@andypaul99 Have I got a bike for you!

I try not to be – its easy to get sucked in though.

I want new forks/damper for the big bike but i dont need them. Doesnt stop me looking.

I need front engine tin for the t2 vw and a welder and associated gubbins but i still havent bought that either.

i do buy posh coffee and fox tech tees though…

Sorry Kryton, you may have made a lot of progress but I can’t consider that you’ve got past materialism when you have a new BMW and merely £37 aftershave.

Are you happy? I mean reaaallllyyyyy happy now?

Not in the true sense of the word, because even discounting materialism its not in my nature.   But I do have more moments of sitting around being content with what I have around me, not filled with unbearable mental whirlwinds of what to buy next.

Also, the value of what I already have went up, as above simple things like the coffee beans I enjoy and the ability, time spent mowing the lawn etc.  In my job specifically, it really helps me through the months when theres a basic salary coming in – knowing I don’t need additional commission on my paycheck to be content this month.

Sorry Kryton, you may have made a lot of progress but I can’t consider that you’ve got past materialism when you have a new BMW and merely £37 aftershave

Second hand actually.  And as above, not being materialistic doesn’t mean not having nice things if you can afford it / want it, but it does mean not lusting after things you don’t need for pissing contests.  I might have a bottle of £37 aftershave now which will last me a very long time, but I also have some post-race Lidl deodorant instead of its Rapha equivalent, which after all I could afford if I wanted to.

Materlism is a degree of a state of mind not abject poverty.  Vis a Vis “a tendency to consider material possessions and physical comfort as more important than spiritual values.”

To be fair, I mix my non-materialistic views with that of Marcus Aurelius, in that I seek to improve for me and my family but not to impress others at their detriment; does not mean seeking to beg on the street.

You can can get a bike for <£100, why does anyone need an £8k one?

That’s a bit of a draft comparison: what you should have done is compared a 8k bike to a 2k bike; then, you may have a point.

I would argue a 2k bike will be significantly better, and more enjoyable to ride, than a £100 bike. I can’t necessarily say the same about a 8k bike compared to a 2k bike (I’ve had both).

I see material things as tools that allow me to do the things I need to do. Anything superfluous to that is materialistic, in my view.

Are you happy? I mean reaaallllyyyyy happy now?

Not in the true sense of the word, because even discounting materialism its not in my nature.   But I do have more moments of sitting around being content with what I have around me, not filled with unbearable mental whirlwinds of what to buy next.

Also, the value of what I already have went up, as above simple things like the coffee beans I enjoy and the ability, time spent mowing the lawn etc.  In my job specifically, it really helps me through the months when theres a basic salary coming in – knowing I don’t need additional commission on my paycheck to be content this month.

We loved the old kryton, can we have him back please 🤣🤩

the old kryton

…is much more complex than you think.  My CBT councillor describes(d) me as a Perfectionist, self critical materialist introvert.  That is, doing as best as I possible can to show other people how good (at everything) I can possibly be without exposing my flaws aka rolling myself in glitter.

I’ve actually learned that even being me is not always about me and I only have a part responsibility about how I’m perceived.   Vis a vis, outside  the remit of having good intelligent morals and manners and going about my business appropriately for those that I am responsible for,  how you all see me matters far less to me now.    I am without effort, me. Therefore I am, expensive Jo Malone or Christmas Brut, it matters not.

Anyway, someone else’s turn, the internet just got bored.

I had always presumed that when I was older and had a bit more money that I would buy a really nice car. Turns out I’m happy with my 10 year old estate.

On the other hand I never expected a substantial part of my bank account to regularly making it’s way to Tiso and the Bike Co-Op.

At least bikes are cheaper than cars.

Is it materialistic to covet the buxom lass in accounts?.

Does part of the new, improved  Kryton mean we have to suffer ‘vis a vis’ in every post?

Next material up at Woppit Towers…

Does part of the new, improved Kryton mean we have to suffer ‘vis a vis’ in every post?

One step at a time…

Good for you Kryters vis a vis trying not to give  a monkeys hump about what other people think about you.

Well done.

I personally will provide support and encouragement by gently ripping the piss out of you as often as I can thus providing you with more opportunities to not care about what I think.

I must admit I had a wobble when a good friend of mine came out with ” Its a good feeling to be able to look out of your lounge window knowing that you own all the  land that  you can see”

12 acres of Sussex countryside, woods , lake, river , house , garage . , christ knows what he spent, million+ easy.

get your head out of your backside and listen to how you sound though , just a touch pompous

is housing materialism? probably not as   you have to live somewhere , that is unavoidablee

And as above, not being materialistic doesn’t mean not having nice things if you can afford it

I think it does.

Define ‘nice things’ for us.  What is a ‘nice thing’?  £37 aftershave?  Used BMW?  Why not a used Toyota?

Doesn’t matter whether it is a nice thing, it is the fact that the person puts too much importance on the fact they have it.

I personally will provide support and encouragement by gently ripping the piss out of you as often as I can thus providing you with more opportunities to not care about what I think.

Thanks, i appreciate the effort.  If you ever find yourself in need of a squirt of Joop! Id be happy to oblige

I think this is where my ex wife & I went wrong. Well, I went wrong.

She LOVED spending money, didn’t matter what on as long as she was spending it. She used to come home with all kinds of shite. Anyway she nashed off with a rich (ex) mate of mine & ended up in a £1M house full of pretentious crap. (such as a massive porcelain dolphin in the hall)

He got sick of her & went ‘bankrupt’ then found another woman. My ex now lives in a rented terraced house with her slapper of a daughter, 2 grandkids & a dog. No idea what happened to the dolphin.

I feel we’ve both grown as people.

Good session 😉

lounge window

Frightfully non-U.

No idea what happened to the dolphin.

Perhaps she couldn’t see the porpoise of it any more.

It is probably one of the reasons I like to buy little things for cycling almost constantly. A few quid here and a few quid there relieves me of the desire to spend a load all at once. For example, I don’t really have any desire at all for a new bike, but I have desire for everything from new bar tape to a new groupset for one of them.

Things that don’t excite me in the least (thank goodness) include:

1. Anything to do with technology (I have less than no interest in phones and such things)

2. Computers and gaming machines

3. TVs and sound devices

4. Cars

I say ‘thank goodness’, because if I was into any of them, I can imagine life would get very expensive very quickly.

Talking of forks, I’ve just ordered a set of HELMs as the McQueens have too much high speed chatter… and it was easier than losing 20kgs…

i have a matching fender Princeton Reverb amp and vintage ‘52 hot rod tele… (and a bunch of other guitars).

i have a Sherpa and 2 SolarisMAX‘s.

and, still, nothing fills the void within… 🤪

If I lived alone, which is never going to happen, I’d only want the following.

A mountain bike and every day bike.

Kindle Fire – For Netflix and books.

Couple of WiFi speakers for streaming music

A heavy bag in the living room

Other than clothes and other necessities that’d do me. As it stands I’m happily married with two great kids in a house packed full of shite 😀 I have my Kindle, a mountain bike and a WiFi speaker (no streaming subscription at the moment though) so all is good with the world.

I feel the same as you funkmasterp! Would have a lot less stuff if I was flying solo. I would have a couple of really really nice bikes though.

As others have alluded to above I don’t see anything wrong with buying something nice/expensive (within reason) so long as it’s used to it’s fullest potential. I’ve got a few niceish bikes but they all get used, so no guilt about that in the slightest.

What i cannot stand, is having anything (even not very nice things) sat around doing nothing. It’s just so wasteful (i see you Lego models)

Recently, unless I am sure about a large purchase I will look second hand. That way if I don’t get on with it I can move it on and not loose much cash and / or rape the planet

Oh yeah and I have no want of a fast car, motorbike or any kind of flash watch/jewellery/clothes. Nowadays I think any of that makes you look a bit of a twunt really.

The one major item I’d like is a new car. Or at least a newer one maybe two or three years old. My Octavia is now around seventeen years old, I’ve had it for twelve, it’s developed a leak from somewhere that makes the offside footwells wet, and the offside front wing has been smashed in by a dimwit who didn’t understand roundabout etiquette. Nothing like a bloody BMW, which I do not like at all, something like a Mokka, Kia Sportage, Hyundai is35… A nice SUV, preferably a 4×4, that’s reasonably compact. I have specific reasons for a car like that, mainly because, at 64, I’m finding regular saloon cars increasingly difficult to get in and out of, even painful at times.

Oh, and I’d really like new shed.

We just pay it off our mortgage before we get tempted… mostly.

2003 plate van, 2012 Rocket but really great Finland ski trip this Winter and a month in Australia next Easter.

We stick to the mantra that experience’s will never be forgotten but the thrill of a purchase is very short lived.

Our 7 yr old boy says that this years Farne Island trip where we got dive bombed and pecked is the best holiday ever 🙂

As a cure for materialism I’d recommend going through losing pretty much everything.

It doesn’t half reset your priorities.

Nowadays I have zero interest in ‘stuff’ and lots and lots of interest in ‘doing stuff’ instead. That’s money well spent. The rest is just… well… ‘stuff’… no matter how expensive and exquisitely well made

I have noticed my buying habits change as I grow older.

I notice that I’m looking much more at what the [insert name of thing] can do for me.  Will a cheap one perform the same as an expensive one?  If there is a difference in performance, what does that cost vs it’s value to me.

In particular, I’m a lot more resistant to faddy technology – Gadgets are superseded so quickly that I’ve stopped trying to keep up for the sake of keeping up.

Generally I find that I make a small number of well researched purchases these days – I probably buy towards the upper end of the spec on things, but that’s because a) I want the thing I’m buying to last a long time (eg: set of good stainless steel saucepans) or b) I want the higher spec to be able to realise the most benefit from the purchase (eg: just bought a top-end NAS to steam media around the house, because a lower spec one wouldn’t do the job as well).

Some things that I want, but I’m resisting the urge to spend money on, are:

New TV.  Would like a newer, bigger one, but our current version is perfectly fine.

New iPhone.  Have got a 6s…. fancy one of the new ones, but really cant justify the significant outlay for no discernible befit.

Kitchen knives.  Have wanted a “nice” set for ages, but my current random assortment are perfectly serviceable.  Been dithering for years, but just can’t bring myself to spend the money.

Does the fact that I still want these make me materialistic?  Probably

I notice that I’m looking much more at what the [insert name of thing] can do for me.  Will a cheap one perform the same as an expensive one?  If there is a difference in performance, what does that cost vs it’s value to me.

What I tend to do.  A label or a high cost don’t attract me to it and even though I could afford the label/higher priced item I tend to get the cheaper options that does the same for me.  Even for my main interests of guitar and bikes.  This has definitely changed over the last 30 years but not sure if I have become less materialistic or more tight.

I have so much ‘expensive’ shit that I ‘needed’

I’ve been much better about it lately though

Yeah I’m pretty bad with materialism. Wiggle used to be my vice, I’d have at least a box a week showing up, sometimes I’d have unopened Wiggle boxes in my garage that I forgot what was inside. After largely having given up cycling (for now…) it’s mostly Amazon and Aldi special buys fueling my problem these days. I have boxes of washers, bolts, socket sets and cheap tools from Aldi in my garage 🙁

Fortunately I’m paid enough and don’t have kids so I’m not in debt, I just wish I had enough disposable income to buy some decent toys rather than mostly just tat :p

sat around doing nothing. It’s just so wasteful (i see you Lego models)

I agree that if people have Lego models sat around doing nothing, they’re doing it wrong 😀

if I just went around & bought everything I have seen & quite fancy having at this moment, I could probably max out my £4k credit card limit in about 20 mins.
Same with shops like Go Outdoors  etc.

It’s different rules for outdoors equipment. The First Rule of Manhood states he who dies with the most kit wins. if you don’t have at least 6 rucksacks of varying sizes and a complete range of tents and cooking stoves then you’re not even trying.

I am a bit weird with all of this – most of the time I can’t bear spending money (I shop almost exclusively at TK Maxx with the odd foray into Primark and Next) and can happily eat quite frugally ie, rather than buying chicken breast fillets I’ll buy a whole chicken, cut the fillets off, oven cook the rest and use it for other dishes (risottos, sandwiches, chillies etc), the dog gets the inedible stuff and the carcass gets made into stock.

BUT… I occasionally ‘need’ something. Such as recently I spunked £250 on a cordless Dyson (which is very good TBF) or silly little tools/gadgets for the man cave (such as the recent Dymo label printer so I could organise my stuff better). I didn’t need either of those things but I wanted them and got them but still wonder why as I could have saved the money.

knowing that you own all the  land that  you can see

I can say that too (if I stand rally close to the garden fence and look down)

In some ways I would love to go on a massive spending spree for all I desire. But then after that I would need to desire more expensive stuff and so on until you end up with a dolphin sculpture in the hallway and drowning in debt.

Not being materialistic is great

Being able to, and then actually buying lots of cool expensive stuff is great too

People that claim they don’t buy stuff because they don’t believe in materialism, but in reality are actually either too tight, or don’t have the resources to do so, are annoying twunts though 🙂

<div class=”bbp-reply-author”>bikebouy
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I like material, silky underwear to be exact

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Yeah, but you can get that stuff for free while out “jogging” at night

I just see owning stuff as an encumbrance especially expensive stuff like fancy cars that you then worry about where you can park them incase they get damaged, it’s a car for getting from a2b and if you can’t leave it at b it’s failed in its prime purpose.

Enjoy the money whilst you can. I visit people on a weekly basis who have lots of money – but not the health to enjoy it; so the money in the bank is worth nothing to them really.

Thats not to say it’s good to throw money away, just spoiling yourself is what makes life/work worthwhile.