I’ve come to realize how little I care about having nice stuff. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy what few possessions I have, and some stuff is important to me like having a record player and speakers and records for example. Music is very important to me. In general, though, I don’t have much, but I don’t care about that anymore.
I’d rather spend my money on concerts, travel, good food, etc than furniture, a nice tv, a nice apartment or whatever. I live in a cheap ass apartment ($650/month, utilities included) with very little furniture, and just a small tv that I hardly watch, but as long as I can have fun experiences like concerts and travel I’m happy .
Do you feel this way? Like you don’t really give a ■■■■ about having a nice place full of nice stuff, as long as you can have some good times? If I stopped taking vacations/traveling I could easily afford to move into a better place, which I could then furnish well, but nope not doing that.
I say just have fun. Those who die with the most toys do not win. The best way to “win” is to have fun in life while you can, imo.
I love travelling. I live cheaply. Not many expenses. I have an old cell phone and cheap contract. I would rather have experiences than material things although I have nice things like iMac and nice bed and mattress. I would rather buy quality stuff that lasts then cheap but I live cheaply.
I live simply, I don’t have much stuff, my house is furnished by the VA but I do have my own recliner. Other than the recliner I can fit all my stuff in a 2×3×2 container.
I’d prefer have my everyday life be more comfortable and I don’t like leaving home.
On the opposite end of that,
I had a Spanish teacher in high school that lived in a tiny studio apartment with her husband, in a bad part of town, no car, only had lawn furniture and a futon.
Basically just spent money on food.
They lived like that so they only had to work two years to be able to afford backpacking across the world for another two years.
So, two years on, two years off.
It was 100% worth it for them to live that way so they could experience other places.
Hi Leash! Nice thoughtful thread and well executed.
One of my first employers out of high school once told me that it doesn’t matter how much you earn but how much you save. I understand that well now. I had F’d finances for decade bc I spent money, money on credit, on crap I really don’t need. I am realizing that now.
Experiences are the best.
History as a subject of study is one of the things that are very important to me. Not a day goes by where I am not reading a snippet of something historical. There are a sh!t ton of Civil War sites I would love to see. South Carolina is my plan for next May.
That is a large experience but I enjoy small experiences too like birding or spinning a new record until the A and B side are done. Little things count as well imho.
You may be interested in checking out the channel The Vinyl Den on YT. Not a huge following but every week he gives a list of new releases.
I came into some money recently, and I’m still getting used to it. I started off crazy shopping. I feel like materialism can def be overdone. My money other than what I need goes to clothes, watches, and knives(I collect watches and knives). Material things def are not what’s important in life. I have difficulty in the real world, so don’t plan grand(for lack of better word) experiences. If someone gave me $1000, I would buy a new watch. I wouldn’t even consider doing anything like travel or spending it on experiences. Maybe I should start considering it.
I’m a lot like @Charles_Foster on this one. I am a homebody and like nice things. I find they don’t have much meaning to me, and I could ditch them as easily as I got them, but I do enjoy them all the same. Periodically, hubby and I do make it to a concert, fair, or car show, something like that. It’s always nice getting out, but I try to keep it cheap. Fairs and car shows tend to be free, and we win concert tickets periodically because hubby is very devoted to calling in when it’s something he likes. So we get occasional local experiences but live nicely.
I like a nice bed. And my iPad.
I am beginning to appreciate walks and wish I can eat at a restaurant and have served meals more for experience. I like the idea of a travel experience but it’s also so much stress.
I’ve found I prefer experiences when done with other people…this year I went to a comic convention and basketball games with friends and it was a lot of fun. I also attended a couple of hockey games on my own. I’ve been working hard to defy the paranoia and put myself in social situations.
I like my “stuff”, too, but I could easily live without it.
I’m not a big fan of conspicuous consumption. I don’t like owning things that aren’t useful, with the exception of my antique cameras. Everything else that I have does get used. My carbonation and espresso rigs saved us about $50 on beverages at Starbucks today.
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