How do you justify buying something you want but don’t need?
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A friend of mine retired and later told me he has too much money saved and he wished he had spent it more when he was younger.
wrote last edited by [email protected]I know several people in the exact opposite situation though, which is rough to put it lightly.
A happy medium might be to think of retirement like any of your other bills and then play around with what's left over.
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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 want it and I have money for it. That's all the justification I need.
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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:
That's still quite an investment. Not many people have 1.7k/month to spend on a hobby.
I don't mean this as a criticism, of course, if you can afford it and it brings you joy then it's worth it.
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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 a fun budget. A % of my monthly surplus goes I to it, and everything (excluding food) that I want rather than need come out of that pot.
I then have no guilt over spending my fun money, unless I think I could have more fun using it for something else.
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That's still quite an investment. Not many people have 1.7k/month to spend on a hobby.
I don't mean this as a criticism, of course, if you can afford it and it brings you joy then it's worth it.
wrote last edited by [email protected]1.7K SEK is about 154€ EUR or 180$ USD.
So its not insane money. Still a bit, but not as bad as it may seem.
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Don't overthink it. Life is too short.
But also: Don't underthink it. Life is too long.
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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 don't usually do it, so when I do it it means that I really like that thing.
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1.7K SEK is about 154€ EUR or 180$ USD.
So its not insane money. Still a bit, but not as bad as it may seem.
Ah, sorry, I did a default $£€ assumption! My bad!
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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 research, then set it aside for a while (dependent on cost, cheaper = less time, expensive = more). If I'm still seriously thinking about it after that time, and I have enough of a budget that it won't cause issues, let's say if I have to put it on a credit card and can't pay it off without interest, then I generally will buy it.
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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!!
For starters, I have a one week grace period - If I still want it after a week, I can proceed if:
- I've spent more money on less amounts of fun/enjoyment than the new item gives me. (as in, it's not the stupidest purchase I've made),
- My credit cards are at zero.
Beyond that it's basically "I can afford it, and I want it. Why not?"
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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!!
Entertainment is valuable, it's what helps us get through the stuff we don't want to do. Looking forward to, or fondly remembering back on, the stuff we did/do for fun.
Budget for it. If what you want fits in that budget, and there is no other downside preventing you, then go for it.
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But also: Don't underthink it. Life is too long.
Not for me. I'm not sticking around all that much longer. I'm already past the time I thought I'd check out. Men in my family didn't make it past 60. My brother made it 5 years ago. I've got 3 to go. And I'm not actively trying to extend life. Give me all the great food & beer I can manage. Cheers!
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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!!
If I buy it I'll forget about it.
If I don't buy it, I'll spend the next twenty years thinking about that cool think I didn't buy when I had the chance.
It was a stupid little statue of a fairy sitting next to a mirror and I still wish I'd brought it.
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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]At one point I had a change jar. At the end of my day all my pocket change went in the jar and I forgot about it. This had multiple benefits: any purchase I made during the day took at least five bucks out of my pocket (no $1 or $2 notes in my country), so I had to think about it carefully. I always had money in the house, but in a form that made it inconvenient to spend. And after a couple years of ignoring the jar, I had about $200 that was outside my normal budget. I could spend it how I wanted! If I felt like buying a couple hundred bucks worth of jellybeans, I could do it without guilt.
Now I'm no longer single. My wife steals my change to buy leftover fabric swatches at car boot sales. That makes it harder but man, I deserve a Lego pirate ship.
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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!!
We have a rule of three. If there's something you see that you want and end up coming back to it 3 or more times, you buy it.
I've gotten a number of items this way, like my Deadpool jersey. I couldn't justify spending like $40 on it to myself, but I really liked the design and material. I kept finding my way back to the stand, so I bought it at the direction of my wife before we left. I love that thing in the winter because it keeps me cozy without making me sweat.
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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 don't. I get things I want if they will not jepordize things I need. So there needs to be excess slack in the budget.
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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 find cultivating some creative outlet and hobbies provides a resilience against my desire to ride the hype on the latest thing/tech/game/book/etc. Also using lists, waiting for sales, and spending more money where I spend most of my time.
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I find cultivating some creative outlet and hobbies provides a resilience against my desire to ride the hype on the latest thing/tech/game/book/etc. Also using lists, waiting for sales, and spending more money where I spend most of my time.
This is a good way to look at it. Invest in something with long term benefit vs spending on fads.
Appreciate this!
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I don't. I get things I want if they will not jepordize things I need. So there needs to be excess slack in the budget.
For you, is it specifically just financial aspects? I often look at the graveyard of hobbies and say… I just can’t do it again
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We have a rule of three. If there's something you see that you want and end up coming back to it 3 or more times, you buy it.
I've gotten a number of items this way, like my Deadpool jersey. I couldn't justify spending like $40 on it to myself, but I really liked the design and material. I kept finding my way back to the stand, so I bought it at the direction of my wife before we left. I love that thing in the winter because it keeps me cozy without making me sweat.
This is interesting. The rule of three for bigger things, how does that work? Do you say “this is the third time I’ve researched/looked at/talked to some about, it’s time to do it”?
Appreciate the response.
