Every time I buy something

[BrianWilliam]

...something else pops up that I want.

What is wrong with me?

[Chunky But Funky]

I think we have all been there at one point or another. Here is my new motto i have tried to adopt (quite possibly misquoted from elsewhere):

Strive to want what you have, versus continuously straining to have what you want.

I have to remind myself of this when a $10,000 or $20,000 mandolin, with Nugget or Gilchrist on the headstock, is calling my name. It's not going to happen with two kids in college and a third graduating HS shortly. Probably not after that either. I have even found myself looking at new pedals online for my pedalboard when the last one that the brown truck delivered hasn't even been opened yet. It's an issue!

Doug

[BrianWilliam]

I have three kids too.

Maybe it's a mid-life crisis.

[Explorer]

I don't buy a lot out of a wish to just buy something.

I usually have a need for a piece of equipment, or can see how it will replace something which I will then sell.

However... I did buy a few books on writing music and songs a while ago, and I get as much satisfaction as from a purchase, or more, by writing a piece of music which is original to me. Some pencil and paper, an instrument in hand, and a nearby recorder, and voila! new music.

Maybe I'm concentrating on the wrong thing, the music itself instead of tools which might let me make music later....

[Charles E.]

That's just the way it goes, some things will never change. Hey that could be a song...........

[Petrus]

Diderot effect? In mandolin terms, you upgrade to a better instrument, now you decide you need the Thomastik strings, maybe it needs a pro set up, you need to protect your investment so you go out and get a Carlton hard case, then you worry about climatic effects so you get a good humidification system, and of course you really need a Blue Chip pick to get the best sound out of it, and you feel that your holding position is stifling the sound so you get a Tone-Gard and maybe an ebony arm rest; maybe you think it needs some artificial opening up so you get a Tone-Rite ....

To put it in basic terms, the Diderot Effect a social habit that involves two ideas:

Sometimes the stuff we buy is linked to our sense of identity. Think about something you own that you just couldn’t part with.

Sometimes the stuff we buy is so great it makes us want to buy other great stuff. Like my rug.

The term was coined by 18th century French philosopher Denis Diderot who wrote the essay, “Regrets on Parting with My Old Dressing Gown.” In the essay, he talks about receiving a beautiful new dressing gown as a gift. He loves it, but then he realizes it makes all of his other things look like crap. So what does he do? He goes out and buys new things.

Analyze and predict the full cost of future purchases. A store may be having a great sale on a new outfit—but if the new outfit compels you to buy a new pair of shoes or handbag to match, it just became a more expensive purchase than originally assumed.

Buy things for their usefulness rather than their status. Stop trying to impress others with your stuff and start trying to impress them with your life.

Remind yourself that possessions do not define you.

http://twocents.lifehacker.com/the-d...-co-1730205150

[Bertram Henze]

Spend a year here and live on the fish and seabirds you can catch.
Or you could get lost in an IKEA warehouse.

[Carl Robin]

...something else pops up that I want.

What is wrong with me?

There's a song for that:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXqPjx94YMg

[Steve Ostrander]

It's Thanksgiving. Be grateful for the things you have. Focus on the things you need, and not the things you want. What do we really need? Food, clothing, shelter, love. The rest is gravy.

[Bertram Henze]

The rest is gravy.

That's where the slippery slope starts: for the gravy you need a napkin, for the napkin you need a washing machine, for the washing machine you need a power plant...

[Tobin]

The trick is to stop looking at the classifieds once you've bought something. That way, you'll never know if something else popped up.

Well, it's a theory anyway. I've never had the self discipline to do it.

[Mark Seale]

The trick is to stop looking at the classifieds once you've bought something. That way, you'll never know if something else popped up.

Well, it's a theory anyway. I've never had the self discipline to do it.

Heresy.

[Austin Bob]

I have the hots right now for a Les Paul. I've gone so far as to visit the local Guitar Center and play several models, as well as search online.

Of course due to my searches, I now get pop ups from different online stores whenever I go to other sites, so it's a constant reminder.

I've wanted a Les Paul for all my adult life. But I have a perfectly fine Strat that I rarely play. My guitar playing is limited to my acoustic 99.999% of the time, so it makes no sense that I should spend over 2K on a Les Paul, but that doesn't stop me from wanting one.

Not today, I tell myself.

[JeffD]

Just to add fuel to the fire of your desire - your decision purchase an object can never entirely be based on your behavior before you own the object, because ummm.... you don't have it yet.

Its like the diner that didn't put pastrami on the menu because nobody ever ordered it. Or something like that...

[Randi Gormley]

I get a lot of mileage and satisfaction out of wish lists. They're much cheaper than an actual purchase!

[terzinator]

The urge to smoke will pass, whether you choose to smoke or not.

[Relio]

It's Thanksgiving. Be grateful for the things you have. Focus on the things you need, and not the things you want. What do we really need? Food, clothing, shelter, love. The rest is gravy.

Says the guy with "chronic MAS" in his signature ) To the OP, that is normal. Until the "next step" mandolin is absolutely 100% out of your range, you'll always have some MAS. The $15,000 + mandolins is the next step up from mine, and I know that will never, ever happen. I feel like mine is one of the nicer ones in my "range" so I can look at the classifieds all I want with no slight feeling of MAS. Right now I have a bit of A(accessories)AS for a new strap

[Steve Ostrander]

Says the guy with "chronic MAS" in his signature

I talk the talk, I didn't say I walked the walk

[Austin Bob]

I get a lot of mileage and satisfaction out of wish lists. They're much cheaper than an actual purchase!

A lot of wisdom in that statement. Oftentimes the actual purchase is a bit of a letdown, and I experience buyer's remorse after a major purchase sometimes as well.

[Bertram Henze]

Dream your dreams, but dream them to the very end. Find out what is really the beautiful part and admit that the item you want is only a prop, and if you buy it the the rest of your dream is not included. So you can buy that open sports car and drive it through your rainy ugly home suburb because they forgot to pack the beach and the sunset.

[BrianWilliam]

Spend a year here and live on the fish and seabirds you can catch.
Or you could get lost in an IKEA warehouse.

Any time I buy something from ikea I soon feel like I want to buy something else.

I love sushi. But seabirds? Come on man

[BrianWilliam]

There's a song for that:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXqPjx94YMg

I'd buy Mr. Lang another button for his shirt. Maybe two....

[BrianWilliam]

It's Thanksgiving. Be grateful for the things you have. Focus on the things you need, and not the things you want. What do we really need? Food, clothing, shelter, love. The rest is gravy.

Focus on me!

Sorry, I listen to a lot of pop.

[BrianWilliam]

That's where the slippery slope starts: for the gravy you need a napkin, for the napkin you need a washing machine, for the washing machine you need a power plant...

Slippery indeed. I love gravy.

[BrianWilliam]

The trick is to stop looking at the classifieds once you've bought something. That way, you'll never know if something else popped up.

Well, it's a theory anyway. I've never had the self discipline to do it.

Probably this. I should delete the classifieds bookmark from my phone. It's always staring at me.