buying stuff

[joel]

let's face it, we live in a culture obsessed with consumerism. and i think most of us, or at least I know I get sucked into it from time to time. growing up in a family where there wasn't a lot of money spending on non-necessity goods, I had a lot of 'wish list' type things, that I swore i would get for myself when and if I could afford it. Now that I make my own coin and get to call the shots on my own spending, i am more able to indulge in some of these "wish lists" that I had built up for myself. some of which I have indulged in already and some that I guess I've come to realize is just silly now.

What are some of the things on your "wish lists" growing up that you never really got to have? Do you indulge in these now?

[joel]

video games is one for me, though i guess i was "burrowing" computers games back in the age floppy disks. but for consoles it'd be rare for us ever to get the new console when it came out, and at best we get a game per/year or so. lol, i don't think i owned even 10 games for any 1 console.

now, especially with the introduction of steam, i probably have a collection of over 50 games on steam, and played probably less than a quarter of them. but i can't seem to help myself when those steam sales come out. and I won't even bat an eye when a new blizzard game comes out, i'll probably have a copy within the first week of release.

[geForce]

I didn't have much when I was a kid, so my wish list is pretty extensive. I'll narrow it down to things that I had on my wish list that would be silly to get now.

In terms of toys - I always wanted Transformers. My parents couldn't afford to buy them for me, but I would ask my aunts/uncles for them for birthdays and x-mases, but I ended up getting Gobots because my aunts/uncles thought they were the same thing. It'd be silly to buy toys now though, unless I'm collector, which I'm not.

Another toy that was on the wish list was RC cars. I was fascinated by being able to make a car move wirelessly. The ones I wanted though were insanely expensive. They were the gas-powered enthusiast ones, not the ones you would buy at a toy store. Actually, to this day, they are still pretty expensive and it's not a matter of if they're silly or not, but I don't know if I'd commit that much money into it.

[joel]

hockey is another one for me, i remember asking my parents to sign me when i was a kid, since basically every boy in delta played hockey, or some kind of sport for that matter. they always told me it was too expensive.

hockey is easily my most expensive leisure activity now. i have no qualms about writing that check when fees are due. and will dish out a decent chunk of change on equipment/jersey/etc... i have taken the same power skating course twice, and it's probably not the last time i'll take it either.

[joel]

[jeSteR]

I would have to say that pretty much everything I own lies in this category. We were as poor as the rest you and pretty much rented or lived in friends basements until my parents bought the shack when I was in grade 6 I think. My parents would have no problems spending money on "educational programs" for us. ie piano lessons, sports teams that required little to no equipment, chinese school etc. but as for toys and "stuff", I got one toy for my birthday and one for Christmas. That was it. So everything I buy now would be considered splurging. They did the best they could and that's why I'm so insistent now that they pay for nothing. I don't want them to ever worry about a bill ever again.

On a tangent.... regarding our kids, it's really hard I find to raise them with the same sense of frugalness that our parents raised us with. Not so much with my kids, but with everyone else's. Really, of all the crap that my daughters have, I only ever remember buying them that Stanley tool bench and maybe two lego sets. EVERYTHING else was purchased and gifted by my family, their friends, and you bozos. Stop spoiling my kids, and I'll stop spoiling yours.

JK.... actually, I'm not

[joel]

restaurant food. it would be super rare my parents every took us out for a meal. except for the once a week burger king/mcDonalds after sunday service. Joyce and I will typically go to a sit down between 1-3 times a week. we almost always over order, so we can get more selection. I guess food is somewhat of a necessity but i guess eating out is not necessarily though.

[geForce]

[Duncan]

yes, yes, and yes... everything you guys said is basically what i'd say. I'm glad we moved though, it gave us a chance to purge crap and leave it at the in laws. The girls have a smattering of toys but mostly books in their rooms, and they have that one Ikea Expedit 5 shelf unit that holds their toys and a play kitchen and that's all they have now. It's nice that there isn't so much clutter to clean anymore.

so yea, please stop buying my kids junk lol, but thanks if you have haha!

I'm still pretty cheap in my opinion but i think i do that in over compensation for the fact that my wife doesn't have much of a filter when she buys things. She grew up with the whole "whatever you want you can have" lifestyle. I was like you guys, except i had it worse, xmas and my bday was one day so i didn't get 2 gifts, i got 1 a year lol... *tear*


oh and on the topic of lunch, i wouldn't even get sandwiches in highschool... my parents gave me a toonie... a TOONIE for lunch... you know what i used to have to do? choose between the side of fries for $1.85 or plain burger when it was on special for $1.80. You know what i used to have to do? I had to save those $0.15 or $0.20 change each day so i could "splurge" on something to go with my side of fries or plain burger once every 2 weeks. I know if you work it out, a sandwich would probably be cheaper than $2 to make, but heck, still...

[nature boy]

wait... you're a married man and you're in charge of your own spending??? i'm so jelly.

my wishlist was pretty simple:
shoes. lots of shoes.
toys. lots of toys.
cars. just one.
food. fast food for all.

i think the thing i splurge most on nowadays is food though. if i didn't have to eat, i'd be rich man.

[joel]

[nature boy]

i'd get a dirty look JUST for saying that to myself...lol.

[Wetundies]

Nat also had a lot of CDs!!!

I used to spend my money on board games whenever I saved up enough when I was a kid.

[se7entse7en]

Hmmm...

My birthday is pretty close to Christmas so my birthday and Christmas gifts usually got lumped into one. One significant gift. Not a lot through the rest of the year though.

Always wanted a computer. It wasn't until highschool that we finally got one as a family. Getting a new one was probably my first major purchase, but I wouldn't say that I really go overboard with my computer purchases. I think I'm pretty practical.

Never allowed to have game consoles as a kid and though I have one now, I wouldn't say that I'm a real 'gamer' or anything.

Wanted transformers as a kid. Ended up getting Gobots instead. I was content.

All in all, I guess, I was pretty easy to please and never really felt deprived.

As an adult I'd say I put a fair bit of thought in the purchases I make and tend to opt for the more practical ones.

I want a new bike. I've wanted one for a couple of years now. We'll see if I can ever feel justified in getting one... you know... without 'accidentally' smashing up what I already have.

[geForce]

This is on my wish list now