this post was submitted on 21 Sep 2023
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[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (5 children)

I don't understand how people find it so difficult to just stop spending their money on shit they don't need. You have to treat yourself occasionally, but I'll never understand those who anyways have to buy the newest thing.

My car is over ten years old. I still use a Pixel 4. I don't own any fancy clothes, new consoles, TV's, etc. and I'm perfectly happy. I run my own business and put money aside, ensuring I'm not going to go hungry if shit hits the fan, which is always a very real possibility. The last nice thing I bought myself was a gaming laptop, and that was just to replace my old one which got me through a good 5 years of use.

People need to start being happy with less. It's really, really easy to do, and you'll likely find yourself feeling happier not giving a fuck about the New Thing... or maybe I'm just getting older and my priorities have changed.

EDIT: I should note that this is aimed at people who complain about having money issues, but who go out and spend it on things they don't need and then blame anything but their own actions. If your dopamine hits come from buying stuff, and you're all good with that, more power to you.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

Your feel good drug is alcohol, for others it's buying the last new thing that gives them a dopamine rush.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I feel like I'm missing some kind of inner desire for the cool new thing that people seem to have

[–] Ryantific_theory 2 points 1 year ago

Mine definitely burned out sometime in the last five years. Used to be so excited for new tech, new features, new consoles, not necessarily to even buy, but just to see what's going on. Being fair, there was also some crippling depression, but now the new yearly tech release feels exhausting rather than sparking any amount of curiosity. Same with programs, Google releasing something is more of a "what now?" rather than the neat exploration it used to be.

I don't know, it feels a lot more exploitative than things used to be. Phones cost as much as laptops, all your programs are trying to spy on you better, everything seems to be trying to find the maximum limit for how expensive a thing can be before the line starts going down instead of up.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

You have to treat yourself occasionally, but I’ll never understand those who anyways have to buy the newest thing.

sudo apt-get install -y mongodb-org

I'm not going to gatekeep. I have a PS5 so I am not coming at this from a high horse. But Pixel 4 is a very new phone, and even if it weren't, all it takes is a billion people "treating" themselves every few years to make the system work.

[–] solstice 0 points 1 year ago

It brings me great pleasure to own things for a long time. My car is 15 years old and it's in amazing condition, my phone is 6 years old and it's fine. Hell, I have several pairs of shoes that are 6-8 years old and I can't believe they're still going strong. When it's time for something new I'll happily upgrade but I'll never understand people who constantly need new things all the time.

[–] luckyhunter 0 points 1 year ago

Very true. I've never had a car loan or a loan for any of my toys like campers, motorcycles, boats, dirt bikes etc... Because I save to buy and buy used. I still have tons of shit I don't need, I just don't buy on credit. I'd love to buy a Tesla brand new, but I have too many cars already, I don't have 100k laying around, and if I did I'd be a fool to not pay off my house.