Changing my consumption habits
This year, I've been rethinking my consumption habits and making changes to the ways I spend money. Breaking it down, I'm doing it for the following reasons:
I was unemployed for three months and now that I'm working again, but on a contract that may not be renewed at the end of the year, I need to get my savings back up - especially after moving, buying a car and going on vacation a lot.
Inflation and those stupid new tariffs are making things more expensive, so I'm thinking more about stuff I actually need versus wants.
Re-prioritizing my hobbies has made me realize how much of my nerdy hobbies are based around consumption and spending money as opposed to community or creation.
I simply have too much stuff.
It's nice to be earning money again and I will admit I did a little retail therapy once I got my first couple paychecks. But when I was unemployed I really took a look at my spending habits and tried to cut back where I needed to. And honestly... a lot of the stuff I did I'm going to continue to do. Mainly things like eating out less, cancelling subscriptions that I don't really need and budgeting more.
I also made a list of things I needed to buy when I had income again and limited it to anything I would get actual use from. New pots and pans to replace my ancient ones, a replacement phone battery, new shoes and an oil change for my car. Having it all actually written out was a big help when budgeting and prioritizing where my money is going.
Back to the stuff part: moving last year made me realize I had too many things. And a lot of it was stuff that fell under the aforementioned "nerdy hobbies" category... figures, books, video games, records, other collectibles. I sold a decent chunk of them on eBay both for some extra cash and also to just get them out of the house! I spent a lot of money on stupid stuff during the last few years that provided some form of fleeting happiness whenever a new box showed up at the door but now I have way too many little toys and tchotchkes.
I definitely don't need any more plastic trinkets around the house. The world also doesn't need any more either when I think about stuff like Labubus and how they'll all end up in a landfill someday. My roommate and I popped into an anime store that had opened up near us a couple weekends ago and it hit me how much of like "fandom" culture is just based around buying stuff! Even things like video games and movies... I like collecting physical media but I really haven't bought much this year - instead taking advantage of my local library system that has an insanely good catalog to check out movies on my watchlist and new video games for free!
My money has instead been going more toward experiences and in-person hobbies. Beach trips, pinball tournament entry fees, saving up to buy a new bass guitar to get into music again. It's more fulfilling and I feel more in control. I just have to stick with it, but budgeting, making lists and having a one-in, one-out rule for certain things has been making it much easier. Excited to see how the rest of the year goes with saving!