Having a hard time keeping my eye on the prize !!

[Pomegranate12]

So most of my life I have been horrible at savings, horrendous  !!!
I learned about FIRE 6 months ago, it got me excited (FREEDOM)  since then I have become an excellent saver.
But I keep finding myself being drawn to my old habits, longing for gadgets and things I don't really need

Do you ever get tempted like this ?  If so how do you convince yourself to stay the course

[Weisass]

Personally? I have tried the strategy of writing down the information about anything that I think I want, and then waiting a set period of time before I make a decision to purchase. Some of the things end up being important; others end up being something I would have regretted. It helps me reset and slow myself down.

[SunnyDays]

I used to figure out how long I would have to work to buy that item (based on my “real” hourly wage as per Your Money or Your Life) and then decide if I wanted it badly enough to be willing to tack that amount of time on to the end of my career.  Usually the answer was NO.

[Pomegranate12]

I used to figure out how long I would have to work to buy that item (based on my “real” hourly wage as per Your Money or Your Life) and then decide if I wanted it badly enough to be willing to tack that amount of time on to the end of my career.  Usually the answer was NO.

Ohhh sweet, I think that will work for me

[ObviouslyNotAGolfer]

As for gadgets/temptations, I am pretty good at avoiding impulse buys by just telling myself "I'll buy that tomorrow." Then, when tomorrow comes, I sometimes forget it and/or get distracted by something else. However, if I find myself thinking about a certain tempting item for a long period of time, and I think it passes the cost/benefit analysis, then I will likely get it.

This technique works for all sorts of behavior that is best avoided--like getting angry and flying off the hook. "So that jerk cut me off on the freeway. I'll get mad about it in ten seconds..."

[cool7hand]

Check out Gretchen Rubin's and James Clear's work on habit formation.

You also might check out Tony Robbins TED talk on the 6 human needs? Which are your primary needs? How do the habits you want to replace relate to them? How do you satisfy those needs with behaviors you would prefer?

[rantk81]

I just mentally tell myself:  "Would I rather have this gadget? Or have the freedom to never have to work again?"  The answer is usually the same each time :)

[Metalcat]

Short answer: no

Long answer:
We each have to determine what our own individual priorities are. If gadgets and shit are truly your priority, then go ahead and prioritize them. However, if they aren't your priority, then why are you wanting to spend on them?

Basically, if you want both early retirement AND to spend all of your money, then you haven't at all internalized what money really means.

Money isn't anything in and of itself, it's a placeholder for time and energy. So you can't both prioritize saving it and spending it because that makes no sense.

A gadget doesn't cost money, it costs time and energy. Only you can decide if you want to give that time and energy away to a gadget or if you want to keep it for yourself to use in the future.

That's it. Wrap your mind around that and all spending will be more intuitive over time.

[WSUCoug1994]

I generally have pretty good self-control when it comes to spending - my problem lies in tools.  Since I am a DIY junkie I seem to be able to validate any tool purchase known to human kind.  Like others have said - I institute a 72 hour hold on all purchases - by hour 24 I am on the fence, by hour 48 I am grateful I waited and by hour 72 I realized how ridiculous it was.

[nessa]

if I wanted it badly enough to be willing to tack that amount of time on to the end of my career.  Usually the answer was NO.

@SunnyDays this hit me just right - I've been evaluating my purchases YMOYL style HOWEVER I was looking at it as "time I've already spent" and not "adding on to my working life". Nice tweak for me to evaluate my spending habits further. Thank you for this!

[NorthernMonkey]

I think of the opportunity cost of buying something. For $1000 I could have x or y or z, but not x and y and z.

Of those 3 things, which would you rather have, where X is your gadget, Y is a vacation or experience, and Z is a step closer to freedom from work.

 

[Zikoris]

I think a lot of it is mental. If you can train your brain to not want something anymore, you're set for life. Otherwise, you'll always be struggling and trying to find ways to trick yourself.

Personally, I found that as soon as I started learning about the true cost of most consumer goods (beyond money - environment, human health, child labor, sweatshops, etc), I stopped wanting my money to go to those companies. The Story of Plastic is one documentary I quite liked, if you're looking for somewhere to start. These days for the most part when I go to a store and see all the stuff for sale, I think of massive landfills, islands made of garbage, and all the videos I've seen of animals suffering as a result of our garbage (like the turtle with the straw up its nose, etc). There are a lot of zero waste bloggers/influencers who post tons of useful data and information about how to reduce your waste, alternatives to buying a new gadget, and so on.

Make it about more than money.

[DeniseNJ]

The first thing I tell myself is, "You do not need that!" Sternly.
But if I do need it I ask myself, "What have you been doing all this time without it?" Like, how have I lived so long without a food dehydrator?  Somehow, I've managed fine.
If I still need it, I ask myself, "How can I get it for free?"
Then, "Can I get it used?"
Then, "Can I use a discount code of coupon?"
Then, "Where can I get the very best price?"

Usually, I've lost interest by the time I have to answer all those questions. Also, I unsubscribed from the review youtube channels and accounts that made me want stuff. And stay out of stores.

[Abe Froman]

The one quality between my wife and I which single handedly has saved us a LOT of money.... is the inability to decide in a timely fashion.

[socaso]

You've only been at this 6 months. Your impulses aren't going to leave right away. Keep at it.

Personally I maintain an Amazon wish list that is a mile long. Whenever I'm thinking of buying something I put it on there. Periodically I go through and it's funny to see what I thought I wanted to buy. I delete a lot of it. I also go through it and cross reference the books on there with my library's ebook and physical book collection. If the library has it I add it to the library wish list and delete it from Amazon.

[DrinkCoffeeStackMoney]

To the OP: If you're only 6 months in, just stick to it and give it time to become your new norm.

The wifey and I have been at this for 7 years now and I still struggle many days between wanting to buy a $60k-$70k restored 1968 Dodge Charger, and living in a van in the desert so we can invest as much as possible. Some days it's tough to stay the course but most days it's not, and it gets a little easier with time. I'm still buying the damn car one day, but I want/need to hit our number first. Life's too short to forgo every splurge, but at the same time I try to keep my eyes on the prize.

[vand]

Last year I made the effort to keep track of every and all of my discretionary spending. The most basic step in retirement planning is knowing how much you need to live on, right?

There is a saying that “what gets measured gets managed” and I find that to be very true. If you record all your spending then it has a profound psychological effect on your relationship with impulsive spending and you find yourself developing the habit of delaying gratification.

I had one of my lowest spend years last year, although much of that was undoubtedly due to vivid lockdown, I did not feel that a higher level of spending on more little luxuries would have significantly improved my life.

6 months into your FIRE journey is not a very long time. Once the initial excitement is passed, what keeps you going is discipline, habit and patience - virtues that take time to develop and cannot be programmed into you overnight. This is true in anything worth doing, not just financial planning.

[Linea_Norway]

I think a lot of it is mental. If you can train your brain to not want something anymore, you're set for life. Otherwise, you'll always be struggling and trying to find ways to trick yourself.

Personally, I found that as soon as I started learning about the true cost of most consumer goods (beyond money - environment, human health, child labor, sweatshops, etc), I stopped wanting my money to go to those companies. The Story of Plastic is one documentary I quite liked, if you're looking for somewhere to start. These days for the most part when I go to a store and see all the stuff for sale, I think of massive landfills, islands made of garbage, and all the videos I've seen of animals suffering as a result of our garbage (like the turtle with the straw up its nose, etc). There are a lot of zero waste bloggers/influencers who post tons of useful data and information about how to reduce your waste, alternatives to buying a new gadget, and so on.

Make it about more than money.

+1

I also just don't want to contribute to the mindless spending society anymore. And as a supersaver, I have totally lost interest in visiting shops, as they only sell stuff I don't want to buy anyway.
If I need something and have thought about it for some time, I check whether it is available second hand. If not, and after far more thinking about it, I might buy it new if I still want it. But DH and I buy (and sell) quite a lot second hand.