This really hit home as I am working on my own goals for minimalism...or at least, no more excess...or trivial things...I have collections of stuff that no longer bring me joy or have no function...letting go is not as hard as I thought...I would rather have the experiences than the things...thanks to some friends who are helping me see the absurdity of my ways, I hope to have at least 75% of my material possessions purged!

I’ve thought a lot along these lines as of late as I’ve gotten older and hopefully wiser. I’ve bought and wasted oh so much over my life, a lot of it to keep up with the Jones’s. I have been divorced and single by choice for the past 8 or 9 years and have MUCH less disposable income. It took me a long time to get over the “loss” of being able to buy “stuff”, but now I see how much better off I am. It is really an addiction. I admit that I still have urges to buy stuff but fight it off, as when I still get an urge to smoke a cigarette. I rent a room now and had to purge and get rid of so much. I went through years of mourning for my stuff, but now only have intermittent sadness from it. Life shouldn’t be about material things.

I'm on disability, so not a lot of disposable income to begin with. Also, I'm a bit of a hoarder. I have some clothing that is over 40 years old. Tho I donate many to my local VA Hospital, I find it hard to let go of books & some magazines (Nat Geo, Free Inquiry, Smithsonian, Archeology. My Time, most Discover & my Mom's, no problem! ). I do like my growing t-shirt collection, mostly atheist & science-based recently, not as much the old Rock & Roll of yore. I live in Arizona, so t-shirts are basically year 'round wear.
Some of the items mentioned are only for the "well-to-do", as many folks I know can't afford a lot of the silliness, & also, gift giving, especially at xmas, is focused on the kids, not the adults.

Thank you for sharing this, @Kikipotamus.

I too have been a minimalist the last few years, at one point by circumstance then intentional by choice, for many of these reasons. When I do indulge materially, I do it in second-hand possessions.

Excellent, thank you for posting. I've been a minimalist since before it was a thing. Liberating......

This confirmed that minimalism is the way to go for me. Experiences, not stuff! But quality and keep it for a long time!