This is exactly what happened to me last year. I used to be pretty frugal. Rarely replaced computers or other consumer electronics. Then I ended up buying a mid range sound bar. A very good oled TV. And a graphics card. Really stupid. It cost me more than mone, it was all the time researching, reading endless reviews. Configuring it all.
> it was all the time researching, reading endless reviews
Interesting. This is actually where the dopamine hit comes from for me -- being educated at the things I want to buy at the rest for whatever price-point and goal I'm trying to achieve, whether that's something for the house (TV) or something related to a hobby (bike, espresso machine, etc).
I don't see what's stupid about this. How often do you replace your sound bar or TV?
I bought some nice monitors for my PC setup 1-2 years ago after a bunch of research, but they were replacing 10+ year old monitors. I don't expect to replace the new ones any time soon, so it's not like I'm doing endless research on computer monitors. I stopped after I got these. Now I just enjoy them. I also got a TV and soundbar less than 6 months ago after lots of research; I no longer research those things at all. I'll probably keep both of them for many years too.
Last time I bought speakers before this was 2007! Last TV was 2013. Previously I'd managed to run a pc made of second hand parts from 2008 to 2017 with no upgrades.
I think you are correct in a way. I do like the TV and sound bar. But also I'm wary of the addictiveness of reading reviews, upselling myself to higher specs and higher price than I'd originally intended.
There does seem to be some sort of dopamine hit with researching options.
I think you're overthinking it. If you're buying something that's going to last for 10 years, spending 20% more for higher specs probably isn't a waste of money, if you actually use and like those extra features. It's better than getting the cheap base model and then being unhappy with it and wanting a better one in a year or two. With a higher-spec model, you probably won't feel the urge to replace it so quickly.
Yes, it really is the time more than the money. When you realize how much time was spent trying to decide if it’s worth paying an extra $200 for a feature… ouch
