How do you justify buying something you want but don’t need?
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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!!
As long as my bills are paid and I have a steady income, if I want something, I'll usually buy it. If its something more frivolous or expensive, like the e-scooter I bought myself last year, I'll just wait for a good sale/deal. But if its something relatively cheap (like under $100), I usually just get it.
I don't want kids and I have no hope to ever owning a home where I live. Probably unlikely to retire unless I keep pushing at this job I have and hate but has a great pension. Might as well use my money while I can.
I have been trying to tighten up my finances though since, y'know, everything. But it's tough when I've become accustomed to spoiling myself.
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I agree with te cooling off period. Although I might argue the length of time. If I wait a year to decide on something, I know it won’t have as much interest as it did before.
I think, personally, there’s a period of do it now or just don’t bother. For motorcycles I’d be hesitant to wait a year and then buy one, and try to learn. The lessons from the training are still fresh.
Thank you for the bike story. I’m glad you’re still enjoying the bike and getting use out of it!!
I agree with te cooling off period. Although I might argue the length of time. If I wait a year to decide on something, I know it won’t have as much interest as it did before.
Obviously I'm not talking about everything having a 1 year waiting period, such as a $10 video game from Steam, but I waited close to 3 years before I spent well over $50,000 on solar panels for the house. Some large things just need time to work the numbers or gauge the value.
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That’s pretty straightforward as well! I’m sadly not wired that way but… I wish I was.Thanks for posting and the laugh.
That's literally what I thought the first time I saw someone snowboarding. There I was on my skiis and then zoom!
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As long as my bills are paid and I have a steady income, if I want something, I'll usually buy it. If its something more frivolous or expensive, like the e-scooter I bought myself last year, I'll just wait for a good sale/deal. But if its something relatively cheap (like under $100), I usually just get it.
I don't want kids and I have no hope to ever owning a home where I live. Probably unlikely to retire unless I keep pushing at this job I have and hate but has a great pension. Might as well use my money while I can.
I have been trying to tighten up my finances though since, y'know, everything. But it's tough when I've become accustomed to spoiling myself.
I’m in a similar situation, meaning, it’s just me. I have no one to answer to or take care of. If I want to do frivolous stuff I am free to do it.
Understood about both the job and finances. I would agree that the current state of things makes both a necessary evil to an extent.
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I make a simple calculation:
I divide X money over Y time.
I enjoy photography, and bough a fancy camera with a bonus at my last job.
In total I have probably spent 30k SEK on the camera and lenses, I bought it in early 2023, so let's say that I have had a year and a half to enjoy it, that is 18 months
30k/18months is about 1.7k/month so far, and in return I got thousands of photos, some of which can be found here:
Going to spend some time on your site! I so admire photographers. Skill I never tried to master, happy to see your work.
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That's literally what I thought the first time I saw someone snowboarding. There I was on my skiis and then zoom!
I truly envy your optimism and approach!! -
I agree with te cooling off period. Although I might argue the length of time. If I wait a year to decide on something, I know it won’t have as much interest as it did before.
Obviously I'm not talking about everything having a 1 year waiting period, such as a $10 video game from Steam, but I waited close to 3 years before I spent well over $50,000 on solar panels for the house. Some large things just need time to work the numbers or gauge the value.
Ok, fair enough. Yeah 50k on panels would definitely need more time for budgeting and planning.
Thanks for the qualifier!!
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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!!
Memory loss!
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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 make a wishlist. In Excel. With a due date. For small things, six weeks wait.
For something like a motorcycle, six months wait.
Then if I still want it when that day comes I buy it
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This is a pretty classic way of looking at things. I just can’t seem to get to that point.
Well, I work on an ambulance and every single day I interact with people that have regrets.
Don't be one of those.
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I truly hope you beat the stats and get to enjoy all the food / beer for can for a very long time!!
I've at least beat my father... He checked out at 56 in '89.
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Memory loss!
this is the best answer we’ve had in this thread so far!! -
I make a wishlist. In Excel. With a due date. For small things, six weeks wait.
For something like a motorcycle, six months wait.
Then if I still want it when that day comes I buy it
This is solid advice! The discipline or cooling off period is definitely a good strategy.
Appreciate your response!!
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Well, I work on an ambulance and every single day I interact with people that have regrets.
Don't be one of those.
I will take this advice and try to be better about it. I can only imagine what you see / deal with in your line of work.
Thank you for doing what you do!!
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I've at least beat my father... He checked out at 56 in '89.
I’m rooting for you to be the destroyer of the statistics!!
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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'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.
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That is quite interesting. I didn’t do any long term calculations to see if I could identify a monthly spend.
I may do that for this situation and future projects. Thanks for bringing this up.
Also, your photos are great!! Is the metapixl instance federated in Pixelfed? I tried to look you up directly in the app I use and didn’t find anything.
Thank you for posting!!
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...
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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!!
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.
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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 give myself an allowance, just like when I was a kid. Whatever I spend it on is guilt free.
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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!!
wrote last edited by [email protected]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.
