>Giving up 1% of your income each year isnt taken lightly.
Unless you're like me in which case you give up about 10% of your income each year on absolutely frivolous shit you just had to have but then used for about a week only to never touch again. Oh the joys of totally shot impulse control. That definitely includes a few smartphones.
I think next time though I'll just get a dingy piece of crap. All a smartphone really is to me is a browser in my pocket. Don't need a 4k screen for that. Won't fall for the stupid gimmicks next time.
Well.. I say that but, if I had much control over it it wouldn't be called impulse buying :(
I find many of the "cheap" phones better for my needs. I want a small phone, one that can live in a pocket without worry in the field (military). I need a phone with a removable battery (security thing where I work). I need a phone with a headphone jack (ie headphones without Bluetooth). So very few of the flagship phones are even an option.
The real trick is to find impulse buys that aren't truly expensive for you.
This can in turn be directed into its own kind of hobby. It's common for people who can't afford the actual thing they wanted to collect the marketing materials around it instead - like, instead of buying a luxury sports car, you get a poster for that car and hang it on the wall. It can be done creatively and redirect you towards your actual interests, instead of getting the high ticket product itself and learning once again that it did not magically improve life and mostly sits unused.
