I can do that! Taxes and shipping, another $20. FFL fee, another $20. Red dot sight with mount, another $130 (stupid cheap, but believe it or not, it's quality). Strap and shotshell holder I made from spare parts I already had, still, another $25 bought new. American flag patch nailed upside down? $2. None of this includes cleaning and oiling supplies. A $130 shotgun cost me $327. Not adding anything for stain and sandpaper and such. Also, added a butt pad I already owned. Call it $350 and several nights of work. TCO was 2.7x the initial price.
So that's my thoughts. Total Cost of Ownership. Keep it in mind.
I like the TCO angle. I did some of that when thinking about a motorcycle. It’s not just the motorcycle itself. It’s not even just the taxes, tags, etc.
It’s locks, covers, spare parts, trailer (if it breaks down), crash guards, other riding gear, etc.
While it’s not fundamentally bad, a lot of folks may not consider the “all in” price.
Great point and thanks for the response!!
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I've been doing this with a guitar I want. Gotta put 100 hours in on my current guitar to earn it! Got a nice little progress bar to help gamify it lol.
This is a really great approach! I’m a little stuck since I don’t already have one to ride.
Thanks for this! Something to keep in mind for the future!!
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I'm an odd case, as I'm in a throuple. So we can do the rule of 3 by vote alone
But fr, its more like discussing and airing wants vs need vs cost over a few sessions to make sure it's something we want and sits well with everyone.
I feel like a dummy, I had no clue what “throuple” was… after looking it up, oooooh couple but for three people
️Got it, I can see how that would require a consensus of opinion!!
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You can either embrace the ADHD, or fight it. Ultimately which you prefer is up to you and your individual situation. The downside of embracing it is for sure gonna be financial, the downside of fighting it is gonna be emotional/mental anguish.
Having a new hobby every month can be fine if you know it's gonna be the thing. Don't invest too heavily even if it "really feels like this is finally the one". Or, you can focus on a hobby that does constantly change, videogaming is of course one example. The other thing is, you may develop the ability to steer your interest back to previous hobbies. Just know that there is a bit of a wall to climb to get back into a hobby you dropped, it's gonna feel a whole lot taller of a wall than it really is but a little push can be enough to clear it without burning out.
Edit: joining a social community for each hobby is a good way to naturally swing your interest back to it every now and then.
Thanks for this!! Not sure which side of the ADHD I am on right now.
You bring up a great point about the social aspects of hobbies. It would probably help a lot.
Now if I could just get past the social anxiety
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All the other details are ultimately just calculating how much you want it and how much you can afford it.
How much want is a good comment / thought. I wish I could quantify want, in the context of a purchase.
Although that would probably just make it worse
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Thank you for your kind words, I have used the "cost-per-time-index" for several years now, and it really helps to make up my mind.
Metapixl is indeed a pixelfed instance, I even use the standard pixelfed app on iOS...
Got it, I’ll take another look. It may be the instance I am in that is having the issue. If I find you, I’ll definitely follow you!
Thank you again!
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Hmmm
I wonder if I could get my family to buy me a motorcycle?! I’ll have to think about that one.Agreed though, any gift giving holiday is probably a good way to get something you may not buy for yourself. This is a good approach.
Thanks for sharing you thought!!
Motorcycle might be hard, through they might contribute.
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Hello again Lemmy! I have another question.
Context: I took a motorcycle safety class, was nervous but enjoyed it, researched motorcycles, found a few I liked, talked to a dealer about them but ultimately, I couldn’t finalize a deal, talked myself out of it basically
I was curious how others might justify a purchase that has no purpose other than wanting something.
For clarity, I don’t need anyone to justify me buying a motorcycle. I want to read about your thought processes for buying something you want
As always thanks for replying and have an awesome day/night!!
I have actually found valid reasons to own a motorcycle:
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any trip on the bike is 60 % less gas than by car
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my occasional commute from rural to city: car needs to be put in a garage for 25 € / 8 hrs. Bike rides up the elevator to the office, free.
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riding saves up the car for the winter, when it's most needed.
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bike maintenance is cheap and diy-able.
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the pleasure of riding: priceless.
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I have actually found valid reasons to own a motorcycle:
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any trip on the bike is 60 % less gas than by car
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my occasional commute from rural to city: car needs to be put in a garage for 25 € / 8 hrs. Bike rides up the elevator to the office, free.
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riding saves up the car for the winter, when it's most needed.
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bike maintenance is cheap and diy-able.
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the pleasure of riding: priceless.
This is great! Thank you for sharing!
Sadly, for me, it would just be pleasure riding. I was looking for ways to make it more valid but, I can’t find any.
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