Deriving happiness from possessions

Mickie said:
Do what makes you happy, you only have one life.
Click to expand...

Best comment in this thread ;)

I'm also a fond believer in this. If you don't have problems in impulse buying, you will only have problems and worries elsewhere in life. Drink/drugs/love etc. If waiting for that shiny new AV receiver, speakers, gadgets makes you happy then i can't see the harm in it really except if you go overboard and end up in huge debt. To combat the huge debt, i always buy used goods, and if the goods i'm looking to buy are only slightly more than the ones i'm replacing them with after selling them, then this gives me enough of a buzz and keeps me happy. I'm not the type to want the latest and greatest, but i appreciate good gear.

I do think it's important to have more than a techy type of hobby though. As you begin to go cold on the techy hobby and the urge to upgrade, you can always switch hobby and do some gym, fishing or whatever else you enjoy.
 
Last edited:
Skidder said:
I don't buy stuff i don't use but i am prone to burning bright with hobbies and then going off them.
Click to expand...

This. Like a short attention span. I use everything that I buy, but I'm also impulsive, massively. New skis, watches, car parts, home cinema stuff... no think, just click, then ahhh **** better work out how to balance this! I've tried to rein it right in now. No more watches for a bit and I spent about 700quid today, but 300 of that was on consumable car parts for the saxo (needs parts to keep it working) and upgrading flights was 400. I didnt NEED to upgrade flights, but windmilled in and did it because I wanted the tier points. Didn't consider the 10k CC to clear in a week :rolleyes:

I get a lot of **** about this from the mrs too. Our main pain point really. I use my watch list on ebay A LOT haha to stop me buying. If I wasn't resisting I'd have bought the Alpine ICS-X7HD and Monitor Audio RX6s I've been after but again, I need to wait. I don't NEED any of them, but to me I end up justifying the purchases to myself in my own ways lol
 
I posted about minimalism a while back, which is basically stripping yourself of this materialistic cushion to pursue things that actually make you happy, and it went down like a sack of ****.

One of my female friends has been trying to quit drinking. She finds herself bored on evenings now, mindlessly shopping to fill the void.

Shopping as a hobby is perfect for consumerism.
 
Outline said:
I posted about minimalism a while back, which is basically stripping yourself of this materialistic cushion to pursue things that actually make you happy, and it went down like a sack of ****.
Click to expand...

Lol I remember that. Classic GD moment
 
If you've read "59 Seconds" by Richard Wiseman there is a good section early on about materialism. Research has shown that apparently it derives from low self esteem in childhood. When asked to create an image of something that makes them happy, nerdy kids drew computers and toys, whereas cool kids/jocks drew sport or friends/family.

Research has also shown that money is better spent on life experiences than material possessions. Objects inevitably become a source of disappointment and need for more, better objects as they become obsolete and worn, However; memories of an experience are warped in the mind to enhance the good parts of the experience etc, and filter out any negative memories. Also the experience keeps on giving as you can share it with people in the future through conversation.

From that you could extrapolate that the amount of "look what I bought" threads on OCUK shows that many users were/are geeky little kids with no friends?!

Still it's nice to have shiny things every once in a while. Me and the mrs have noticed that we are pretty materialistic and value posessions maybe more than our friends, but we try to ensure that we keep a balance on experiences/objects.
 
Last edited:
I'm exactly like that. Just can't help it.

Got an iPad Air on release day. By that night I thought I fancied starting up an aquarium again, so was all night looking at on aquarium websites.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom