Psychology of Spending

[jackfengshui]

I am often intrigued by the different psychology of spending within and outside of this hobby.

Some of you oldtimers might remember a post I made on the old board called "Free Camera". One day, a provider cancelled on me at the last moment. Instead of pursuing Plan B, I used the free time and unspent cash to go to a store and bought a digital camera that I had wanted to get for quite a while - and I managed to convince myself that I got the camera "for free"

This past week, I took my wife out to dinner at one of the better restaurants in town. The next day, I paid a regular visit to one of my favorite providers. Both outings were very enjoyable. However, even though each cost about the same amount, in my mind, the dinner was a special "splurge", while the session was just a "routine" expenditure.

[offshoredrilling]

which dinner was routine?????

[jackfengshui]

Originally Posted by offshoredrilling

which dinner was routine?????

The one that included the "Y".

[offshoredrilling]

Y thank you errrrrr what happened to W and h.

must be a nut loose on my keyboard, oh wait, that is a given

[brasil]

I think most of us have fallen into the "penny wise, pound foolish" syndrome on multiple occassions.

[Tiger]

I never pursue a plan B. To me, it wouldn't be who I wanted to see, so why bother settling for who I didn't want to see in the first place. I like Jack's solution of buying something you've wanted, but I know I would hold out until I can reschedule plan A.

As an aside to spending psychology - when did genesee and miller lite become premium beers ($7.50 at PGA) heineken & sam adams lager ($6.50 at PGA)

[JONBALLS]

Ive been as far as plan e

never would have churned out the income without having been chasing this though

obama...the destroyer

can leave at any time and we all can get focused back on some greedy capitolism..........furr shurr

oohh HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN!!....................... .....................eh....sig h

[jokacz]

A penny saved is a penny earned. Fuck it, and drive on.

[Doove]

Originally Posted by jackfengshui

Instead of pursuing Plan B, I used the free time and unspent cash to go to a store and bought a digital camera that I had wanted to get for quite a while - and I managed to convince myself that I got the camera "for free"

I always manage to surprise myself with how much "free" stuff i can buy with my tax return check each year.

Usually, it's about 1-1/2 to 2 times the amount of stuff vs. what the check actually is. Funny how that works.

[Guest121613]

I take my wife to the dollar theatre, I have not bought any new toys for the garage in 2 years, my go-phone cost me about $20 a month, I grow my own food, so I have money for providers, lol.

[ben dover]

So ... Jack... What camera did you buy?

[jackfengshui]

Originally Posted by ben dover

So ... Jack... What camera did you buy?

It was just a Canon that happened to cost around $$. That was quite a few years ago, before smart phones became adequate cameras for many people - except, of course, serious photographers like you.

[Lexxxy]

That is very common and relatable.
While I'm on a trip I know my overhead and set a profit goal. I make sure my overhead and decent profit(enough to make it worth the trip) are covered by prebooks. Once I hit my goal and I see others other than my prebooks my brain switches to "extra money","play money", and/or "pamper myself money" because it's more than I had planned on. I'm usually extremely good about it and behave myself with student loans and taxes in mind. With that being said, I'm guilty of giving in to shopping sprees and spa days here and there due to the mentality.

[ben dover]

Originally Posted by jackfengshui

It was just a Canon that happened to cost around $$. That was quite a few years ago, before smart phones became adequate cameras for many people - except, of course, serious photographers like you.

Well Jack thanks for calling me a professional or is it just serious? I do make a part of my living with a camera but it's not as good as it was 20 years ago sadly.... I just bought a new 50mm prime len$, so I wont be hobbying for a while...BD

[MC]

Outside of my hobby spending, I'm usually pretty cheap as far as buying things for myself. I used to be an avid dvd collector. However, since I became more active in the hobby and having extra spending money became more important, 2 or 3 months will go by before I buy a dvd. Even then, I'll only spend the money if I can get a really good deal. Like recently I bought a dvd for $14 at Best Buy, mainly because it was more than twice as much on Amazon. There's also plenty of free movies available on Youtube, so it's not like I'm seeing less movies than I did before.