you know – this is always represented in the news/etc as ‘a starbucks a day’ but i mean moreso a gadget or a shirt. i’m splurging on deodorant right now. is that immoral? are you meant to have a mostly austere budget until you’re a boomer with a house and a fence?
so uhh what’s the last little thing you bought to not go insane?
No way, I very rarely buy junk that I don’t need. Spending money makes me feel bad. I just buy what I need. If it’s something I REALLY want, then the pleasure of getting that thing might offset the unpleasantness of spending money, but it’s a calculated decision. For example I might buy 2 or 3 video games per year to help keep me entertained, but I won’t blow my money on tons of games I’ll never play during sales. If I see something in a store and think it looks cool or useful, I’ll normally just go home and think about it. I will usually decide that it’s just junk that I don’t need or want. If I really do want it, it will still be there later.
I have a 7-day rule to avoid impulse-buying. When I decide that I want something that’s not a necessity, I go wait for seven days. Usually, the need or desire is gone by then. If the desire is still there, I trust that I actually want the item or service, and I go ahead and buy it.
Every now and then, an item I want is on sale for only a short time. I still apply the 7-day rule, but I don’t buy at the higher price if I still want it and the sale is gone.
Saves me a good deal of money.