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@Neddos
Hahah great read, and very interesting about the house sitting gigs in NZ.
I can relate to a lot of the above. When I was younger I would obsess about tech that I wanted (e.g. the Creative Zen, the matching speaker system...) until I saved up to buy a PSP, bought one, and realised that I had made a huge mistake. This happened at quite a young age and I think it saved me from wasting a lot of money as I grew up. Since then being a student and not really having much disposable cash, and then graduating and not really having much disposable cash, has kinda trapped me in a frugal lifestyle. I say trapped, but I don't mind it at all. When I look at other people's spending habits and lifestyles I don't envy them at all. For example, I got a very cheap but pretty much mint condition iPhone 5 from my ex-boss because his kid wanted the new one, and then a few months later he offered me the iPhone 6 because a newer phone was coming out that his kid wanted. The same guy was also moaning about how he had spent thousands of pounds on an all inclusive holiday half way across the world, when he could have probably had a very similar experience somewhere in Europe for a fraction of the price. Even closer to home I see members of my family waste so much money buying stuff that they don't need- gadgets, clothes, etc. When it gets to this point in the year and everyone is stressing about money I can't help but think that if they had said no to a cheeky Nandos here or there, or not bought that 10th pair of trainers, they would probably be a lot happier as a result. Maybe I am a bit of a MTfL, but I think it's a good thing to practice in moderation. I don't scrimp on the important things (bikes, beer/alcohol, family/friends, experiences, bin bags) and it's nice knowing that I can buy my family presents this year without getting into debt. I am working on becoming less tight though. You can end up worrying too much about spending money even when you have it, which isn't a good thing. Also there's no point saving for a rainy day if it comes and you decide that you'll make do with a bin bag instead of that wavey Northface GoreTex jacket.