Deriving happiness from possessions

I always give it a fortnight before any non-essential purchase. If I still want it after a fortnight (99% of the time, I don't), then I'll consider shopping around for the very cheapest price for it.

I have in the past been guilty of whimsical impulse buys (my current car being one in partucular), which is why I now adopt the above strategy. It's made me realise if anything that I really don't need half the stuff I have, if not even better off without it.
 
All I ever wanted in life was a penis reduction.... I know it'll fix all my problems. I just can't handle watching around WITH THIS 20FT PYTHON IN MY PANTS MATE INIT!!!!!!
 
Steve2000 said:
I always give it a fortnight before any non-essential purchase. If I still want it after a fortnight (99% of the time, I don't), then I'll consider shopping around for the very cheapest price for it.

I have in the past been guilty of whimsical impulse buys (my current car being one in partucular), which is why I now adopt the above strategy. It's made me realise if anything that I really don't need half the stuff I have, if not even better off without it.
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That's a good method, I do the same. Not on purpose mind you, I'll just spend ages umming and ahhing, then realise if it's taken me this long to decide, I don't need it. I can also tell the things I really want, as I work out my finances to make sure I have an appropriate amount of excess income.
 
Isn't this just bog standard Retail therapy with perhaps a mix of Shopahollic thrown in?

I too am guilty of that too, buying things that I don't need, although that hasn't moved onto things like a car yet, although close at one point to change it just because but I saw sense.

What I do now is I wait a bit and if I still want it a few months later than I will get it. At least I know i've waited and it wasn't an impulse buy.

Although for expensive things I tend to think about it a lot more.

My phone for example is an iPhone 4, it just messaged me today about out of storage....so I am forced to an upgrade practically as It's barely running with many apps and music, just lots of old texts and photos.

I buy a new computer every 3-4 years, when it is too slow to run the software that I want.

But little things I am more terrible with, I have too many mugs, too many T-shirts, too many kitchen gadgets with the latest being a Burger press. I mean who needs a burger press? just do it by hand right?

But it feels good, thus retail therapy.
 
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wingman said:
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Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy **** we don't need. We're the middle children of history, man.
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Its not just advertising, its also laws, population density and safety net.

You don't have much choice but to buy an unsuitable stupidly priced house. Rather than life how you want. Like the rest of the EU. Would happily buy a piece of land and live in a yurt, ooh wait i cant in UK. But could in every other EU country.
So rather than living a cheap life and thus not need much money, i need a decent paid job just to pay 1/3rd to either rent or mortgage.
 
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Narj said:
You're probably going to go to Airways then? I've been learning at the South Downs and will be joining the club there once qualified.

If you think it's for you, you're probably looking at between £1500-2500 for a second-hand glider. I was told to go for an intermediate wing which is a bit faster but not quite as easy to land as the beginner single surfaces! There's absolutely no way you'd be looking at a "pro" glider to start with.

You'd need a harness, emergency parachute, flight suit and other accessories as well. In total, I'll probably end up spending about 5K getting started which sounds like a lot of money, but in all fairness, I was spending more than that on getting hammered over 8 or 9 months before I sorted myself out.

Best thing to do is book the EP 5 day course to make sure it's for you. You won't need to even think about buying your own stuff until you want to move on to the next stage.

HTH - mail in trust if you want to know anything else. :)
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Thanks for the info, I'll send you a trust!
 
Consumption is a drug, the more you consume the more you need to consume to feel happy.

I try to limit my usage these days and I'm much happier for it.
 
pitchfork said:
Consumption is a drug
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And I'm addicted :(

Maaaaan dat sweet nectar of 'stuff', waiting for packages to arrive, tracking them online, watching out of the window, eargerly awaiting the sight of dat delivery van, waiting for dat 'knock' at the door, slowly sliding a knife down the parcel-taped centre of the package.. to reveal the.. something I don't want anymore :D
 
I think most people have an odd sense of value when it comes to what they need, use or want, so many do little research to find the best quality for a reasonable budget and end up wasting money or getting something not as good.

I do like buying stuff but its only things i really need or want and use regularly, if i can keep something a long time which does the job i will, i also happen to save a lot of money and not need to work full time.
 
I think you are better putting the money towards a house or a car or holidays at least.

I live in a pretty bad area and in a small house. While it is great to finally own my first home I am currently not bying loads of fancy clothes or electronics that I don't need and only going on cheap holidays with the intenet of getting a much nicer house.

Don't want to be "hood rich".
 
I've been reading that damn Lego thread and now I have a strong urge to buy Lego! Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

Okay time to get some :)
 
I derive a great deal of pleasure from buying things. Sometimes it's stuff for me. Often it's not until the item has been delivered and opened, that I realise I shouldn't have bought it/can't afford it/don't need it.

However, since having children (3 of them, eldest is nearly 8) my motivations have changed. Now I buy stuff for them and get great pleasure from seeing their faces at Christmas and birthdays. This is a slippery slope: I know this is not only bad for me (my bank account) but also not very good for them, because if I'm not careful, they'll lose an appreciation of the value of things.

At the moment I'm buying mucho Lego, telling myself it's for my son's Christmas presents.

I also tell myself I'm doing my part for the economy and what the Government want me to do - spend, spend, spend. The nation's recovery depends on people using credit cards! ;)
 
I do indeed like buying stuff and have had various hobbies throughout my past that have changed etc, but I do always have the ability to apply the 'cooling off period' to purchases by leaving a week or two after seeing the product to decide if it will make a difference to me or just be another waste of money!
 
I have been feeling very similar recently.

In the last couple of months I have spent an obscene amount on a 50" TV, bike, new headset, mouse, games, holiday etc etc.

I too enjoy the thrill of the research phase, spending a week or 2 scouring every single review, forum comment and videos. Sometimes I think I enjoy this more than the actual products.

Also I tend to start at a reasonable budget but this invevitably gets stretched, often significantly.

Every month I am just waiting for payday thinking of what I can now buy that month. I have a constant backlog of things waiting for their turn.

I've recently been thinking about a ps4. My 360 has barely been used and I don't really know much about it yet but the research is slowly beginning. It seemed quite expensive at first, but of course this got me onto thinking my 4 year old pc could do with an upgrade instead. 10 minutes later I am looking at setups with graphics cards worth more than the ps4.

My disposable income has gone up a lot recently and im a bit out of control.
 
When it comes to upgrading/replacing things like cars, pc's, tv's, I find a lot of people are trapped in the buy-cheap-upgrade-often cycle. I much prefer to get something really nice and keep it a long time.
 
mpledge52 said:
Do what I did and propose to your gf. When you've got a wedding to save for you'll soon stop buying all that stuff.

I certainly did.... Although now I've got a massive list of 'things to buy' for after the wedding when I finally have some disposable income again :D
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So save money by saving up for the biggest waste of money ever :p?
 
i tend to use what i buy and take my time choosing, but recently i have noticed its not a good thing and im getting behind in life, im getting more interested in stocks and shares now which i hope will encourage me to save more, that said i do adore my car, one of the happiest times of my day is being in it, and its reliable happy, i smile evrytime i drive it
 
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