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?
ima be real chief it ain’t gonna fuckin matter if I go spend $30 or not on an electronic gadget once in a while, the chances of me landing in home ownership are still gonna be 0.0%. fuck it we ball, i might as well have toys to play with that makes the tism happy
You know it’s kind of funny in a way that people keep telling us to cut out all unnecessary spending to make it further than just paycheck to paycheck instead of just raising wages so we can afford those little things.
But I don’t think they take into account that our economy is almost entirely supported by our endless consumerism.
If we take their advice and stop buying ourselves little treats and toys the whole economy collapses, it’s completely unsustainable without them nickel and diming us to death yet they refuse to give us even pennies.
I honestly wonder what their backup plan is when they eventually do get all the money and there’s none left for us to give them anymore.I saw a job today that I fit the criteria for and pays around double what I currently earn. Out of interest I though I’d look at what house I could afford on that salary in my area.
The answer is none. I can afford no houses in my area even on double what I earn in a quite high up management position.
No, I hate buying things. It literally feels bad, and I put it off as long as I can or group it together so I can get it over with all at once.
I’m more-or-less inured to grocery shopping, and do it every other day, but it’s easier to think of it as “restocking” rather than “shopping”. No decisions to make, I know in advance what things cost, and so on.
But buying something I haven’t bought before, or at a store I haven’t been to before? Torture.
I thought I was the only one. I dread spending money, I feel worse every time I do it. So usually I only buy something if the previous thing that I had broke down. I also never buy food outside of groceries. I wear clothes until they turn to rags too lol. There are a couple of exceptions such as audio books (audible sub), PC upgrades (once every 6-7 years) and Steam games (on sales only), but those are just the only things that I find truly worthwhile.
I am very stretched financially. I do surveys for money and have managed not to pay for anything on Amazon for two years this way. Things are hard right now and so being able to look forward to a package makes the days easier.
(Yes I will tell anyone how who is interested. It’s tedious but I really have made a lot of money, enough so pretty much everything I wear every day is paid for this way.)
Ukuleles and stuff from the Aldi middle aisle
The Aldi middle aisle, like a little mini-target
I am fully disconnected from that mentality and do not miss it. I used to waste a lot of time around shopping for needless and pointless nonsense.
I will spend a whole lot more on things I really need or want, but I don’t feel like I am a target for marketing in any way now. My last major purchase was an AI capable computer which was likely due to YT and Reddit manipulated suggestions and visibility. I don’t regret that one. Since I quit reddit in June, I have also pulled way back with YT. I’m on Linux/Graphene and my primary network connection is though a whitelist firewall. That seems to be just enough to stop the subconscious motivations and desires for stuff I don’t actually care anything about like this.
It may be an unpopular opinion, but the best and brightest psych majors are going into advertising for a damn good reason, and it ain’t making prettier HTML banner ads like it’s 1999.
I recommend having a long think about that whole buying little things makes an emotion paradigm and start asking yourself what could be the causes of such behaviors and how they might have been intentional manipulation across platforms and information spaces. There is a reason why data stalking companies are so pervasive and everyone wants you to use an app where they have constant sensor data from your device.
Yeah, I always try to improve my everyday carry a little bit here and there… a better wallet, a nice compact pen, a little gadget that fits in my pocket, a pocket knife, etc. I try to carry as much as I can without carrying an extra pouch or bag or feeling like my pockets are stuffed and bulging, so I really prioritize small functional things that fit in my wallet or on my keychain. If I’m feeling spendy, I usually go for that and can find something for ~$30 bucks. Then I get to be excited for it to arrive in the mail.
Of course. If this is what reinforces other positive behaviors keep it up. I keep myself on a contract for larger items. (For every month I complete 100 study hours and meet my work hours, I get a pair of converse) :)
How many pairs of converse do you have lol?
None, he’s a terrible student.
I buy random things way more than I should. Always seems like a good idea at the time, even when 90% of these splurges ends up being something I definitely didn’t need. Alas, the dopamine hits from painstakingly researching and identifying the perfect, useless item are all too real. Bought a three pack (it was a crazy discount to buy in a pack of 3) of 6 outlet, low-profile plug, surge protectors.
Outlets in my house are somehow always on walls where I need something pushed against them. Anywho, you should not beat yourself up over some deodorant, is all I’m getting at.
Good little consumer, happyness comes from owning crap.
You’re just suckered into the opposite trap, thinking you’re noble and heroic because you deny yourself the pleasures everyone else enjoys
Keep choking down that copium eventually u will buy that thing u need and finally be happy.
Life isn’t as black and white as you want it to be, sometimes having nice things does help you feel better about life. You can’t buy your way to happiness but you won’t find it in austerity either.
Life is as black and white as u want it to be. Do u feel proud of the things u have because u have them or because of what they do?
