# Things you vowed you'd buy when you were a grown-up **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 10, 2016, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-vowed-youd-buy-when-you-were-a-grown-up/757064 "2016-06-10T23:17:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2016, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-vowed-youd-buy-when-you-were-a-grown-up/757064/1 "2016-06-10T23:17:21Z")
Inspired by moseying around a music store while wifey had her guitar re-strung. I grew up poor and there was no disposable income to buy non-essentials; I vowed that when I was an adult I would buy the three things I wanted most: A drumset. When I joined band in middle school my parents rented a basic snare drum for me, but that was it (even the rental strained the budget). Looking around today I realized I could afford any set I wanted, but I’m not the least bit interested now. A metal detector and rock polisher. I bought both a few years ago and haven’t even taken them out of the shipping packages! How about you? What items did you lust after as a kid? Did you buy them for yourself when you were a grown-ass person? ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2016, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-vowed-youd-buy-when-you-were-a-grown-up/757064/2 "2016-06-10T23:48:29Z")
I have not one, but two pinball machines. I also had a coin collection when I was a kid, and was putting together a US type set. It was complete except for two expensive coins I could never quite save up for. When I was in my 30s, I ran across the thing when I was moving stuff around, and so I bought those last two coins. I always said I would have lots of pets. Right now I’m in an apartment, and we are just allowed two (have two cats-- illegally had a dog and two cats for a while, but the landlord looked the other way because our dog was old), but during the time we were in a house, we had, at max, 7 cats, and at one point also 3 dogs. At the same time, we had at most 3 dogs and 5 cats, or 2 dogs and 6 cats. I have two tropical fish aquariums now as well. The color TV my mother would never let us have was one of the first things I got, when I was first on my own, but my aunt and uncle had them, so it was anti-climactic. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2016, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-vowed-youd-buy-when-you-were-a-grown-up/757064/3 "2016-06-11T00:20:49Z")
I eat far less ice cream as an adult than I thought I would when I was ten. But I do have a sailboat. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2016, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-vowed-youd-buy-when-you-were-a-grown-up/757064/4 "2016-06-11T00:28:02Z")
A sparkly top/dress. I was fascinated by a glittery matching blouse and skirt set worn by a restaurant hostess when I was a kid. My mom told me when I grew up I could have something like that (but she certainly never offered to buy such for me). That box has been checked. Another item of apparel was white go-go boots, but of course that fad was long gone by the time I was old enough to buy whatever footwear I wanted. Pets are an interesting area. We had a bird, a dog and some fish when I was a kid because it was somehow considered ‘good for me,’ but my mother was never into it - she always considered them just something else she had to care for. I have always been very fond of animals and I’ve had pets of one kind or another ever since I was old enough to care for them myself - hamsters, birds, chinchillas, a frog, and dogs. My husband was denied pets of any kind as a child and he’s an enthusiastic aider and abetter in the pet department. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2016, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-vowed-youd-buy-when-you-were-a-grown-up/757064/5 "2016-06-11T00:34:35Z")
I always wanted a really ginormous saltwater aquarium, with not just colorful fish but also things like seahorses, starfish, anemones, etc. I had no idea of the expense and the amount of time involved with maintenance. I settled for cats instead. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2016, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-vowed-youd-buy-when-you-were-a-grown-up/757064/6 "2016-06-11T00:36:04Z")
An airplane. Still working on it… ---
**Author:** ![cwthree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de0a6/32.png) [@cwthree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cwthree)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2016, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-vowed-youd-buy-when-you-were-a-grown-up/757064/7 "2016-06-11T00:49:46Z")
Adult me doesn’t really like chewing gum or soda. However, I do eat as much chocolate as I want (which isn’t as much as I thought I’d want) and I had a horse for several years. ---
**Author:** ![seal\_cleaner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@seal\_cleaner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seal_cleaner)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2016, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-vowed-youd-buy-when-you-were-a-grown-up/757064/8 "2016-06-11T01:17:00Z")
I was going to design my own house. I could afford to do it now, but seems like too much hassle and expense. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2016, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-vowed-youd-buy-when-you-were-a-grown-up/757064/9 "2016-06-11T01:20:19Z")
Cobra. Got it. Not much else major. Life stuff came to me as I needed it. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2016, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-vowed-youd-buy-when-you-were-a-grown-up/757064/10 "2016-06-11T01:26:12Z")
A pony. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2016, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-vowed-youd-buy-when-you-were-a-grown-up/757064/11 "2016-06-11T01:49:23Z")
I thought that it would be so cool to be able to mount a tiny camera in a remote control plane and fly it around our yard and get into dog fights and such. Hello 1000 games that simulate this on your computer. I’ve played a few of them with varying interest. About once a year I’ll try one again. Or a drone, but not sure if they will do well at my altitude. I used to think I would have the hottest coolest car around. I liked muscle cars. (didn’t we all). Today, a new Honda Accord would leave most of those muscle cars in the dust. Anyway, I still appreciate them. Oh, a Chevy SS with a 454. An Olds 442. Perhaps a Goat. Meh. I could afford some nice old Iron if I wanted to. But it makes absolutely no sense. Well… My Plow truck is a black short bed dodge RAM with a Hemi in it. Was the right truck to buy (used, it’s harder then hell to find a decent short bed without an extended cab). It is kinda fun to drive that around when I take the plow off of it. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2016, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-vowed-youd-buy-when-you-were-a-grown-up/757064/12 "2016-06-11T02:05:07Z")
Toys. Lots and lots of toys. Not grown up toys, like sailboats or sports cars, but actual kid toys. Action figures. Also, candy. Lots and lots of candy. I never understood how the “grown up” thing worked. It never occurred to me that there would come a time when I wouldn’t want those things. ---
**Author:** ![Toledo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/34f0e0/32.png) [@Toledo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toledo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2016, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-vowed-youd-buy-when-you-were-a-grown-up/757064/13 "2016-06-11T02:09:41Z")
I used to lust after the stuff advertised in the back of Popular Science, Boy’s Life, etc. Never did buy the X-ray glasses, but I now have a Big Bang Carbide Cannon. Haul it out on holidays, the neighbor kids love it. Makes a he\*\* of a noise. Also have a Celestron 12" reflector telescope. The neighbor kids like that also. ---
**Author:** ![oara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/b77776/32.png) [@oara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oara)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2016, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-vowed-youd-buy-when-you-were-a-grown-up/757064/14 "2016-06-11T02:50:51Z")
I grew up poor and in an abusive home, and it seemed to have left me unable to feel…ambitious about owning things. I told someone in college that maybe when I had a job after graduation I would buy cans of frozen orange juice and eat them like popsicles. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2016, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-vowed-youd-buy-when-you-were-a-grown-up/757064/15 "2016-06-11T04:56:02Z")
I’m 36 and I STILL want one of those big space-hogging papazzan chairs I fell in live with my first heady freedom-filled weeks of college. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2016, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-vowed-youd-buy-when-you-were-a-grown-up/757064/16 "2016-06-11T05:16:36Z")
> [@oara](#): > > I grew up poor and in an abusive home, and it seemed to have left me unable to feel…ambitious about owning things. > > I told someone in college that maybe when I had a job after graduation I would buy cans of frozen orange juice and eat them like popsicles. This touched me. I was rarely in want for anything. Not that I didn’t have to work for it. But was given the opportunity to do so. Treat yourself when you can. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2016, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-vowed-youd-buy-when-you-were-a-grown-up/757064/17 "2016-06-11T07:07:57Z")
When I was, like, 6, a friend of the family (or something) had a Cadillac convertible that had a PHONE in it. I decided I must have a convertible with a phone in it. I should add, I’m old…phones in cars were not common at all when I was little, not even in southern California. I also was quite resentful when we didn’t use the pool because it was a lot of trouble and decided I must have a pool in the back yard. Well. I have had two convertibles, both POS cars. (A Corvair and a Triumph Spitfire if you must know). I do have a phone in my car now, in fact I have one on my bicycle. And everywhere! My mother was right about the back yard pool. They are too much trouble and not big enough, unless you are a multimillionaire with room for an Olympic-sized pool. No Cadillac, but I’m still open to some other kind of convertible, because while the two particular ones I owned were not much for driving, i.e., they broke down more than they ran, when they DID run, they were lots of fun. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2016, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-vowed-youd-buy-when-you-were-a-grown-up/757064/18 "2016-06-11T07:54:52Z")
I always wanted a model railway - and now I’ve got one running round the walls of my spare bedroom! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2016, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-vowed-youd-buy-when-you-were-a-grown-up/757064/19 "2016-06-11T09:25:51Z")
A huge electric train set, throughout the house. I guess I might do something along those lines one day yet, but I’m not quite as much of a fan of model trains as I used to be. I got the same satisfaction of “miniature recreation of real things” in making 3D graphics. Beyond that I didn’t have very vivid ideas of what adulthood might be able to provide. Lucky, actually, as now I don’t yearn for things I never wanted. ---
**Author:** ![oara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/b77776/32.png) [@oara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oara)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2016, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-vowed-youd-buy-when-you-were-a-grown-up/757064/20 "2016-06-11T14:23:51Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > This touched me. I was rarely in want for anything. Not that I didn’t have to work for it. But was given the opportunity to do so. > > Treat yourself when you can. I appreciate this. So far, it’s been hard to find pleasure in possession beyond something of a fondness for things that I’ve had long enough that there’s a goodbye-loyal-old-friend feeling when it’s used up or worn out at last (which probably means that my brain wants more friends if it’s trying to treat possessions in that way). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-vowed-youd-buy-when-you-were-a-grown-up/757064.md?page=2)