How to tame the instant gratification monkey?
Discussion
So I'm looking at second-hand estate cars on AutoTrader even though mine is perfectly functional. And I don't even drive much these days anyway.
It seems to be a common thread on PH - particularly the Finance forum - buying stuff just to impress or out-do your peers - is it okay to treat yourself now and again, and when does it become out-of-control?
Are there any techniques to stop you lusting after cr@p that you don't need? Feel to share your trials and tribulations in dealing with the IGM ..
It seems to be a common thread on PH - particularly the Finance forum - buying stuff just to impress or out-do your peers - is it okay to treat yourself now and again, and when does it become out-of-control?
Are there any techniques to stop you lusting after cr@p that you don't need? Feel to share your trials and tribulations in dealing with the IGM ..
Keep going until you get it out of your system. I had six cars once and thought "this is getting silly" while looking for the seventh.
After a spate of sports cars, family cars, 4x4 and luxo barge these days I cannot really be that bothered.
...although saying all that I am thinking of getting a Prius.
After a spate of sports cars, family cars, 4x4 and luxo barge these days I cannot really be that bothered.
...although saying all that I am thinking of getting a Prius.
Morningside said:
...although saying all that I am thinking of getting a Prius.
"When a man is tired of cars he gets a Prius." I have to confess to the same urge - was sat in an Uber on the way back from Heathrow a few months ago and thought to myself 'this is quite comfy and economical'. 
Amazon is great. Sure I've bought too much stuff - most recently Garden Tools because even the East European chaps now want £300 for a garden tidy-up and I thought 'screw that i'll do it myself' - but it does save you £s on stuff you need to buy and the refund scheme is simple.
For me it was 2 redundancies in quick succession and 2 kids - I went from Hero level Consumer to tight as a Duck's other end inside 2 years.
If I want something and I think it'll make me happy (generally something on 2 wheels or bits for it) I'll agonise over it for a few weeks, maybe months and get it.
I'm completely over buying to impress others though, zero f
ks given - I see it amongst my friends. They buy a thing, a very lovely expensive thing (usually on 4 wheels with a massive engine) and we're a pretty honest bunch, we won't downplay to protect our own ego, we're impressed, maybe a bit jealous even, for a week, maybe two, then it's "oh yeah, that is nice" 3 months later and it barely registers. Such is life, you could buy a Tiger and keep it in your kitchen and it won’t impress the same people over and over for long. I hope they’re still enjoying it for what it is… but I’m a great studier of people and I think they probably spend more time hoping someone will notice it and pay it a compliment more than anything else, but if that’s a joy for them, happy days, but it doesn’t do that for me, too self-conscious I think.
I’m not wealthy by a looooong stretch, four figure a month child care bills see to that, but that’ll end (one day) but we don’t have to worry, that’s the major thing for me – a few years back when lots of things that I have zero control over went wrong, I ran out of money for the first time in my adult life – not as in “I’m a bit skint” as in “I can’t buy food this week”. No one went hungry, it wasn’t that bad, I had credit I could use, I could probably scrap enough together for a couple of days of Aldi if I had too, but it was still a shock – no savings, no investments, just lots of toys and you can’t eat a £5000 custom Mountain Bike, never again.
If I want something and I think it'll make me happy (generally something on 2 wheels or bits for it) I'll agonise over it for a few weeks, maybe months and get it.
I'm completely over buying to impress others though, zero f
ks given - I see it amongst my friends. They buy a thing, a very lovely expensive thing (usually on 4 wheels with a massive engine) and we're a pretty honest bunch, we won't downplay to protect our own ego, we're impressed, maybe a bit jealous even, for a week, maybe two, then it's "oh yeah, that is nice" 3 months later and it barely registers. Such is life, you could buy a Tiger and keep it in your kitchen and it won’t impress the same people over and over for long. I hope they’re still enjoying it for what it is… but I’m a great studier of people and I think they probably spend more time hoping someone will notice it and pay it a compliment more than anything else, but if that’s a joy for them, happy days, but it doesn’t do that for me, too self-conscious I think. I’m not wealthy by a looooong stretch, four figure a month child care bills see to that, but that’ll end (one day) but we don’t have to worry, that’s the major thing for me – a few years back when lots of things that I have zero control over went wrong, I ran out of money for the first time in my adult life – not as in “I’m a bit skint” as in “I can’t buy food this week”. No one went hungry, it wasn’t that bad, I had credit I could use, I could probably scrap enough together for a couple of days of Aldi if I had too, but it was still a shock – no savings, no investments, just lots of toys and you can’t eat a £5000 custom Mountain Bike, never again.
fido said:
Morningside said:
...although saying all that I am thinking of getting a Prius.
"When a man is tired of cars he gets a Prius." I have to confess to the same urge - was sat in an Uber on the way back from Heathrow a few months ago and thought to myself 'this is quite comfy and economical'. Amazon is great. Sure I've bought too much stuff - most recently Garden Tools because even the East European chaps now want £300 for a garden tidy-up and I thought 'screw that i'll do it myself' - but it does save you £s on stuff you need to buy and the refund scheme is simple.
I went from TVR to BMW 750iL to Pajero and I had loads of fun going at 10mph as I did at *cough*mph.
kiethton said:
Morningside said:
I am thinking of getting a Prius.
Get out.....now!Now the default for s
tty london driving - worse than Addison Lee!They should come with a free cricket bat fixed on the roof so we can smack the driver every time they get in the way .
kiethton said:
Morningside said:
I am thinking of getting a Prius.
Get out.....now!Now the default for s
tty london driving - worse than Addison Lee!fido said:
So I'm looking at second-hand estate cars on AutoTrader even though mine is perfectly functional. And I don't even drive much these days anyway.
It seems to be a common thread on PH - particularly the Finance forum - buying stuff just to impress or out-do your peers - is it okay to treat yourself now and again, and when does it become out-of-control?
Are there any techniques to stop you lusting after cr@p that you don't need? Feel to share your trials and tribulations in dealing with the IGM ..
Personally, I couldn't give a sIt seems to be a common thread on PH - particularly the Finance forum - buying stuff just to impress or out-do your peers - is it okay to treat yourself now and again, and when does it become out-of-control?
Are there any techniques to stop you lusting after cr@p that you don't need? Feel to share your trials and tribulations in dealing with the IGM ..
t what you or anyone else spends their money on.If you are spending to impress others, you need help.
I have a friend who tells me everything expensive he buys and exactly how much. In the last year or so he's had a new Octavia VRS (£330 a month), a new iMac (£2.5k), multiple TV's at 'x' amount, a ring for his missus which was £1000, holiday to Mexico (or somewhere near there) for £thousands etc. The list goes on.
Does it impress me? Nah. Does it keep him happy? Maybe.
I'm quite a tight git and it takes me ages to mull over buying anything. I bought some bike kit the other week for a few hundred quid. I was in the shop with my fiancée and daughter and it took me ages to decide to buy it.
I'm currently looking at a car. Sold mine in October and am now after something cheap. I keep looking and seeing something then, the next day, I think nah.
Best advice I can give is sleep on it. If you look at something one day, don't buy it until you have slept. You may see the purchase in a different light the next morning.
def sleep on it, or at the very least procrastinate on pulling the trigger
prime example for me, I have seen a convertible like I had a few years ago on ebay, just near where I live (within 5miles) and for £400 ... I know I dont need it, I do have a garage/lockup I can keep it in ... I know it will only do c.500 miles a year max ... but desperately want it and its cheap!
I have held off for 6days so far and struggling at the moment, but I hope someone else buys it before tomorrow as otherwise I may be the new owner!
prime example for me, I have seen a convertible like I had a few years ago on ebay, just near where I live (within 5miles) and for £400 ... I know I dont need it, I do have a garage/lockup I can keep it in ... I know it will only do c.500 miles a year max ... but desperately want it and its cheap!
I have held off for 6days so far and struggling at the moment, but I hope someone else buys it before tomorrow as otherwise I may be the new owner!
Pickled Piper said:
If there is a cure, let me know. I am a compulsive Amazon shopper.
I click a mouse and it arrives in my office.
Me too I click a mouse and it arrives in my office.
Do you find that your spends escalate too? I started browsing "cheap" 4k TV's prior to black Friday, ended up with a Samsung at £30 off, then that escalated to upgrading my Playstation & Xbox one, basically ended up spending £1,300 when the initial plan was to spend circa £300-£350.
I'm currently fighting to resist again as well, I found out I need some kind of HDMI switch to get two HDCP ports on my TV, what I thought would be a simple £20 purchase now has me on Richer Sounds looking at AV Receivers and speaker packages at a cost of £350+
Hot UK Deals is also a website/app to avoid if you have a click happy index finger too
Tuvra said:
Me too
Do you find that your spends escalate too?
I started looking a cheap shed cars in my area. Then went looking at BMW e39's. Then moved on to E60's because some git (Do you find that your spends escalate too?
) on here started a thread about running one on a shoestring.Just this morning, I was looking at Mercedes CLS' because, again, someone started a thread saying they were getting rid of one.
Was supposed to look at a nice W210 that a PH'er was selling the other week. Was really ill that day though so couldn't make it. It's sold now.
Tuvra said:
Me too
Do you find that your spends escalate too? I started browsing "cheap" 4k TV's prior to black Friday, ended up with a Samsung at £30 off, then that escalated to upgrading my Playstation & Xbox one, basically ended up spending £1,300 when the initial plan was to spend circa £300-£350.
Same here. I started considering ~£500 50" 4K TVs a few weeks before Black Friday, and ended up with a 65" OLED. And then decided that since I'd spent so much on a TV, I needed a 4K bluray player. Which of course, is a waste of money unless you also buy some 4k films.Do you find that your spends escalate too? I started browsing "cheap" 4k TV's prior to black Friday, ended up with a Samsung at £30 off, then that escalated to upgrading my Playstation & Xbox one, basically ended up spending £1,300 when the initial plan was to spend circa £300-£350.
At the moment, I'm using the excuse that it's Christmas so it's allowed.
As a general rule, I am aware that when I really really want / cannot live without something - if I wait a couple of weeks I will have forgotten all about it and not wasted my money. But even though I know that, 99% of the time I simply click on "confirm order"!
I take ages procrastinating, trying to decide what to buy. So if i fancy, for example, a new TV, then I'll read reviews, ask for advice, check out forums, look at all the pros and cons... and then mull it over for a few day. Usually I then decide that it is not worth it at all and stick with what I've got.
I really fancy buying a new motorbike. But the one I have does all that I need, so how can I justify spending £5-6000 on another one that will do exactly the same job?
A new pushbike would be lovely, but I won't be any faster than I am on my current one really. How much is knocking a minute off of the commute worth really?
I really fancy buying a new motorbike. But the one I have does all that I need, so how can I justify spending £5-6000 on another one that will do exactly the same job?
A new pushbike would be lovely, but I won't be any faster than I am on my current one really. How much is knocking a minute off of the commute worth really?
austinsmirk said:
i'm in a text battle with my wife, as I write, trying to convince her she wants an auto volvo v70. she simply will not have an auto.
its a good price, nice colours, top spec, diesel, 185 BHP, at a local garage............. (I'm buying it, not her).
its a complete no.
I would like one as well but she says "no, its too expensive to run and does the same MPG as yours so what's the point updating it?"its a good price, nice colours, top spec, diesel, 185 BHP, at a local garage............. (I'm buying it, not her).
its a complete no.
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