The Diderot Effect
There&#x27;s probably a corollary, although I don&#x27;t know the name for it. I still have one pair of shoes and a week&#x27;s worth of shirts and underwear, an old projector and 10 year old speakers although I own a house and have a net worth over $1m.<p>I&#x27;ve certainly <i>felt</i> the sudden gravitational pull that comes from having one nice new toy enter your life. It manifests as a sense that &quot;wow, this little overpriced thing is so enjoyable... why am I sitting on a pile of savings and denying myself things that would make my life so much nicer?&quot; Slowly, I started spending $20 for a bag of coffee beans I really like instead of $12 for something that&#x27;s just okay. But it has to stop somewhere.<p>I realize I only buy the big ticket items when I either am seriously depressed or feel like I&#x27;m going to die soon, or both. The rest of the time, money in the bank is more interesting to me than nicer stuff. This is probably a phobia of spending money that I&#x27;ll go to my grave with.