The guilt of buying stuff

I’m feeling a bit depressed. I haven’t been able to come under budget for any month this year. There’s always an excuse – bought ski boots to replace my old ones (plus a ski pass), car crash, moving, bought a car, grandma passed away, bought a couch, etc. And granted, my net worth is still growing and I’m still saving about 50% of my net income. Sometimes more.

In the past couple of weeks I bought those beautiful leather boots, The Sims 3, and the Leopard operating system. All 3 are considerable purchases. All 3 were wants not needs. And I know that I should be able to buy things that I want every now and then because I do save a lot, but I can’t help but feel guilty.

Sometimes I don’t get that guilty feeling. Sometimes I can go to the mall and buy something nice and not think about it again. I can just enjoy what I buy. But other times, I just get in this funk where I still spend the money, but I feel so guilty about it that I can’t fully enjoy what I’ve worked hard to buy.

I know it’s about finding that happy balance, and that’s something I’ve always struggled with. I can justify any purchase if I want to justify it. And I can feel guilty over any purchase if I want to feel guilty. So what is it in my mind that triggers the guilty feelings?

One Response to “The guilt of buying stuff”

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1. Give Me Back My Five Bucks » Keeping within my budget says:

   Saturday, March 6, 2010 - 06:45pm at 6:31 pm

   [...] Thank you for all of your comments on my post about feeling guilty about spending. [...]

   Reply

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