Why do I feel guilty for buying something that I always wanted?

[Anonymous]

i always wanted a gaming laptop i brought one the other day but i feel guilty for it
i having been working on my savings for a few years i spent $1,300 for the laptop.

before my father died 6 years ago one of are last phone calls he asked if i was saving my money if i told my mother how much i spent on it she would think i was crazy.

i feel guilty about how much i spent

[MrOracle]

I'm not going to tell you not to ever buy anything for yourself - that's not exactly living. Having said that, if you want to build wealth, then you need to invest your money in something that's going to have a decent return, and when your INVESTMENT can afford to buy you the thing you want, you can buy it, but the principle stays in the investment and continues to earn you money.

Does this mean it takes longer at first, so you have to wait longer to get things? Yes. But those dollars you invest are working on your behalf 365 days a year, even if you don't get out of bed that day, and if you can let some of the earnings get re-invested, then your money will grow faster and faster, and eventually you'll be able to buy anything you like without having to worry about it.

At the beginning, it's hard - you feel like it takes forever to get anywhere. But over time, you feel better and better and better, because your money is growing even when you aren't able to add to your investment directly (though you'll find you WANT to add more, because that grows your money faster).

Also, if you can find ways to make that laptop help you EARN money, that's also a plus. My $600 work laptop has probably directly help me earn $20,000 over 4 years, so when I replace it this year, I won't think anything of it.

[Asker]

how has your laptop helped you earn $20,000 sounds fake

[MrOracle]

That's only $5,000 a year for 4 years. That's pennies for a business, even a fairly small one like mine. I'm an audio/video integrator, and most of my jobs are for wealthy clients, as those are the people who can afford what I do. I have houses with over 30 audio/video zones, including dedicated theater rooms and even a couple of outdoor theaters.






I do whole-home automation systems, where my customer can control his gates, garage doors, alarm, security cameras, pool & spa, and his audio/video system all from one app. All of that takes a lot of programming and automation to make it easy to use. I also do networking & WiFi. My laptop helps me do all of that programming and configuring, so, yeah, I'd say $5000 a year is a very conservative estimate.

[Anonymous]

I get that feeling sometimes and I think what it truly is might be the thoughts such as “Well I finally got this. Now what? Should I have kept saving instead?” It’s perfect normal I think. Don’t let it bring you down. Play some awesome games and enjoy your purchase! You can continue saving again!

[kylee2437]

Why feel guilty about it? You bought it for a reason and you have to enjoy yourself a little bit. Maybe try limiting on what you spend for a little but enjoy your laptop. Saving is great but so is living life