26 April 2010

Internal Conflict

I spend a lot of time fighting myself, it seems. I have a compulsive "need" to acquire things. It is much better than it used to be, but not entirely under control. I often have to spend a lot of time talking myself out of an impulsive purchase. The most recent case has been the Wargames Factory Sci-Fi Troopers. They are neat figures and I could pre-order a bunch of them now. I'm sure I would be excited for a few minutes upon placing the order, eagerly anticipate their arrival in the post, open the box and have a look at the sprues, then place them on the shelf behind all the other projects clogging up my miniatures backlog. Rationally thinking, it makes sense to avoid buying them until I am ready to sit down and build that particular army.

The impulsive gamer in me screams out that they are shiny and we must have the precious now! I have to continually remind myself that the figures are not a limited edition, they will probably still be around when I am ready to order them, by that time there may be improvements and additions to the line (particularly a replacement for that rushed-looking pistol arm on the sprue), and that miniatures are a luxury item instead of a need. The argument is more convincing now than it used to be, but I still spend way too much time talking myself out of things that I don't need. It's a pain in the rear end and I hope that with enough resistance training I'll be able to make a habit out of saying no except when it's in the budget. I've been reading and absorbing a lot of personal finance and investing blogs lately as a motivation builder.

4 comments:

  1. Anonymous5:13 PM

    Solidarity. I had nearly the exact same struggle with the exact same minis.

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  2. I don't know...those Greatcoats are pretty freakin' cool!

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  3. I'm kind of an impulse buyer, too. My husband, the finance guru, doesn't really appreciate that particular aspect of my personality. Differentiating between needs and wants is hard for me. I guess when you figure out how to hold back, fill me in on your secret.

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  4. Usually if I am able to hold back it's only through constant self-coaching. Being prone to depressions isn't very helpful, as buying things is one of my negative behaviors that crop up when I'm down.

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