Yeah it is a skill to develop, but I have been able to save a lot of money and am able to get some of the older but nearly “state-of-the-art” computer parts at a massive discount (though much of my savings ends up paying for the higher-tier equipment than paying the lower-tier new). I do lose some lifespan of parts if I buy them used, especially SSDs, but not enough to offset the worth of the discount. Plus, I like buying things broken-in by other people so I don’t have anxiety from buying something shiny and new and barely using it in fear I will accidentally damage it. I also hate the idea of something being overproduced for me in a factory when there is something used secondhand that was available and suitable for my needs. I grew up in a household that was supported by parents earning close to minimum wage salaries, and I learned the skill partly from my parents taking trips to buy things they found on craigslist.
I went on a bit of a tangent here, aka one of my oversharing spurs...thanks AuDHD
Nevertheless, sometimes someone ends up selling stuff brand new, likely unused inventory from their job, and I will buy new SSDs (for an IRL example) with heatsinks cheaper than used SSDs without heatsinks on eBay. Regardless, I am still happy my money is going to support a working class fellow or even a small shop as opposed to a megacorporation–minus the cut eBay takes, which apparently has R&D centers established in Israel as I learned from this comment (even Alibaba, Yandex, Huawei, Lenovo, Xiaomi, Red Hat, and many more).
I really need to spend less in general as almost every company under the sun is funding Israel, but my mother received her settlement, paid her debt to me and my wife from the previous two years, and lended some additional funds to me, thus I am currently getting parts for soldering, a server (from my old desktop build that had an SSD storing part of my Linux root filesystem die), and a new desktop so I can get back up and running for college. I even have bought various items (especially for soldering) from AliExpress and eBay sellers from China hoping my money goes to support China’s infrastructure and offset the damage caused by contributing to the American economy that eventually funds the genocide of Palestinians. I’m not sure if buying things from China makes any difference for the better, but I really try to put a lot of thought into nearly everything I pay for and where I purchase from.
I feel my time is quickly running out and that I need to hurry and get an education before shit hits the fan. I can only do so much as a proletariat, and I feel I have to take risks to get ahead. In the past, taking massive risks has yielded mixed results for me, but I believe my material conditions have improved more than if I had not done so. I wish I didn’t have to do so just to keep my head above water.
I do get carried away with spending, and it is something I need to work on. I haven’t used half the things I paid for because I have little time and numerous unfinished projects. If I didn’t work so much, many of my purchases would either have not been made or would have actually been put to use by now. I am not the pinnacle of financially responsible decisions, but I try to save and be more efficient to the best of my burned out ability, and I try to learn from my mistakes.
Not too long at all actually. I share many of the same thoughts and followed along :)
One thing I am gleaming from your comment is that I need to be more disciplined in researching what funds isntrael, etc. Although I feel that most of that conflict is ultimately resolved by the people on the ground, why help the entity even a little bit with even a semblance of legitimacy.
Yeah it is a skill to develop, but I have been able to save a lot of money and am able to get some of the older but nearly “state-of-the-art” computer parts at a massive discount (though much of my savings ends up paying for the higher-tier equipment than paying the lower-tier new). I do lose some lifespan of parts if I buy them used, especially SSDs, but not enough to offset the worth of the discount. Plus, I like buying things broken-in by other people so I don’t have anxiety from buying something shiny and new and barely using it in fear I will accidentally damage it. I also hate the idea of something being overproduced for me in a factory when there is something used secondhand that was available and suitable for my needs. I grew up in a household that was supported by parents earning close to minimum wage salaries, and I learned the skill partly from my parents taking trips to buy things they found on craigslist.
I went on a bit of a tangent here, aka one of my oversharing spurs...thanks AuDHD
Nevertheless, sometimes someone ends up selling stuff brand new, likely unused inventory from their job, and I will buy new SSDs (for an IRL example) with heatsinks cheaper than used SSDs without heatsinks on eBay. Regardless, I am still happy my money is going to support a working class fellow or even a small shop as opposed to a megacorporation–minus the cut eBay takes, which apparently has R&D centers established in Israel as I learned from this comment (even Alibaba, Yandex, Huawei, Lenovo, Xiaomi, Red Hat, and many more).
I really need to spend less in general as almost every company under the sun is funding Israel, but my mother received her settlement, paid her debt to me and my wife from the previous two years, and lended some additional funds to me, thus I am currently getting parts for soldering, a server (from my old desktop build that had an SSD storing part of my Linux root filesystem die), and a new desktop so I can get back up and running for college. I even have bought various items (especially for soldering) from AliExpress and eBay sellers from China hoping my money goes to support China’s infrastructure and offset the damage caused by contributing to the American economy that eventually funds the genocide of Palestinians. I’m not sure if buying things from China makes any difference for the better, but I really try to put a lot of thought into nearly everything I pay for and where I purchase from.
I feel my time is quickly running out and that I need to hurry and get an education before shit hits the fan. I can only do so much as a proletariat, and I feel I have to take risks to get ahead. In the past, taking massive risks has yielded mixed results for me, but I believe my material conditions have improved more than if I had not done so. I wish I didn’t have to do so just to keep my head above water.
I do get carried away with spending, and it is something I need to work on. I haven’t used half the things I paid for because I have little time and numerous unfinished projects. If I didn’t work so much, many of my purchases would either have not been made or would have actually been put to use by now. I am not the pinnacle of financially responsible decisions, but I try to save and be more efficient to the best of my burned out ability, and I try to learn from my mistakes.
Not too long at all actually. I share many of the same thoughts and followed along :)
One thing I am gleaming from your comment is that I need to be more disciplined in researching what funds isntrael, etc. Although I feel that most of that conflict is ultimately resolved by the people on the ground, why help the entity even a little bit with even a semblance of legitimacy.