I brainstormed about this for a while and reflected on what past purchases I had made that I liked and hadn’t liked. YMMV but here’s what I concluded:
Incremental upgrades to existing items is rarely worth it unless the existing option is terrible; a nice mouse is only slightly nicer than whatever you’re currently using, most of the time you don’t really use the extra speed from a faster computer, etc.
Conversely, get things that open up new options for you; e.g. a smartphone lets you do computer things in places where you wouldn’t before so is better than a new laptop in many case
“buy experiences” seems to work; buy a musical instrument and take lessons or other things, learn to bake (and then give away your baked goods to friends)
Weather-specific clothes can make some situations much easier: if you’re cold, buy something warm. It’s not actually hard to stay warm and being prepared means you don’t have to worry about what going out and doing things based on the weather.
Spending money to remove minor inconveniences can be worth it; if it bothers you every day then change it
I buy way more video games than I finish anymore, but still value completing them so I prefer to buy short indie games now
I consistently over-estimate fancy new electronics and should correspondingly reduce my expectations for things like, say, the Oculus Rift
I brainstormed about this for a while and reflected on what past purchases I had made that I liked and hadn’t liked. YMMV but here’s what I concluded:
Incremental upgrades to existing items is rarely worth it unless the existing option is terrible; a nice mouse is only slightly nicer than whatever you’re currently using, most of the time you don’t really use the extra speed from a faster computer, etc.
Conversely, get things that open up new options for you; e.g. a smartphone lets you do computer things in places where you wouldn’t before so is better than a new laptop in many case
“buy experiences” seems to work; buy a musical instrument and take lessons or other things, learn to bake (and then give away your baked goods to friends)
Weather-specific clothes can make some situations much easier: if you’re cold, buy something warm. It’s not actually hard to stay warm and being prepared means you don’t have to worry about what going out and doing things based on the weather.
Spending money to remove minor inconveniences can be worth it; if it bothers you every day then change it
I buy way more video games than I finish anymore, but still value completing them so I prefer to buy short indie games now
I consistently over-estimate fancy new electronics and should correspondingly reduce my expectations for things like, say, the Oculus Rift