Major Tom
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
I was about to post this in the Photographer's Corner thread as it concerns a camera I have been wanting for a long time, but then realized that it is really of more general interest as I experience this kind of thing often, at all levels and types of expenditure. Allow me to explain.
I have been coveting a particular camera for a long time now. Before it was even manufactured, I was wanting this type of camera. When Fuji announced they were making it at a price point that was reachable for me, I became very interested. The first model came out (the X100) to really good, but not great, reviews, so I held off. Then it's successor, the X100S came out. It was apparent from the rave reviews that all the major bugs had been ironed out, and it was exactly the camera I had been wanting for a long time. I could barely contain my excitement.
Here's where it gets a little weird for me. This camera has been out for over a year now and I have been very close to pulling the trigger and purchasing it. The total purchase price of the camera plus a few vital accessories and the software I will need to process the images from it comes to ~ $1650. It's a significant expenditure for me, but I can manage it without much of a dent to the budget. To make the financial side easier, I have some camera gear it will replace that I can sell to raise about half (maybe more) of the purchase price, to make the expenditure even easier to swallow. However, every time I get close to pulling the trigger and buying it, something stops me. I haven't quite been able to push myself over the edge and actually buy the darned thing.
Then yesterday I found that I'll be getting some unexpected money (partial payback from a very old loan to a friend that I had forgiven years ago and essentially forgotten about). This cash will mean that I can buy the camera I really want without affecting my budget at all! Trouble is - I find myself still unable to pull the trigger. My thinking is that if I don't buy it, I'll have an even healthier cushion in my checking account. Unspent money represents potential to me - and I like the thought of all those possibilities just sitting there. Once I spend a significant amount of money on something, the potential for future spending diminishes.
This sort of thing happens to me quite a lot. I haven't been to see a film in a movie theater for several years. Recently, a documentary came out that I would really like to see. The matinee is only $8.50. Although I live on a fairly low income, I wouldn't even miss the $8.50 - I'm not that hard up! Yet, the same thing is happening. I made plans to go see this documentary in the next few days and now, at the last minute, am experiencing much diminished desire to do so. I saw a similar documentary on the same subject (by a different filmmaker) online some months ago, have seen the trailer for this film, and have done much reading online about the subject. I'm telling myself that I don't really need to see the film after all, and am about at the point where I now am not at all bothered whether I see it or not. In this case, it's obviously not about the money, as it's only $8.50 - there is something else going on.
I find this sort of thing happens to me quite often. If I think about something I'm very interested in doing, once I feel I have fully researched the subject (I suppose you might say once I have experienced it vicariously), I begin to cease feeling the desire to actually do it. It happens with trips and outings, as well as large (and even small) purchases. This process doesn't leave me feeling unhappy or frustrated. I am quite content, though I don't experience a lot of highs and lows in my life - I just feel pretty good most of the time. Life is good - I have a bicycle to get around on, 3 cats who are fantastic company, and even a small number of friends, and one close friend in particular, for the human connection I do need from time to time.
I have a feeling that I will eventually get either this camera, or it's successor (if I wait long enough). This process prevents me from buying and doing a lot of things, but it seems to act like a filter, so that the very few things I really want badly and over a long period of time, do finally get done (or purchased). I am extremely good at the art of delayed gratification, to the point that I deny myself a lot of things, but I am not at all unhappy; I'm a contented soul.
Does anyone else here experience anything similar to this? Obviously, this kind of extreme delayed gratification is good for people like myself, who ER on a limited budget, so I'm hoping I'm not the only one here with this benign affliction.
I have been coveting a particular camera for a long time now. Before it was even manufactured, I was wanting this type of camera. When Fuji announced they were making it at a price point that was reachable for me, I became very interested. The first model came out (the X100) to really good, but not great, reviews, so I held off. Then it's successor, the X100S came out. It was apparent from the rave reviews that all the major bugs had been ironed out, and it was exactly the camera I had been wanting for a long time. I could barely contain my excitement.
Here's where it gets a little weird for me. This camera has been out for over a year now and I have been very close to pulling the trigger and purchasing it. The total purchase price of the camera plus a few vital accessories and the software I will need to process the images from it comes to ~ $1650. It's a significant expenditure for me, but I can manage it without much of a dent to the budget. To make the financial side easier, I have some camera gear it will replace that I can sell to raise about half (maybe more) of the purchase price, to make the expenditure even easier to swallow. However, every time I get close to pulling the trigger and buying it, something stops me. I haven't quite been able to push myself over the edge and actually buy the darned thing.
Then yesterday I found that I'll be getting some unexpected money (partial payback from a very old loan to a friend that I had forgiven years ago and essentially forgotten about). This cash will mean that I can buy the camera I really want without affecting my budget at all! Trouble is - I find myself still unable to pull the trigger. My thinking is that if I don't buy it, I'll have an even healthier cushion in my checking account. Unspent money represents potential to me - and I like the thought of all those possibilities just sitting there. Once I spend a significant amount of money on something, the potential for future spending diminishes.
This sort of thing happens to me quite a lot. I haven't been to see a film in a movie theater for several years. Recently, a documentary came out that I would really like to see. The matinee is only $8.50. Although I live on a fairly low income, I wouldn't even miss the $8.50 - I'm not that hard up! Yet, the same thing is happening. I made plans to go see this documentary in the next few days and now, at the last minute, am experiencing much diminished desire to do so. I saw a similar documentary on the same subject (by a different filmmaker) online some months ago, have seen the trailer for this film, and have done much reading online about the subject. I'm telling myself that I don't really need to see the film after all, and am about at the point where I now am not at all bothered whether I see it or not. In this case, it's obviously not about the money, as it's only $8.50 - there is something else going on.
I find this sort of thing happens to me quite often. If I think about something I'm very interested in doing, once I feel I have fully researched the subject (I suppose you might say once I have experienced it vicariously), I begin to cease feeling the desire to actually do it. It happens with trips and outings, as well as large (and even small) purchases. This process doesn't leave me feeling unhappy or frustrated. I am quite content, though I don't experience a lot of highs and lows in my life - I just feel pretty good most of the time. Life is good - I have a bicycle to get around on, 3 cats who are fantastic company, and even a small number of friends, and one close friend in particular, for the human connection I do need from time to time.
I have a feeling that I will eventually get either this camera, or it's successor (if I wait long enough). This process prevents me from buying and doing a lot of things, but it seems to act like a filter, so that the very few things I really want badly and over a long period of time, do finally get done (or purchased). I am extremely good at the art of delayed gratification, to the point that I deny myself a lot of things, but I am not at all unhappy; I'm a contented soul.
Does anyone else here experience anything similar to this? Obviously, this kind of extreme delayed gratification is good for people like myself, who ER on a limited budget, so I'm hoping I'm not the only one here with this benign affliction.