How do you deal with it?

**GREENBACK** · 12-11-2013, 01:18 PM

I'd donate the old tv to charity and go buy the one you want. Any feelings of guilt over the purchase are balanced out by providing it to a less fortunate person.

**TheKayla** · 12-11-2013, 01:30 PM

If you can afford it, don't need to put it on credit, and have everything else in place, buy the TV. Money is a resource to get what we want. We plan ahead and need to be smart with it so we will always have enough as a resource. If you're at that good place, reap the rewards and use it! There's no sense in hoarding the cash away for it to never be used. Save some, donate some, treat yourself some.

I've always said right when I get out of debt I'm going to save up a couple thousand and spend it ALL on stuff I've wanted/needed over my years of sacrifice. (With adequate savings/efund in place) Probably a new wardrobe, nicer small appliances, things for the apartment, etc. Of course, I won't resume that way of spending forever, and will promptly return to more savings goals, but without the debt, I'll reap the rewards of my hard work a bit!

**kork13** · 12-11-2013, 02:43 PM

I fight myself a bit with this as well, and my solution has been to save up for it in a "wants" account. Say I add $50/mo (or whatever is a more-or-less trivial amount) to this account, and when it has enough to buy something I *WANT*, I give myself the option of getting it. I do my research & shop around so I can assure myself I paid a fair price, then I go out and get it. But by building up the funds slowly in an account intended specifically for personal "want" spending, it makes it a bit more guilt-free for me. The money was saved specifically for spending on whatever I want, so there's no reason to feel bad or guilty or greedy for getting it.

And keep in mind, that's a bit of an extreme measure. Realistically, many here simply have the philosophy of knowing "XX% of my income is going into savings every month, which is more than sufficient -- the rest of my income is up to me to spend as I deem appropriate."

**neatdesign** · 12-11-2013, 05:43 PM

Originally posted by kork13 View Post

I fight myself a bit with this as well, and my solution has been to save up for it in a "wants" account. Say I add $50/mo (or whatever is a more-or-less trivial amount) to this account, and when it has enough to buy something I *WANT*, I give myself the option of getting it. I do my research & shop around so I can assure myself I paid a fair price, then I go out and get it. But by building up the funds slowly in an account intended specifically for personal "want" spending, it makes it a bit more guilt-free for me. The money was saved specifically for spending on whatever I want, so there's no reason to feel bad or guilty or greedy for getting it.

+1 to all of this.

**phantom** · 12-11-2013, 06:38 PM

Originally posted by kork13 View Post

I fight myself a bit with this as well, and my solution has been to save up for it in a "wants" account. Say I add $50/mo (or whatever is a more-or-less trivial amount) to this account, and when it has enough to buy something I *WANT*, I give myself the option of getting it. I do my research & shop around so I can assure myself I paid a fair price, then I go out and get it. But by building up the funds slowly in an account intended specifically for personal "want" spending, it makes it a bit more guilt-free for me. The money was saved specifically for spending on whatever I want, so there's no reason to feel bad or guilty or greedy for getting it.

And keep in mind, that's a bit of an extreme measure. Realistically, many here simply have the philosophy of knowing "XX% of my income is going into savings every month, which is more than sufficient -- the rest of my income is up to me to spend as I deem appropriate."

This is exactly what I do. I budget $50/month for wants, and whatever I don't spend builds up for large purchases. I don't have an actual separate account for the money, just a rollover budget line in Mint. But, the point isn't really making sure the money is there. I have plenty of savings for covering occasional large purchases. But, I don't have savings for infinite large purchases. So, by giving what I'm comfortable with a number and sticking to it, I know that I can spend while still having my overall spending under control.

Having a personal wants budget also helps with maintaining marital harmony. My husband likes to spend little bits of money every month on things like eating out for lunch at work, while I like to spend large chunks of money on big stuff like electronics. Before we implemented the $50/month personal wants budgets, his spending habits really annoyed me and mine him. But, knowing that we're sticking to numbers that we agreed to, makes us both more comfortable. I don't need to understand how he's rather have a lunch outside the office than $10 in his pocket, and he doesn't need to understand why I'd rather have a shiny new toy than several nice lunches out.

**asdf** · 12-11-2013, 07:28 PM

This is an answer that may be personal to my tastes, but how I "deal" with it, if you could even call it that, is that I simply don't desire a whole bunch of wants that are quite expensive. I find a lot of solace in, say, hanging out with friends at each other's homes with reasonable food, drink, games, etc. Or, simply reading and participating in online articles and discussions like we're having right here.

That's not really an answer that is for everybody, but I thought I'd just state how I tend to do things.

**breathemusic** · 12-12-2013, 05:03 AM

I can't say I really struggle with any sort of buyers remorse when it comes to wants. The way I see it, I'm responsible with my finances, I don't have any debt other than student loans, which I'm already paying back aggressively. If I want to blow a few hundred bucks on a want, or even drop more than that on a vacation, and I don't do it all the time, and I can still manage to save money toward my long term goals, then I'm going to go for it. I've only got 1 life to live and I intend to enjoy it. I see no point in penny pinching ALL the time when I'm already meeting my goals.

If you have other things to pay for, debts and such, then don't buy the TV. But it sounds like that's not a problem for you, so why not just say "Screw it. I have the money, I don't buy wants all the time, so I'm going to just buy the TV and enjoy it."

**btctony** · 12-12-2013, 09:04 AM

I don't think you should feel bad about wanting a new TV. Especially in your position of it not being a burden on your financial well being. When I "want" something, I usually give it a couple of weeks to run through my mind. It usually ends up being a question of do I really want this or would I rather just maximize the number of dollars that I put into savings that particular month.

I don't see "wants" as a negative as long as you're not excessive and can afford them.

**witchkizzle** · 12-12-2013, 10:01 AM

Thank you all for your input!

That is all very good advice. We have two budget categories for personal spending for my wife and myself. That is what I would end up using, and I am close to the bottom range of the TV I want. I just can't help but think it is wasteful. Another problem I have is that when I want something, I always want the best I can get. I want a TV now, but find myself thinking "If I wait, I can get a much nicer TV in the future". Eventually though, you have to make the jump or you will be stuck in the "holding pattern for new technology". SO, what ends up happening is I hold off hold off hold off and then go spend double what I thought I would spend.

Either way, I really appreciate all the good advice. I like to see the way y'all handle all of that.

Thank you!!

How do you deal with it?