My daily struggles...

**LuxoDave** · 06-09-2006, 08:14 PM

Re: My daily struggles...

Originally posted by DebtManWalking

I have been wanting a "HDTV LCD T.V" for a long time but never had the means to purchase one nor really had the desire to "seperate" with that type of cash now that I have it. It is one of the most bizarre scenarios but I really struggle with it, almost like a pull back into the complusive ways of life and I have really worked hard for the past year and a bit to get away from that.

I am in the same boat, but with an LCD monitor for my pc. I make myself feel better by telling myself every week I delay buying one, the cheaper it will be when I finally do buy one.

**Bookie** · 06-10-2006, 02:18 PM

Re: My daily struggles...

I can relate! Funny how thoughts turn into wants, and wants morph so easily into needs.

I keep a list on my computer of things I think I want to buy. Every time I get one of those cravings, it gets a dated entry with a written rationale. Each month I review the list, adding an endorsement for the items that remain active, and removing the entries that have lost their allure. Occasionally, I actually do buy something, but not very often.

The other tactic I find helpful is to make a tour of the house, sometimes mentally, sometimes by walking around. I observe the "must-haves" of yesterday that I now regret, trying to remember what made those past purchases so urgent. Oddly, some of my worst decisions have paid for themselves many times over by cautioning me against my current impulses.

And, yeah, I want one of those big LCD monitors for my computer as well. It has been on my list for over a year now.

**Ima saver** · 06-10-2006, 02:32 PM

Re: My daily struggles...

I guess i am finally all grown up, there is nothing I really want that I don't have. I can walk around my house and see all the collectibles that I have and now I would rather have the money they cost!

**lrjohnson** · 06-10-2006, 03:34 PM

Re: My daily struggles...

I like Bookies strategy. I do s dort of similar thing, much much much less formally.

I think of something I want; that plants the seed. Then I let it germinate. I notice if others have the item and if they like and use it. I notice it in stores, and on E-bay. I see Consumer repots article-serendipitously-or another mention. I mull and mull and mull and mull. The more expensive the item, is, the longer the mulling goes on. I keep my eye out for the item at Thrift stores and garage sales. I think of how often I think of it; if it's in my mind a lot I consider it more seriously. My Guy is very similar.

Sometimes the item falls in our lap.....a garage sale find of something you never thought would be at a garage sale, for cheap. Someone's getting rid of theirs. You've been casually checking that items at stores all over so when you see a radically good deal, you can leap at it.

We rarely regret our purchases like this. Some things we have mulled over for years. My Guy wanted a 21" monitor and thought it was silly. He kept thinking about it more and more. He's a techie geek, in the Systems business. He is a gamer, and is at his desk a crazy amount of time. He has a two computer, two monitor set up, and a server, I think. After a few months he decided to go for it. After another few months he found one at a great price. Eeven though it was a big purchases he's confident he wanted it and that it was a good deal, and he's never regretted spending the money. (Of course it wasn't put on a cc.)

A excercise bike we considered for many many months came to use free. A Universal grinder was scooped up at $1.25 after many months; a Chemex for $2.

I'd been pondering a new potholder for months now. Yes, a potholder-sue me, the last super cheap we got as a gift fell apart, and 4.99 for a medium level and over $10 for a nice one just would not do. I've been on the lookout. Today, scored a 25 cent super nice blue in new condition silicon beauty.

Boy I'm longwinded. I should have just kept to "we do an informal version of Bookies system."

**LuxoDave** · 06-10-2006, 03:53 PM

Re: My daily struggles...

Another thing I do when I want something is that I put it on my Amazon wish list. I leave it there for a long time and sometimes I go over the list and delete things I have since decided I do not need. This is how I control impulse purchases.

Also, when I do decide to buy, I search for the lowest price. Sometimes it is Amazon, but often the Amazon wish list is just a good place holder.

**tgavin71** · 06-10-2006, 04:11 PM

Re: My daily struggles...

I hear ya! Hubby and I were looking at getting a caravan but did exactly the same as you. "How often would we use it?" so we decided against it. We have never gone away a lot anyway.
Apart from getting the home renovated there isn't anything I want. DH wants a big screen tv though.

**wwjdmsl** · 06-10-2006, 07:16 PM

Re: My daily struggles...

Originally posted by LuxoDave

I am in the same boat, but with an LCD monitor for my pc. I make myself feel better by telling myself every week I delay buying one, the cheaper it will be when I finally do buy one.

I do the exact same thing which makes it all the better once I do eventual get it or I wait until the other item has finally and totally worn out then I know I got the most life out of it.

**Tree0164** · 06-11-2006, 03:34 AM

Re: My daily struggles...

I want I want I want most people is what gets a lot of people into trouble with money. I am luckily not too much into needing the newest gadget and my husband isn't either. We do have the "wants" as well. If it over 50 dollars and not a need we don't buy it alone, we do some comparsion shopping on it-check out ebay, do some looking at different stores to see if they have it.

For example, this past spring hubby wanted an exercise bike. We went to Sports Authority and he wanted one that was $400. I know I would use it but we didn't need all the bells and whistles. They didn't have any cheaper models there that didn't feel cheap. Would it hurt us to wait a week to buy an exercise bike. Finally, we found one at Dicks Sporting Goods for $189 that was on clearance, we got the floor model. It had the majority of bell and whistles but didn't have 15 pre-set programs only 8, that was good enough for us.

**kealina** · 06-11-2006, 04:42 PM

Re: My daily struggles...

do we struggle with these issues? all the time... my DH is similar in that he has lots of wants but his desire to save almost always (nowadays at least) outweighs any compulsion to spend and acquire... he still wants it and still struggles but like others here we do lots of research and price checking before buying new things... lol...
like when his computer (kind of a need/want) broke we both just used mine for months until we found one that had good value at a great sale... the kind where you have to go and stand in line... bleh but worth it...
and when he needed new black shoes (old ones fell apart) we waited for the payless BOGO sale so that he could get a pair for work half off... he's still a little miffed at spending $40 on the two pairs because we found a pair of sneakers at a yard sale this weekend for $1... =)... i pointed out to him that the sneaker is white and he needed black shoes but it's still funny....

anyways, i think all of us see things we want but it's mostly a matter of maintaining reason and willpower...

**WellManicuredMan** · 06-11-2006, 09:27 PM

Re: My daily struggles...

I used to have this problem but not any more. I'm much more excited about saving money and looking ahead to how much money I should be able to save by the end of the year, etc.

However, I did have this horrible addiction a couple years back called Magic Online. It is the online (digital) version of the trading card game: Magic The Gathering. It is extremely, I mean EXTREMELY addicting. It is probably the most expensive "video game" to be addicted to that exists today. It has been referred to as digital crack cocaine. There is a huge community for the game with message boards and the whole 9 yards. It isn't unusual to see people discussing how much they have spent on the game and the amounts are in the 5 figures... Yes, $10,000, $20,000, $30,000 and up. A huge cash cow for the company. They release new sets of cards every so many months to keep people addicted and charge close to $4 for only 15 "virtual" playing cards and some people would buy 100's of packs right after a new set of cards is released to get the new stuff.

I didn't spend that much money but I did spend a grand or two (in total) until I broke myself from it and got rid of all my digital cards. I still think about the game and I get urges to go back but I have been able to hold myself back for the time being.

**Broken Arrow** · 06-12-2006, 06:12 AM

Re: My daily struggles...

Oh yes, I most certainly have this problem. I get regular, periodic bouts of wanting shiney, flashy, electronicky thingies! However, I am desperately fighting the urges. In fact, I just sold my own LCD TV recently.

Luckily, I simply don't have enough to buy anything. Well, actually, that's not true if I care nothing for my emergency fund, BUT I DO!

Instead, I have tried to curb my own temptations by trying to focus on other activities that doesn't cost much. The most obvious one is to work on my bills, budgets, savings, and investments. Yes, I do derive some enjoyment from that. I also like to catch up on some reading from books I've already bought. Sometimes, I'll go out for a stroll at a nearby park by the lake. The point is, I try to keep my mind occupied with something else.

I guess I should also thank my ex. She had fairly expensive tastes, and having gone into debt to "afford" her, it has really made me reel from the more decadent things in life.

**PrincessPerky** · 06-12-2006, 06:56 AM

Re: My daily struggles...

Originally posted by lrjohnson

Boy I'm longwinded. I should have just kept to "we do an informal version of Bookies system."

Heh

My struggles are wilth the little things I should be doing, line dring, cloth diapers, scratch meals, less chocolate...

But it used to be much more strongly for 'stuff' I have found decluttering helps, the more stuff I toss, the less I want to risk needing to toss more!

My daily struggles...