[ninjakitty16]

I get sooo guilty whenever I buy anything for myself. This may be because (although I'm not materialistic) I place such value into the things I buy - they have to be special and have some meaning for me. Because of my personal values this usually leads me to buy handmade... (Etsy... my great weakness) so it's more pricey sometimes. Maybe that's why I feel so bad.

But really, do any of you have this problem? It's frustrating sometimes. I look over a thing for almost weeks before I buy it to make sure, but I still feel bad spending the money. In theory, it should be okay to every once in a while have a miniature shopping spree and to buy things that might help make you happy (e.g. fairy lights, candles, a bright woolly hat).

I know life is FAR from being about possessions, and I'm all too aware, but these things can bring such a smile to the face! (yours and others) What are your views? Any ways to help not feel ze' guilt?

 

[TripleCardinal]

Yes, I feel guilty... especially now that I'm married (knowing we share a bank account and he makes 4x my salary) & have house payments, car payments, etc. I rarely buy anything for myself any more... I realized recently almost everything I have has been gifted to me! It's hard not to want to buy new clothes for myself when I literally wear them out over the years. I usually wait for my husband to buy something new then I justify it to myself haha.

 

[Lacrimosa]

Well yes, I feel the things I give should be heartfelt and valuable. I can't even get myself to get things if they don't have personal value for me. Same here, and once I finally decide and get what I initially wanted, I think, "Wait, why did I get this? I should have got this instead." and I go on moping about it for the rest of the day. :frustrating:

 

[ethylester]

I have a hard time buying something for myself that is over $10. Under ten bucks and it's fine. But if it's more than that, it better be exactly what I want and be of the best quality, to last for a long time. I prefer to shop at thrift stores because then I never end up feeling guilty. But every once in a while, there is something I really really want that is $50 or so. I will look at it a zillion times if it's online, and just think about it for months. I'll think about how much I want it and try to rationalize spending the money. Then if I end up getting some extra cash for whatever reason, that's when I'll finally allow myself to buy that special thing I really want. I still end up feeling a little dirty or indulgent afterwards, and sort of ashamed... but I get over it. I have been raised to be frugal and thrifty so it always gives me anxiety to spend a lot of money all at once.

 

[Ema Lee]

Yes. This happens to me all the time because consumerism is a weak point for me. I always have to justify what I buy...I always spend a lot of time thinking "do I really need this?" or "do I really want this?". I usually stop when I'm getting to the "can I live without this?" because otherwise I'd never buy anything ever. But yeah, if it's cheap stuff not so much, but sometimes I even feel a bit guilty while buying CD's or books, but I justify this as suporting the authors -ha. I don't have that problem as much if it's not material things though, like I'd more readily pay for a trip because it's something that would affect my life in general and me as a person and not just satisfying a whim.

 

[Blue Potato]

I do that a lot too although if I buy something like chapstick It's not that bad. I'm always afraid of if I buy something that I really didn't care for and when I have a surplus of money I always end up not spending it. I always think that maybe if I save up my money I can save it for a rainy day or a big item. I like to buy items with a certain value, like at the fair trade or Esty of course other wise they are meaningless to me.

 

[Father of Dragons]

I actually do. For me it comes from being upper middle class... For a long time I was incredibly guilty of being born into a home like mine, until I realized that it is all luck. I was just lucky, I didn't choose this. I try not to feel too bad about it these days, and I try to remember that there are rich kids who do nothing but party their parents savings away. I'm a far cry from that, that's for sure.

Besides, with my chosen profession I'll be lucky to make as much as a retail manager when I graduate. ^^

 

[will-o'-wisp]

Yeah, I feel guilty about buying stuff. I even hate doing the grocery shopping because of the bill at the end! I think having grown up with fairly strict religion had a lot to do with it for me.

On a positive note though, it makes even the littlest thing a deliciously guilty pleasure! Tehe

 

[attic]

Both yes and no. I am quite impulsive about buying things, and might think "what the hell! " and get something I don't really need just because I want to (or because it was so very cheap...) . But I feel guilty later. I don't spend much compared to others here. But I can sometimes become painfully aware of (haha, what was it someone wrote in the other thread I just read? about un-infp-ish things... calculate the benefit of effects? something like that) how much better those money could be used. I might walk out the store with a candle I thought smellt good, and a begger is sitting there, and then I regrett buying the candle, since those money could have bought her family food for a day during the winter, or bough medicine if I gave it to charity so that a kid didn't die, or contributed to education that would eventually lead to much benefits etc.etc.etc.etc.etc. I never really feel that my money are mine, they just happen to be deposited in my pocket for the moment, and I have the responsibility to use them best I can.