Yes, there's a lot of reasons. And buying stuff also could mean a lot of things.
Like...
Buying an iPhone,
Or a car,
Or a Lexus,
Or a new TV when the old one is still working,
Or some small toys here and there, couple of bucks here and there,
Or a new camera,
Or a new PC...
The list goes on. I'm talking about what I deem as unnecessary spending.
And it's not necessarily consumerism. Sometimes it's just small toys, like turning $3 at the gatcha machine for fun. Or sometimes it's for hobbies, photography, fishing, video games, etc...
So I do wonder... why do people buy stuff... Cos I don't really desire these things very much.
I think very simply, buying stuff just makes people happier. It's the thrill of spending. Getting high on purchases. Dopamine, like what I wrote about in my previous post.
So I think, would I enjoy spending? Someday? When?
I think about when I'm unhappy at work. I know some people spend a lot to make themselves happy when they are unhappy at work. For me, I think the reverse. I will hoard if I'm not happy at work, cos I know that the more I hoard, the more I am prepared to be financially free and dump my work. Of course many others don't think this way.
Then I thought... if I don't spend when I'm sad, then why should I spend when I'm happy? Doesn't make sense right... but actually, as I thought more about it, it actually made more sense...
If I'm happy with the work, I may feel that I didn't need much energy to earn this money. I know I can make more anyway. It's not hard to make that money. I'm happy going to work everyday anyway. So spending $5,000 to buy a watch might not sound so unreasonable. Cos there's more where that (money) came from... It's like, life has settled down, I'm happy with all aspects of my life, I can keep it constant and spend more, I'll still save but I may buy stuff which I would deem unnecessary now.
It's similar to why some people may spend more when they are older, or they get more generous. Like around 50-60, their lives have settled down, their kids have grown up, the house is paid, they go to work and cruise along, not much worry, they are planning to farm a few more years and really retire. I've seem people like that being more free in their spending. Doing renos for the house, buying more good stuff for home, going on more frequent short, cheap trips, pretty much cruising through their later years whilst still working in a comfortable job. Might not be a great high paying job, but comfortable.
And the thing is, I think that's very optimal.
Instead of spending when in a bad situation, in a bad job, it's just a vicious cycle. Spending more when unhappy will just keep you trapped in your job. Cos there's no financial security of a cushy AUM. But if everything in life has been settled, the important things, like house, kids, car, etc... then the thought of spending is actually quite refreshing. Think about it, when your kids are 30, your house is paid, your car is paid, you only need to have enough money to eat and pay some basic expenses... It's actually quite liberating. Also, planning for the future also becomes easier as uncertainty drops as you grow older.
So I think it's quite interesting when looking at other people's point of view. Cos I recently encountered someone 50+ who has been spending somewhat a bit more. And I was wondering... isn't it a waste to keep spending so much. But when I looked at it from that person's viewpoint, I realized that I was pretty myopic cos I was looking at it from my situation. ie, I was projecting my current situation 20 years down the line. But that is not fair, cos my situation will change 20 years later, I might be in a more financially secure state or a worse state and that will change my perspective on spending and everything else.
Now, of course, this is very different from people who are addicted to spending. There are people who just like to spend regardless of their situation. Essentially, spending is independent from their overall situation in life. I'm not talking about those folk...
But I do think that as I grow older and if/when my financial situation improves or if I find something fun to do, I think that there's a high chance that I might loosen up my spending. I mean like... when everything is settled and I'm financially stable with everything in my life cushy and smooth flowing, I'd likely buy myself some nice toys as well... especially in my later years, cos well... can't bring the money to the next stage of life at that point right...
Anyway, this is a hypothesis, whether I will actually do it still remains to be seen, but I think it's highly possible. Maybe I'll still be blogging about it 20 years later and we can all look back at this post and verify it.... That would be cool.
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