I’m definitely someone that likes gadgets. So much so that my boss even called me “a hardware type guy”. Back in college, I had a very frugal lifestyle – eat home cook meals, seldom go out, buy very little clothing. However, I bought expensive gadgets like PDAs, MP3 players, and golf clubs.
At the time, everything was fine because I didn’t mind staying at home most nights since I just thought that was normal. I didn’t really taste expensive food, so home cook meals were great. It still didn’t help my financial bottom line though, because I ended up spending all my money on luxuries.
Looking back, it was something I wish I didn’t do because I either could have lived a richer lifestyle or saved even more money. Just imagine that if I didn’t buy all those PDAs, and or computers and bought stocks in Microsoft (MSFT), I probably would not need to work anymore by now 
My situation is very typical though. There were many of my friends that did something similar. I’m not sure if they thought about whether or not it was the right choice but they did it nonetheless. They saved and saved and saved until they had enough money to purchase the next gadget.
When I started working, things were a little different because:
a) I had more cash coming in
b) My thirst to buy things died down
c) My credit limit got higher so if I didn’t have the money, I could buy it anyway.
Therefore, this doesn’t happen to me but I’m sure that are many people that can relate to this. How many of you live a otherwise frugal life but spend a huge amount of your money on luxuries? Is this trade off worth it?
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
As I get older, I enjoy saving and investing more and more instead of making purchases
I do this to some extent, and I think its ok if its makes you happy. You need to live your life now as well as in the future, and not beat your past self up about decisions made in good faith.
Modern: Yeah me too. I’m sort of addicted to seeing my networth increase so I start spending less and less.
plonkee: It will be okay but I cannot help but think what would happen
I guess I’m a little ahead of the curve at this point already so I should be good down the road.