What Did You Make a Conscious Decision to NOT Buy This Month? [Alternative Title: Celebrating Consumer Restraint]

[Deactivated] on 30/09/2022 - 08:04

tl;dr OP "saved" $1,350 by changing an imminent purchasing decision and asks if you did anything similar this month.

==

I know it's a running joke about mindless consumerism here on OzBargain (says the bloke who just had another 500 Christmas lights delivered to go with the 1,200 or so that haven't been opened from the 2019 post-Christmas Bunnings clearance) but I want to explore the topic of conscious consumer restraint. You know that "Hang on, WTF am I doing? Close the web browser and go for a walk before you make another stupid purchasing decision" type of moment.

For me, it was right at the start of the week. I'd tracked-down an in-stock LG C2 42" OLED to use as my primary monitor and negotiated a price in-store that I was very happy with. I was literally moments from walking to the counter to tap my credit card and then loading-up my car with the display.

The adrenaline from "the chase" for a deal had switched to the inevitable surge of dopamine but I had a moment of clarity and stopped myself from proceeding with the purchase.

My main use case was WFH productivity - an upgrade from an old cat-scratched/cat-gnawed^ Xiaomi ultrawide. But WFH is only three days a week. And my gaming PC hasn't been switched on in maybe two years (seriously….THAT was a waste of money). And my gaming consoles are hooked up to an OLED in the game room. And all streaming content consumption is all on the big TV in our living room.

Yep - I had a robust "Hang on, WTF am I doing? I don't need this!" discussion with myself before thanking and apologising to the store salesperson and heading back to my car. Later that night I pulled the trigger on a HP X32 and have just finished setting it up next to an old 27" Agon display in portrait mode. I'm pretty chuffed with it.

So - what DIDN'T you buy this week that your present self is pretty happy about?

(^)Yes, I'm now looking for a deal on a new cat. 😛

General Discussion

Comments

  • jellykingdom on 30/09/2022 - 08:14
    +10

    A few days ago, I would have said a replacement phone. Then the 25% cashback on refurbs came up…

    • chrismelba on 03/10/2022 - 18:58
      +1

      What deal is this?

  • FireRunner on 30/09/2022 - 08:19
    +5

    I’m tempted to buy fast food every so often. I usually go without by a combination of wanting to save money, feeling too lazy to get it and thinking it through and realising I don’t really want to it anyway.
    Savings add up I suppose

    • [Deactivated] on 30/09/2022 - 08:29
      +3

      Savings add up I suppose

      Not to mention future savings on new clothes, belts and diabetes treatments. 🙃

  • CodeXD on 30/09/2022 - 08:21
    +3

    The 60% off bubble tea.

    Then came 70% off.

    But all the ones I wanted were sold out.

    • [Deactivated] on 30/09/2022 - 08:30

      So that sounds like "today you" is a bit annoyed with "past you"?

      • CodeXD on 30/09/2022 - 08:32

        Nah, it was gonna be $100 worth of bubble tea so I can also get it with the cup lol both times I had about $100 worth in my cart debating whether to proceed with the purchase.

        Honestly, I don't think I could handle like 150 cups of bubble tea in a few months.

        I think once or twice a week is as good amount and these expired early 2023.

  • ozturtle on 30/09/2022 - 08:22
    +11

    The Nvidia shield deal seems great, but it's a $300 luxury I can do without ..

    • [Deactivated] on 30/09/2022 - 08:27
      +3

      Aye. I've been "Shield-curious" for years!

      Every time a good deal comes up I get close to pulling the trigger and then get cold feet when I try to work out what actual feature/s I'd use or don't already have on an existing device. This is about the same time as I think about cupboard drawers full of Raspberry Pis, Chromecasts, retired laptops/phones, media streaming boxes, game consoles etc that are destined for landfill at some point.

      • Windows7forever on 01/10/2022 - 18:42

        Shield is an overpriced oddity of a device. One that only hardcore streamers would see the value of. Your last sentence is very poignant. I keep all my old devices if I think they have a future use in my life, otherwise sell or give them away.

        • cute as duck on 01/10/2022 - 18:49
          +2

          There is plenty to like about the NVIDIA shield that doesn't revolve around movies/Plex.

          If you play games on PC, that right there is a good enough reason to get one so you can play on your tv/projector with a Bluetooth controller - and you save a fortune if you live the ☠️ life.

          • soaringphoenix on 01/10/2022 - 20:00

            @cute as duck: Does the shield allow you to stream 4k 120fps from PC in another room?

            • cute as duck on 01/10/2022 - 20:49
              +1

              @soaringphoenix: 4K 60fps is the max it can do I believe. Not sure there anything out right now that can stream 4K and 120fps, would probably need to wait for the next Shield

      • yoquierotaco on 04/10/2022 - 22:05

        Why don’t you sell or donate the old electronics? Maybe someone can use them and it doesn’t go into landfill? I could always use another raspberry PI :)

        • [Deactivated] on 05/10/2022 - 05:46

          I've given away more electronics than I list - mostly to family, friend and neighbours.

    • CtrlAltSpoods on 04/10/2022 - 13:44

      Same!
      I've been wanting one for a while, but will stick with Chromecast w/ Google TV until there is a new version out.
      I can't justify ~$300 on a dated model that doesn't even have HDMI 2.1.

  • onetwothreefour on 30/09/2022 - 08:27
    +5

    I ran out of beer last night, still on the fence about buying some more or not.

    • Antikythera on 01/10/2022 - 17:41
      +8

      8am is still early….see how you feel by 11am

      • onetwothreefour on 01/10/2022 - 19:31
        +2

        By 8:40 I was already searching for beer haha

        https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/727686

        • MorriJ on 02/10/2022 - 19:15

          20% off coles liquor at the moment and $20 off $200 spend with FOOTY code.

          I'm well stocked up on beer at the moment - $38 cases is hard to go past!

    • drprox on 02/10/2022 - 09:28

      I put on my first homebrew batch in a couple of years y'day! And before anyone thinks I mean a coopers can I do not. This will be genuinely good beer for 40% the price the shop charges for similar!

      • shutuptakemymoney101 on 03/10/2022 - 23:56

        Agree, Coopers Lager was always a favourite of mine when homebrewing beer.

    • magic8ballgag on 04/10/2022 - 20:23

      TIL some people run out of beer.

  • Cheaplikethebird on 30/09/2022 - 08:33
    +4

    I’ve been eyeing off a nice konro grill (aka hibachi) for a while but recently decided against it. I realised the idea of one is awesome but the reality is I have 3 BBQs already and my partner hates being around a lot of smoke so it will probably get limited use anyway. Been doing a big spring clean of the house recently and getting rid of a lot of junk so I guess that has also helped as a reminder to avoid buying things which will just end up as clutter. It’s also good to be aware of the hedonic adaptation loop so as not to get stuck in it - get excited about something, buy it, lose interest, repeat.

    • [Deactivated] on 30/09/2022 - 08:48
      +5

      I’ve been eyeing off a nice konro grill (aka hibachi)

      Oh snap! Me too. And then I think about the under-utilised Weber Family Q and Chubby 3400 smoker and close the browser window.

      hedonic adaptation loop

      Today I learned a new term. You've just described my relationship with gadgets!

  • John Doh on 30/09/2022 - 08:34
    +1

    I wanted the C2 badly as well. JB had this deal on C2 and with recent 10% of deal was coming to 1795 with 100$ gift voucher making it 1700. I badly wanted to pull the trigger because I dont have a full size TV (i have a projector tho) and my 27" dgf is where I work, game and watch TV most of the time. And the C2 thread on OZB had me hyped up to buy one. But I need to buy a house yet and I dont have a GPU that can drive 4K anyway(just a 1080). I still have loads of new technologies to learn for my work.

    I was about to click the buy now button, but restrained myself from doing so. Not feeling happy about it tho and have mixed feelings. Was wondering if I should have pulled the trigger as its my primary TV place as well. But I need to switch jobs to a better paying one first and then do it by black friday hopefully.

    Out of curiosity, what was your walk away price that you bargained for on the C2?

    • [Deactivated] on 30/09/2022 - 08:39

      And the C2 thread on OZB had me hyped up to buy one.

      I was on the same hype train, as you know. I think we just jumped-off at different stations.

      What was your walk away price that you bargained for on the C2?

      $1,705 take-home (cash or card).

      • John Doh on 30/09/2022 - 08:44

        Not really different stations, that day when I PMed you I had called up another store and had one negotiated for 1800 delivered. But I thought I can use that at another store to get a better price without shipping. But couldnt beat the JB Hifi with 100$ gift voucher. So ya, almost the same stations ;)

        • [Deactivated] on 30/09/2022 - 08:49

          Ahhhh! I jumped off the train on Sunday morning.

    • GandalfTheCheap on 02/10/2022 - 12:18

      dont have a GPU that can drive 4K anyway (just a 1080

      GPU is my answer.

      With eBay price steadily falling it looks like miners are finally dumping enough cards to bring the prices right down to normal again. We might see some real deals soon.

      • John Doh on 02/10/2022 - 14:31
        +1

        Really? I haven't kept an eye on eBay for quite sometime. 4k TV, need at least 12gb card. Was waiting for 4080 that ended up in tragedy :D now waiting for 7000 series :D

        • GandalfTheCheap on 02/10/2022 - 15:35

          Yeah we can't be certain how far they'll fall, it all depends how many mining cards are out there, and how many miners realise they need to sell now.

          But watching prices fall and listings rise on eBay this week has been very encouraging.

        • cheng2008 on 04/10/2022 - 05:27

          I think the 3080 will be fine and it's moving towards $700 on ebay.

    • foxpants on 03/10/2022 - 12:25

      Pre-ordered and received C2 42" as soon as they started selling at ~$2200 from a mate at Jb-HiFi, defs the early adopter tax but I was waiting for that spec TV for 1+ year and had to have it!

      • John Doh on 03/10/2022 - 13:07

        You waited for 1 year ;) I got hyped up enough in just 1 day to buy it. I will buy one too, just not the right time for me, lots of things on my plate ATM :)
        And there is the PG42UQ with anti-glare coating as reflections annoy me. So thought, will wait for decent reviews and buy the right one.

  • Jimothy Wongingtons on 30/09/2022 - 09:09
    +18

    I hope to one day be at a salary where I can even CONSIDER a $1700 tv (sick deal btw) as a wfh monitor. Until then I will light a candle at my window every night and look to the sky for a shooting star hoping our lord and saviour, Muzeeb comes through with a hookup enabling honouring a dell price mistake.

    As for what didn’t I buy - I took the second box of 10 wicked wings off my kfc order last night (I thought a large zinger box, tenders, and a box of 10 wicked wings was a bit excessive as is).

    • [Deactivated] on 30/09/2022 - 09:58
      +9

      look to the sky for a shooting star hoping our lord and saviour, Muzeeb comes through with a hookup enabling honouring a dell price mistake.

      This needs to go into some sort of 'New Testament According to OzBargain'

      Jimothy 30:09 "And the loyal followers shall look to the sky for a shooting star - hoping that our Lord and Saviour, Muzeeb, delivers salvation by honouring a Dell pricing transgression"

    • drfuzzy on 01/10/2022 - 15:23

      How many humans were sharing that quantity of KFC?

  • burningrage on 30/09/2022 - 09:15
    +1

    I wanted an Aurora R13 but then R15 is coming so yeah, saved $5.6k according to Dell's quotation.

    • [Deactivated] on 30/09/2022 - 09:55
      +1

      😮

  • dogboy on 30/09/2022 - 09:32
    +9

    Coffee from coffee shops. With the cost of living getting a bit out of control, trying to make sacrifices where possible to save money for the more important stuff.

    • [Deactivated] on 30/09/2022 - 09:49
      +10

      (Say) $4.50 a day = $1,642 per annum. That is NOT chump-change.

      • squarkers on 01/10/2022 - 23:28

        Agree, but who will do more for the community? The local coffee shop or some oil Baron with a curly moustache?

      • AusRetro on 10/10/2022 - 14:13

        You know what I could spend that money on? Coffee.

        • [Deactivated] on 10/10/2022 - 14:14
          +1

          I think you just hacked the system.

    • JIMB0 on 01/10/2022 - 10:01
      +2

      It often tastes like crap as well. Can make a better one at home without burning the milk.

  • Heckaru on 30/09/2022 - 09:42
    +1

    The galaxy watch 4 $180 at the beginning at the month, amazing price but I'm trying to reduce technology use in my life.

    • [Deactivated] on 30/09/2022 - 09:55
      +1

      I got a Galaxy Watch 4 Classic when I purchased my Flip 3 5G. I'm reminded every day of why I don't need a smart watch when, for me, a basic fitness tracker with a nudge for messages/alerts/alarms etc would be more than enough. Total waste of money. It will end up in the e-waste draw alongside similar wearables.

    • CheapGPT on 04/10/2022 - 11:53

      This is inspiring. A week before I was contemplating to buy Galaxy Watch 5, and then news came in about battery bulge in Samsung phones. I almost made mind to switch to iPhone again but thanks to JB HiFi there wasn't much to be offered after trading in S22 Ultra. Back to square one.

  • Ghost47 on 30/09/2022 - 09:57
    +12

    Lately I’ve been peeing without flushing to save water. I rarely take dumps at my place because I do it at work, so I’m trying to see how long until I absolutely need to flush the toilet.

    It’s just a complete waste of water to flush after peeing every time, even a half flush is just too much.

    The toilet is starting to smell bad now after about 10-12 urinations, but I keep the lid down all the time anyway. Maybe I can go a month without flushing.

    I use those toilet cleaner blocks you place in the tank that makes the water blue, right now it’s a very green colour.

    • Cheaplikethebird on 30/09/2022 - 10:31
      +5

      You're a rookie if you're still using the toilet's flush function for the weekly flush - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8Yerg78m7M&t=185s

      • Ghost47 on 30/09/2022 - 10:42
        +1

        I love that. That guy’s my new hero now!

        I tend to shower naked and only once every 2-3 days, but using shower water to flush with isn’t a bad idea. Maybe I can cook soup with the water too, yummy.

        • Cheaplikethebird on 30/09/2022 - 10:44

          Maybe I can cook soup with the water too, yummy.

          Say no more fam - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWJ3OuisWA4&t=146s

        • Ughhh on 30/09/2022 - 13:11
          +2

          Maybe I can cook soup with the water too, yummy.

          You made me barf a little inside 🤢😡😡

        • Ugly on 30/09/2022 - 17:40
          +1

          You tend to shower naked?
          How else do you shower?

          • Miss B on 01/10/2022 - 17:53
            +4

            @Ugly: If you shower clothed you can wash your clothes at the same time.

      • JIMB0 on 01/10/2022 - 10:22

        Wow, he has a shower and flushes the toilet weekly regardless if needed or not.

    • dtc on 30/09/2022 - 12:08
      +1

      you are probably saving about $1 per month…the cost of water is the connection fee. My in laws have a holiday house and during lock down it sat empty for close to 9 months, so water use was literally 0L. But it still cost them close to $700 in fixed fees

      6 flushes a day at 6l per flush = 900l, about $2 in water usage charge

      Then deduct the toilet cleaner block costs.

      (yes, I know its a joke).

      I assume you only charge your phone at work as well, save on electricity. Makes it an issue over weekends but, hey, who wants to call you over the weekend

      • Ghost47 on 30/09/2022 - 12:12

        It’s more about saving water that I care about.

        And yes I do charge my phone at work, but that’s because I try to keep the battery between 40% and 80%.

        Maybe I should charge my battery bank at work.

      • Windows7forever on 01/10/2022 - 18:45

        This.

      • squarkers on 01/10/2022 - 23:31

        It's 4.40 per KL here on the Gold coast, but your point stands, stinky house is not worth saving such a small amount.

    • ihbh on 30/09/2022 - 16:28

      Don't want to waste water AND use it for something beneficial? Pee on your compost.

    • FimpBARGAIN on 01/10/2022 - 08:17
      +2

      I know your "taking the piss" but I regularly shower at work.
      On tank water and bottle gas at home so why not take advantage of the work showers 🙂

      • CtrlAltSpoods on 04/10/2022 - 13:49

        Sometimes I really can't tell if people actually are taking the piss or being serious, especially after some of the forum posts I've seen on this website.

  • [Deactivated] on 30/09/2022 - 10:00
    +1

    I’ve been peeing without flushing to save water.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzUOV_OQQfg

  • spal on 30/09/2022 - 10:09
    +1

    Synology NAS. I am still using HP Gen8, although upgraded to Xeon 1265L, 16 GB RAM and SSD.

    • [Deactivated] on 30/09/2022 - 10:19
      +2

      I'd love a new NAS, too, but can't bring myself to decommissioning my ye olde worlde HP MicroServer N40L 😂

      • spal on 30/09/2022 - 14:07

        After procrastinating on N40L, I had finally bought Gen8. Now the servers are too expensive.

    • peterpaoliello on 02/10/2022 - 07:59

      Same, I have DS212 but given the age a pre-emptive upgrade to DS220 is probably a wise decision

  • Some Human on 30/09/2022 - 10:19
    +1

    I normally buy my lunch 3 times a week on the way to work. I have only done it once this week because I won fries and a coffee from the McDonald’s monopoly game. I bought a happy meal with it.
    This is pretty much the only regular thing I spend money on frivolously and servo coffee.

    I also decided to cut down on my coffee intake to twice a day. One at home, one at work. Thinking of switching it to having both at work when my coffee runs out.

    • FimpBARGAIN on 01/10/2022 - 08:42
      +2

      Used to do similar thing with servo coffee (which is always shite)
      Bought an aeropress for $40 and it's has saved me hundreds, paid for itself in the first week
      As a bonus I'm drinking decent coffee and can control the strength

  • kolorijo on 30/09/2022 - 10:25
    +3

    Leatherman, Sofirn torches, Olight torches… still sad face about them

  • EightImmortals on 30/09/2022 - 11:14

    Been toying with the idea of a new NAS for a while now, managed to put it off again, maybe some sales next month?

    • EightImmortals on 30/09/2022 - 13:44
      +1

      Dammit, just noticed a $50 coupon on Amazon,..resolve weakening.

  • Richmond Tigers on 30/09/2022 - 11:20
    +1

    Moleskin ruled note books, I should just use up the ones I have first, which are not even halfway used.

    • [Deactivated] on 30/09/2022 - 11:43
      +2

      Fountain pen geek here. The number of partially-used Moleskin, Leuchtturm1917, Clairefontaine and Life notebooks I have in my desk draw is embarassing.

      …but there's something about new stationery! ;-)

  • Mechz on 30/09/2022 - 12:08
    +11

    I'm in a constant battle with all the stuff I want to buy that might make things in life a tiny bit better or more fun.

    In the end I just end up constantly window shopping which is probably the best and cheapest entertainment.

    • [Deactivated] on 30/09/2022 - 13:05
      +4

      In the end I just end up constantly window shopping which is probably the best and cheapest entertainment.

      The thrill of the chase without the buyer's regret!

      • Mechz on 30/09/2022 - 14:22
        +1

        I'd say I have regret of not buying stuff maybe 5% of the time so it's not all rosy haha.

  • Unorthodox on 30/09/2022 - 12:09
    +2

    Been looking to upgrade a few tech items

    Sony XM4s - seems to be a shortage and discounts far and few so I've been restraining myself and hoping for another mid $300s deal. Saved from buying at $439

    New phone - recent EPP prices have been good and was about to bite the bullet but saw the delay in shipping so held off. Saved from buying at around $1.5k

    • [Deactivated] on 30/09/2022 - 13:05

      Sony XM4s

      Same. I'm still using my Sony XM2s (from a pre-Xmas deal MANY years ago) and keen on upgrading. Just haven't seen the "right" price yet.

  • tsunamisurfer on 30/09/2022 - 12:34
    +3

    Its not just this month.

    EVERY month I see good deals on the Pixel 6 ( but I still have a Pixel 4), various great monitor deals (still slumming on a 24 inch Dell non-gaming one), and TV deals (still rocking a 46" Sony Bravia from the PS3 deal).

    I am able to resist but for how much longer?

    • [Deactivated] on 30/09/2022 - 13:03
      +2

      Stay strong. Your wallet will think you (unless prices skyrocket, of course).

  • endotherm on 30/09/2022 - 12:45

    Rent, food…

    • [Deactivated] on 30/09/2022 - 13:21
      +2

      You didn't think of cutting-back on water and essential medicines as well?

      • endotherm on 30/09/2022 - 13:44
        +1

        Cut those back last month.

  • dogboy on 30/09/2022 - 13:23
    +2

    Not running appliances at night where possible to save electricity and only running them during the day when solar panels are working (E.g. Dishwasher, washing machine).

    • [Deactivated] on 30/09/2022 - 13:25

      That makes so much sense! I'm new to the solar thing and, given we don't have any battery storage, could easily do the same.

      • endotherm on 30/09/2022 - 13:59

        It depends. As long as you have a surplus during the day that you are feeding back to the grid. Some places only generate enough to keep the fridge and the clocks ticking over for free. You buy power from the grid at probably 10 times the amount they buy your excess back from you.

        If you don't generate enough during the day, you might be better off with a time-of-day tariff where power cost is lower overnight, so you can run your dishwasher/washing machine cheaper then.

        If you do generate a lot during the day and have an excess, keep an eye on running multiple appliances at once. Running washing machines, dryers, electric ovens and microwaves etc. all at once might see you exceeding your generation, meaning you need to pull power from the grid and costing you money. Running them one at a time would probably have cost you nothing to run, because you didn't need to top-up from the grid.

        Look into getting a real-time power monitoring device if you don't already have one, helps immensely with planning, spreading the load and eliminating costs.

        • [Deactivated] on 30/09/2022 - 14:51

          Good advice. We've only recently moved into the place and haven't received our first power bill yet. Hell - there's so much crap still yet to unpack in the garage that I can barely get to the inverter to see what it's doing!

  • Transient on 30/09/2022 - 14:55
    +3

    RTX graphics card. Think the price will drop again soon. Been waiting > two years. Couple of more months won't matter.

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