As for the investing… I have a slight Disney collection fetish going. But, I’m hoping that they will be an investment. For example, I’ll buy more of the DVDs/Blu-Rays that come out of the vault, then sell them when they’re in the fault for 3 times what I paid for them. Recently, I bought the Toy Story Collection toys (£50 each and 11 of them…with more released next year), but I love them and they could be worth something in the future. People say I don’t get any enjoyment out of them because they’re all in their sealed boxes and haven’t been opened nor will they be opened. Who knows though right… if they’re worthless in the future, I still love them.

This is rather rambling of me… I’m about quality rather than quantity e.g. I needed a new mirror. I could’ve bought a cheap pine-framed one for £20, but instead I bought an awesome one from Portobello Road for £180. It could be worth something in the future, but it’s seriously immense. It’s an investment because I won’t have to buy another in the future, except for a different room perhaps lol. I love finding things that could make money in the future. I hope to God that my instincts on my so called investments are correct!

Thanks for sharing.

Similar to the topic of this post, I’m reading a book that mentions how people sometimes spend based on emotions. But they suggested asking yourself some thought provoking questions when you’re about to make purchases, and I’m trying to implement them in my life too.

1) Is the purchase going to provide fulfillment in proportion to the amount of time and money it cost to buy it? If my watch costs $100, and I make $10 an hour, it cost 10 hours of my life to acquire that watch. I better believe that the watch is worth 10 hours of my life!

2) Is this purchase in line with my values? A more insightful/philosophical question I guess.

3) What would this purchase look like if I didn’t have to work anymore? This assumes that most people are working mainly for a paycheck, and they’re trading their life for money.

For some, asking these questions may seem like it’s sucking the fun out of life, but I think it might curb some bad spending habits!

@ everyone else – LOVE seeing all your thoughts on this! Pretty cool how we all act differently and know what’s best (or not) for us :) Thx for sharing!

I like this post because it made me think about when I spend cash, and here are a few things I realized:

1) When I am nervous about something
-In high school went shopping night before ACT

2) When I feel like I’m “investing” in what I’m buying
-Just got hired for an internship at a great company, making double my salary right now. Let’s just say I will be spending the benjamins on some dress clothes to look a little more presentable :P

3) Random
-Everyone needs a night out on the town sometime, right??

By choice we live waaaaay below our income on what many would see as a really tight budget, but from our perspective skipping cable, trendy wardrobes and the lastest in electronics means we live in a lovely home, have no debts, take great vacations with our kids and plan to retire in our mid 50s.It’s all about figuring out where your personal priorities are and not worrying about what your friends and neighbors are spending on. We buy used vehicles with cash. I expect we will never in our lives buy a new car and are completely fine with that. It’s not a priority to us. If we had more money that we knew what to do with then maybe I would get a new car, but since like most people can’t have everything, the first few years of a vehicle’s life is something we’re prepared to skip.

I love that our kids don’t immediately ask for everything their friends have. If they really want something, they check their savings. If they’re short they ask if there are any extra chores they can do to earn money, or they put the item on their birthday or Christmas list and are prepared to wait for it. Expecting it to be provided by us just for asking isn’t even on their minds.