Isn’t it awesome? I’ve kicked that habit, finally. It adds up, at more than a buck for what, 8 ounces?
Just yesterday I bought these:
http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/electronic/a0f3/
I don’t have a lot of money right now, but…they just looked so cool. And they’re also an MP3 player! In glasses!
Wood. I make pens, and I have considerably more wood than I will ever need, but I buy it anyway.
Have you checked out the local library? I go to a fancy bookstore and write down the title/author of any books that look good to me. I log into the library catalog from home and reserve the books. Once a week, I make a trip to pick up any books that are waiting for me and return the books I’ve finished - there’s nearly always something new to pick up. Sometimes it sucks - I had to wait nearly 2 months for Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal Vegetable Mineral but it sure is affordable.
As for me, I don’t really need ANYTHING except for the usual (rent, food, electricity, gas etc). I buy a lot of crap that I WANT that I don’t need. Tall skinny mochas from Starbucks are the most egregious offenders on my list - nearly 4 bucks! I have got to stop the madness.
An original 35 mm trailer for the movie Tron.
And, no, I don’t have a 35 mm projector. I just really like Tron, and thought it’d be a neat addition to my collection. (Which also grew last week by a 1984 Japanese laserdisc with intact triangular obi! Yay, me.)
I went on a bit of a collecting jag and bought two silver vestas, a silver pillbox, and a china jam jar.
(Books are essential to life! Just like air, food, and water-everybody needs them.)
Books. I have books I don’t even realise I have.
Wow, this list is rather tame so far.
I guess it just depends on that you determine a NEED is. Most times, there’s always a workaround for something instead of spending money. But, let’s see. You want a list?
I’d say recently is within the past few months, no? So, we’ll keep it simple and go back to January 1st.
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A 1984 CJ7 Jeep with plow. Bought in hopes to finish rebuilding to use as a 2nd plow vehicle and a toy for the wife.
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2 dog kennels for the basement. They are in crates now, and break through them, so I’m tired of fixing them, so I shelled out the dough and bought two to replace the crates.
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15 or so RL shirts on ebay. I bought them to replace my current wardrobe for work. But I could ave kept wearing the older shirts.
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A backhoe for my Kubota on Ebay. I can always use a shovel, but, why, if I can do it from the tractor? Hopes are to use it more for my business. It’ll help in building my neighbor’s rock wall as well.
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3 six packs of Westvleteren St. Sixtus 12° beer. Some to drink and some to sell.
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A case of Pindar Pythagoras wine for the family. Some for Easter dinner, and some to keep on hand.
There are many other things I could list – but they are all small or closer to “needed”. Not to mention all the things I can’t remember.
The picture frames and business cards are a justifiable expense as you hope to recoup those expenditures by the selling of your work. Just like me, buying the backhoe, I hope to recoup the cost. I know I won’t, though 
I collect, if that’s the right word, big coffee-table books on animation and visual effects. They’re great books to look at and admire, and some have fascinating liner notes along with the dazzling images, but I tend to read them once and never go back to them a second time. Books are often like that, I suppose, no matter what the subject matter, but as these are large and expensive, it’s probably a bit excessive for me to do this.
My guilt lasts about fifteen seconds. I know when I had no money I really wanted to be able to do exactly this kind of thing. Now I have money, I indulge myself. Who knows, one day I may not have any money again, and so I will enjoy this time that I had. I won’t regret big spending while I have the funds.
This is exactly what happens with me. I’ve gotten better about it in recent years, and am now to the point where I can get away with making one small unnecessary purchase, and then I can sock away the rest of my extra cash guilt free, instead of blowing it all immediately.
I thought of another one. I just bought a new swimsuit. It’s not really a need since A. I already have a swimsuit and B. I’m moving from Florida to Nashville soon, and I’m guessing that it’s much less needful to own a nice suit there than it is here. But I bought my last swimsuit when I was about 35 pounds heavier, and while it still kind of fits, I’m not thrilled with it. Also, I made the mistake of taking my then-girlfriend shopping with me when I bought the old one, so it’s in a style and cut that more reflects her tastes than mine.
I was planning on going to the beach a bunch to get as much use out of it as possible before I move, but the weather has been pretty crappy since I bought it. Still haven’t even taken the tags off yet.
Bought the latest Sam and Max game yesterday - I didn’t need it as I have plenty of games to be playing at the moment, but still. Got tickets for Delerium, a cirque du soleil show, which I’m going to see next month for £50.
Books are a category all of their own, my bedside table is practically groaning under the weight of my to-read pile and I still end up buying at least another two or three books every month.
See I put books in my “need” category. I need them to keep me sane.
I am having some serious problems with the “need” part of this question. I am not being flip and I am definitely not a hippie. I need some type of house for me, my wife, and my two daughters. I need clean water, food, heat, a phone, and electricity to support that. We need health insurance and my wife and I need reliable cars to make our lifestyle work with the kids and the location of our jobs. I need decent but not extravagant clothes for my job as does my wife.
In reality, we are upper-middle class and we have many things beyond that but I wouldn’t call them true needs. TV is a luxury as well as internet access. People lived for eons without those things. I find it impossible to separate needs from things that are just nice to have in the question.
“I cannot live without books.”
–Thomas Jefferson
Probably 95% of everything I buy is something I didn’t “need.” I need food and water and shelter. Everything else is just want.
If you want specifics about things I actually bought lately that I didn’t need: 1) Two bluetooth headsets from woot.com; 2) A Garmin Nuvi 650 (I could have gotten some lesser model for cheaper, not that I need that either); 3) A digital SLR camera; 4) $150 worth of plants; 5) Six shirts from the Salvation Army (I really did need one, but ONLY one); 6) A subscription to audible.com; …
and on and on. I could live without all that stuff.
I dont need my Zodiac art or moulds or books, or my Zodiac retro-60/70’s dishes, or my faerie dolls & art - but I want them, so have them I shall.
Well, it’s subjective, obviously. For example, a few days ago I bought a pair of pants and two tops. I would say these clothes fall into the “need” category for me because I need decent clothes to wear to work. The two dresses I mentioned above, however, would not fall into the “need” category for me, since wearing them to work would probably get me fired - not to mention the fact that I already have several such dresses in my closet. But I bought them anyway.
Bolding what I want to stand out…
“hope” is the key word there. Nothing is guaranteed, so spending money that I don’t have in “hopes” for it to become something is not really a need. It was money that should have gone on a bill.
About a hundred dollars worth of house stuff from Ikea the day before yesterday: new laundry hamper, drying rack, toy box, toothbrush stand and a cutlery holder. None of was needed, it was all to upgrade from things that were looking a bit shabby.
Later this year, I’m looking at buying a new computer, including monitor and MFP ($2-3000), plus a bike repair stand ($100-200) so I don’t have to crouch on the ground or worry about the whole thing tipping over the moment I push on anything.