Does anybody get anxiety when buying even the smallest things?

[HotAndTender]

It was my birthday on the 21st and my Dad bought me an acoustic guitar. It's a beauty and plays really well. I was just on amazon looking for a stand and a tuner for it, it came to £20ish total, it's not expensive at all and i could do with them but i couldn't bring myself to press buy.

I don't know what it is, i feel like im doing something selfish and should hold out on buying anything (not just because of the COVID pandemic, i've had this feeling for a good few years now) but i'm happy to go spend a lot more on food shopping and what not that will benefit me and my girlfriend that i live with.

Does anyone else feel like this?

 

[BeeDog]

Why would it be selfish? If anything, you're potentially feeding money into smaller businesses where other people are simply trying to make a living. Sounds more like a general stinginess when it comes to finances... which in itself might not be a big issue due to the current events. Is your economical situation sound otherwise?

 

[Fat4all]

im pretty frugal in general, but im not so much anxious about buying non-essentials as i am bad at overthinking if i really need to buy sommit

outside of covid, id generally feel much more secure in buying small luxuries that impacted me at the moment, like slightly nicer food or a marginally better hotel room, than that extra bookcase I need or a copy or Resident Evil 2 on the GameCube

 

[Xiofire]

Glad I'm not the only one who feels this. I've had purchase guilt for as long as I've managed my own finances. I have to analyse every angle of the purchase to make sure it's worth the outlay and whether I'll get enough use out of it.

I don't think there is anything inherently wrong' with being cautious with money, and if you can catch yourself before a purchase you know is frivolous , it's a great skill to have. Just don't live completely void of enjoyment because of it.

Allow yourself SOME enjoyment with your cash, otherwise, what is making money for?

 

[HotAndTender]

I love the first 3 replies avatars are all doggos

Why would it be selfish? If anything, you're potentially feeding money into smaller businesses where other people are simply trying to make a living. Sounds more like a general stinginess when it comes to finances... which in itself might not be a big issue due to the current events. Is your economical situation sound otherwise?

Click to shrink...

I have no idea, i'm still working full time during all of this and i'm doing well financially. It's quite hard to explain.

 

[ps3ud0]

Maybe it's more you don't like spending frivolously? I don't think that's an issue if it leads you to save money for other things you consider more important?

ps3ud0 8)

 

[Dan Thunder]

Nope. £20 isn't a huge amount for most people, you could go and eat out for lunch and spend more than that. In the current climate I don't think there's anything wrong with treating yourself where you can, especially when it's something that should last a good while.

It sounds like you could have MAD (Money Anxiety Disorder) so I'd do a bit of research into that if I were you.

 

[hombremalo]

Only with stuff I'm not going to use like video games

 

[Exile20]

Nope, we are here for a limited time. Life can be taken away in an instant. Find a balance, be an adult with finances.

 

[shenden]

I always do get it when I buy something passing $100 mark no matter how good of a economical shape I'm in. Then a moment of regret after the purchase but then you realise that "I still can pay my bills & have food on the table" and life moves on.

 

[ps3ud0]

To add, I have no qualms spending money on family and friends or day-to-day stuff but I do tend to overthink when it's something for myself and if I can justify it.

Normally I stick a pin in it and if I think about to again in the future I just get it.

ps3ud0 8)

 

[skeezx]

it's "good" to sweat the small stuff sometimes... dollar here dollar there will add up over the years

but you can't drive yourself too crazy with it either (barring financial straits). a $20 tuner sounds like a ditto purchase if you have a guitar

 

[Chivalry]

I usually have trouble justifying small purchases, but not huge ones.

 

[OozeMan]

That's pretty much me. I don't think twice before spending on food or shopping for the family. It's the personal purchases that always get me anxious,.

And it's not like I need justification for spending my own money. A part of me probably feels spending on my own self a waste of money.

 

[Wackamole]

No i don't have that issue.

 

[BadWolf]

Not for my family, just for me.

But yeah, all the time. I find myself constantly overthinking even the smallest of purchases.

 

[Fat4all]

these days my only splurge is on local restaurants and on tips, especially since im still working and rather not travel more than i have to

everything else is being saved or being used to pay off debt

 

[HotAndTender]

That's pretty much me. I don't think twice before spending on food or shopping for the family. It's the personal purchases that always get me anxious,.

And it's not like I need justification for spending my own money. A part of me probably feels spending on my own self a waste of money.

Click to shrink...

I'm glad i'm not alone in this.

A few weeks a go i did a test where i wrote down some things i wanted to buy and i was getting the anxiety (it was David Goggins' Book and GRIMES new album on vinyl) i waited a week to see how i felt and the feeling had gone because i still wanted to buy these items.

 

[Deleted member 543]

I felt that way for a long time. I used to order a lot of stuff and cancel it soon after. I remember a few times getting cash out of the bank to buy a new game and then after heading to the shop and holding it in my hands, I'd make the split decision that I had enough at home and not go through with it.

In contrast, I've always been generous with friends and family.

It's only in the last few years that I've become more relaxed about buying myself stuff. Mainly because I've realised that the occasional purchase doesn't impact my overall finances that much. I've realised that the £40 game or £15 book I denied myself a decade ago hasn't really affected my finances in a noticably positive way.

I guess it's about finding balance and not overdoing it and I still don't do it often. But I bought myself all of Twin Peaks on Blu Ray for myself around Christmas, and recently got four Junji Ito hardcovers to get me through lockdown. Neither are major purchases but they're stuff I would have written off as unnecessary half a decade ago.

 

[sapien85]

I've been the opposite recently thinking that I might die soon so might as well enjoy things I like while I have time.

 

[BLEEN]

Trick is to find the product cheaper. For instance, I'm certain that tuner can be found for 10 instead of 20.

If you can't find it cheaper, do not buy

This works pretty well for me. And I don't like spending even a fiver lol

 

[xXCHAOSXx]

It was my birthday on the 21st and my Dad bought me an acoustic guitar. It's a beauty and plays really well. I was just on amazon looking for a stand and a tuner for it, it came to £20ish total, it's not expensive at all and i could do with them but i couldn't bring myself to press buy.

I don't know what it is, i feel like im doing something selfish and should hold out on buying anything (not just because of the COVID pandemic, i've had this feeling for a good few years now) but i'm happy to go spend a lot more on food shopping and what not that will benefit me and my girlfriend that i live with.

Does anyone else feel like this?

Click to shrink...

I'm basically feeling the same, I have like $1600 I could blow and be fine, but I can't seem to get myself to buy things lol. Essentially I already have an acceptable version of everything I want, so all I'd be doing is getting a more expensive version of something I already have so I can't seem to justify it. I guess I'll have to wait for something to break...

 

[deftones r cool]

I have trouble saving money and buy too much dumb shit. I'm always justifying purchases or collecting something stupid.

I've gotten better, but it's super annoying overall. I dont make as much as I think I do

 

[HMD]

I have the opposite issue, consider yourself lucky.

 

[Severing Chains]

Yeah I'm kind of a penny-pincher probably because I grew up poor. I'm always hesitant to spend money even when I know it's a necessity so I always end up overanalyzing my buying options.

 

[ItchyTasty]

I always have the feeling that I'll need money for a coming tradegy/incident but even now when I have faced loss of income due to Covid-19 I don't wanna use my "in crisis" reserves and cut down other expenses instead.

 

[TaySan]

Nope you are putting money back into the economy which is great. Im not stressing too much by treating myself every once and a while.

 

[Kotze282]

I somewhat have that with clothing and electronics. I need to find something that I find "perfect" even though that rarely exists. Even though I've needed a new monitor, I waited like half a year just to be sure a better one wouldn't come along. I definitely need a new laptop for my work, but I'm hesitant to spend the money because I feel it would be wasteful. I have the money, and my old laptop's battery is starting to suck, it crashed a couple of times while playing around with a new program I use for my work and now, especially with my new screen, I could definitely use more processing power. Somehow, I still convince myself to wait and keep the old one for now.

 

[maximumzero]

My parents raised me to be as frugal as possible, save every penny, and don't buy frivolous things.

I beat myself up for days any time I buy anything remotely unnecessary.

 

[Advance.Wars.Sgt.]

Nope. I'm very much a practical shopper, so when I purchase anything I've already made the decision I'm going to get extensive use of it.

Edit:. This even includes luxury purchases like my Switch and Surface Go. If I'm not going to use it frequently, I'm just not going to buy it at all.

 

[kirby_fox]

I've got a weird thing with shopping where I either need or want to buy something but hold off for weeks or even months or don't buy at all. Even small stuff. Then I'll turn around and be at a store and buy something I won't use for a long time if at all.

It's constantly an internal argument of if I truly need certain things.

 

[Yan]

You know when in games you save your ammo or special items for a difficult part and then the game is over and you haven't used it? You are doing that.

 

[HotAndTender]

You know when in games you save your ammo or special items for a difficult part and then the game is over and you haven't used it? You are doing that.

Click to shrink...

This has blown my mind

 

[BringBackSonics]

It was my birthday on the 21st and my Dad bought me an acoustic guitar. It's a beauty and plays really well. I was just on amazon looking for a stand and a tuner for it, it came to £20ish total, it's not expensive at all and i could do with them but i couldn't bring myself to press buy.

I don't know what it is, i feel like im doing something selfish and should hold out on buying anything (not just because of the COVID pandemic, i've had this feeling for a good few years now) but i'm happy to go spend a lot more on food shopping and what not that will benefit me and my girlfriend that i live with.

Does anyone else feel like this?

Click to shrink...

No? It is okay to do nice things for yourself.

 

[Rhaknar]

I didn't use to but In the last couple of years yes, especially now with this pandemic and job uncertainty.

A silly and small example but I'm legit agonizing over buying or not xcom chimera squad, a 10€ game, when I even have like 3.90€ in my steam wallet so really it's a 6€ game, and yet there it sits in the cart...

 

[AliceAmber]

Yes, I agonized over buying a book last week. I normally am this way but its been absolutely worse lately.

 

[BFIB]

I don't do this on smaller items, but I do with bigger things. Vehicle, house I sat and contemplated, anxiety was up because of the sticker price.

Just did that with computer parts I ordered, I've been sitting on it for a week. First time I've built a PC since 2012.

 

[evrythngwastakn]

The number of things I've bought then returned is crazy. I always feel bad for spending the money on something and return it or cancel the order.

the thing I should have learned a long time ago but never do is that if you *really* want something and can *realistically* afford it after all expenses and commitments etc (not "oh well if I don't eat two meals each day and sell my sperm I can just make it!") then just do it. I want a Vespa. I have for 10 years now. I dunno why, I just adore the stupid dorky things. There have been numerous times I could have realistically afforded one but felt too guilty to buy it. Now I have a kid, car that needs some repairs, a 10 year old laptop that needs to be replaced, blah blah blah so I can't get one for some time. Had I just done it when I could have, I'd have it and be happy. Oh well.

 

[HotAndTender]

I didn't use to but In the last couple of years yes, especially now with this pandemic and job uncertainty.

A silly and small example but I'm legit agonizing over buying or not xcom chimera squad, a 10€ game, when I even have like 3.90€ in my steam wallet so really it's a 6€ game, and yet there it sits in the cart...

Click to shrink...

Sounds like we're in the same boat. The guitar stand is about £9 and the tuner £11ish, they're something i'll benefit from but hitting the buy button is hard.

 

[Watevaman]

I get anxiety over most things I buy that I don't need. I'm mainly scared about something big happening around the corner to one of the vehicles or something like that.

That said, we just bought a house and I've been dropping money on things I need using the house as justification. The initial jump is too damn pricey.

 

[Mathieran]

Yeah. Especially if there are a lot of options. I will do a bunch of research, read reviews and what not to see if I should get the cheapest option or if it's worth spending a couple extra dollars. Even if it's something that's like ten bucks. And it's not like I'm poor. Just become really frugal. I guess that's what happens when you graduate from college in fall 2008

 

[FloatingDivider]

I come from actual homelessness level poverty in my childhood so the answer to this is hell yes. I will trawl internet reviews for days trying to determine the best bang for buck items. I will forgo buying things I could easily afford just because I think it might be an unwise investment long term(ex. VR headsets) and I'm always deeply unhappy if I find out I overspent on an item. I used to fuck up when it came to ordering out (legit spending 3x what homecooked would cost) but with covid I've even stopped doing that.