If it brings me pleasure it is something I need, as I need to enjoy my life. On something like this I would just think about whether the cost justifies the amount of pleasure it would bring me. If I know I would get tired of it after a few weeks, I’m not going to blow thousands on it. If it’s a major enhancement of a hobby I’ve had for a long time which deepens my ability to enjoy it and I’m not risking anything else by spending the money, then it’s a decent investment in my happiness.

Throwing out lots of stuff right now, I am absolutely shocked and disgusted by myself with how much trash I accumulated with such a low long-term value. I’ve switched to that japanese mindset: If it does not bring joy or has actual value, it’s getting removed from my life, either as trash or sold on.

So would I buy things I want but don’t need (i.e. not daily necessities like food, petrol, etc.) from now on? It highly depends. I will look into renting or borrowing stuff first if possible, then used stuff. Only if those are not an option, I will really REALLY think about where that thing will be in a year from now. If it’s most likely in storage or already binned and will have lost most of its value, I will choose not to shoulder the burden of owning it. There’s nothing to be gained but loss in such a thing.

On stuff that appears to keep value, boy do you need to evaluate a lot. General rule of thumb: Do you use it almost daily and similar items only slowly lost their value in the last years, consider buying it. Else avoid owning it, reduce cost.

On Tools, go for a base set of tools and a set of preferably multi-use tools on top. Everything else: Rent it. Why buy that special repair kit you will use once on your car when you can go to a hobby car workshop and just rent that thing? Sure, the rent is gone, but it’s way less than what that repair set would’ve cost you, which you will not sell on until it has lost most of its value, is outdated and whatnot.

Same for cars. Buy a cheap used one that’s easy to maintain and simply gets you reliably from A to B. Rent a beautiful car once in a while or for long trips. By numbers (including value loss, maintenance, etc.) you will most likely come out cheaper than owning an expensive car - without the risk of high repair costs on it appearing out of nowhere - as long as you keep it down to a few times per year. Something like once per month for a full weekend usually is fine, but this calculation is VERY country specific, so calculate your own total cost of ownership of a nice car and compare it to owning a cheap, easy to repair get-me-around car with occasionally renting really nice cars. Just be realistic with time frames.

For me, it’s a kinda simple rubrick:

• First and foremost, is the money actually available - I was a pretty bad financial fuck-up in my 20’s. I learned a lot about money and credit, but the cost of that education was a lot higher than I would have liked. So, being sure the money is actually there and won’t cause me trouble down the line is always the first thing. Credit is OK for some major (generally secured) purposes, but frivolities should be cash in hand.
• Second, do your homework - If you plan to make a major purchase, spend some time researching the thing, its costs and everything else about it before hand. We live in an amazing time of information availability, go online and learn the upsides and downsides to the thing. Also, try to get a feel for the cost of the thing. You should go in knowing what you want, the features you’re looking to get on said thing and have a rough idea of how much the thing will cost.
• Third, “Wind the clock” - this means that you should step away from any major purchase and take some time to consider it. If the sales critter insists that they won’t be able to make the same deal tomorrow, don’t walk, run. Time pressure is the most basic sales tactic. If the deal isn’t going to look good to me when I reevaluate it tomorrow, I sure as fuck don’t want to take it today. It’s not that I won’t make a purchase the same day, but I also go in willing to drive down the street and start negotiations over again with the next sales critter.
• Finally, it’s just money - If you have the money and have the right deal for the right thing, quit your belly-aching and commit. Ya, you probably just fucked up and you’ll learn that as you go. But, the experience will probably be valuable to you. Maybe it won’t quite reach the value of the money it cost you, but you’re unlikely to actually know that until after you’ve spent it. Money sitting in the bank won’t buy you happiness. Money spent on experiences might. So, go spend some money. Have those experiences and realize that you can always make more money, you cannot make more time.

If I want something then I generally categories it in 1 of 3 ways. it is must needed, it will significantly improve quality of life, or it is just for fun.

If it is must then no choice buy or lease.

If it will improve quality of life then how much does it cost. there is no real formula but if it is less than my 1 day’s income then I’ll mostly buy it. Eg. Flying instead of taking 17-20hr train ride.

If it is just for fun then it has to be significantly cheaper than my 1 day’s income plus it should bring some enjoyment. Eg. going on fun trips, etc.

Edit - I’m currently mostly living on paycheck to paycheck + 3 months reserve in case of emergency. But if you are making much more and are able to save then of course go ahead and buy it.

I had the same dilemma about buying a motorcycle after taking my classes.

I told myself that I could die any day from anything and I am very financially prudent with everything else. Live a little because everyone is living their best life on credit while I am sitting at home daydreaming about things because I’m too cheap.

Yolo’d it and financed a motorcycle. I’m having such a blast. No ragret.

You can’t really justify it but if you buy it, don’t beat yourself up over it. As long as you don’t hoard so much as to end up with so much stuff to move when you change places.

I don’t justify it, i just buy it.

If i want a motorcycle, and i have the money for it…

When i was younger i used to think about things a lot. I’m 44 now. I lost my dad 5 years ago, and my mom last year. It really changed my views on life. Yeah i save some on a savings account, but at the end of today, tomorrow is always a promise, never a guarantee. And so i live a much easier life. I buy what i want, when i want, where i want.

I used to think that would make my cynical, but it actually made me a more pleasant person, less worrying on my part. If that makes any sense?

If I want something and can afford it, I buy it. The best purchases retrospectively are always the ones I get a lot of enjoyment out of. For example I don’t regret spending a lot of money on my bicycles because I’ve got a lot of enjoyment out of riding them for thousands of kilometres every year. The only purchases I regret are ones I don’t end up using as much as I thought I would.

Obviously if you share expenses with others, you need to consider their needs to. For me that means not spending money on a bike that I’m going to need for a shared holiday or whatever later on.

I budget and save for it.

I’m lucky enough to be able to budget for things I want. If it’s in the budget, no justification is required. If it’s in the budget but expensive, then I just have to figure out if I want it more than the other things I want (or will want) that I won’t be able to afford as a result.

Wait a few months or even a year. Go on with your life. If you still want it then, buy it. Also a good way to put money on the side for this specific item, then it will hurt less.

Let it simmer. If I still want to buy it after weeks/months than I buy it.

YOLO

I find it helpful to try to quantify the time I’ll enjoy with a thing before I buy it. Or maybe there will be some amount of cost savings if it’s a tool. You could do both with a motorcycle.

Unless you get a shitty Harley, it will almost certainly be more fuel efficient than an ICE car/truck, so if you plan to commute by motorcycle at all, there is some cost savings there. That will probably offset the cost of registration and insurance, and maybe regular maintenance, so not really a net gain, but at least pays for itself to some degree.

So after approximating the cost after those savings, then you can approximate how many hours per year and how many years you expect to enjoy the thing for. Divide the cost by that number of hours. Would you pay that hourly rate for the enjoyment you expect to get from it? If so, buy. If not, don’t buy.

There are obviously some abstract things to factor in too, though. Would you make friends through your motorcycle? Do you enjoy working on stuff so in addition to the riding do you plan on doing aftermarket work on it? Is there a bucket list aspect to this?

I can tell you that, as a former motorcycle owner, I would probably not get one again. They’re super fucking dangerous, almost entirely because other drivers are fucking morons. It’s impossible for me to ride without being on edge with the assumption that every other driver is actively trying to kill me. At this point, I would only get one as a fun time to ride once in a while, and the upkeep isn’t worth it for that. Even an electric one would be hard for me to justify for myself because of insurance, registration, and ride gear.

That all being said, there are considerations that you and you alone will need to apply to this decision. I just strongly urge that if you do buy a bike, you wear all recommended gear. Never shorts. Never sandals. Never without a helmet and jacket. Dress for the slide, not the ride.

I let it simmer. If it’s still on my mind in a few weeks (sometimes months) without me setting a reminder of sorts, apparently I really do want it.

The other part is can I afford it. If it’s a bigger expense, I make sure to save up for it by setting apart what I can over a period of time. This also combines nicely with the “do I still want it” period.