Cool question. Upvoted and followed. I started practicing minimalism ten years ago, and I only spend money on things I have a passion for. Food, cars, cryptocurrencies, investing stocks and my three year old son. I have no material needs, even though as I am growing older and more refined, I try to dress a little more appropriate to my age not always wearing sneakers and hoodies :) In my twenties I was like most 20 year olds in the west, spending my money on material things. I´m sure i produced some hormones while doing it, because i felt pleasure, but the hangover came just as fast..worrying about spending too much money. Now, luckily I never worry when I have to spend some money, because I know what I almost never buy anything that I dont need. What makes me truly happy is being able to follow my dreams and live the life that I want. Not having a nine to five, not doing what everyone else does (putting themselves in life long debt forcing them to make a certain amount of money each month, which never lets them take any chances on anything) Do I really need a nice car? No..do I love cars? Yes. I love the engineering, I love certain designs, I love the passion behind it. And I love driving. Do I personally own a fast expensive car? Nope. Luckily I can borrow one if the urge is too big :) And other than that I put on my headphones and watch a documentary about some classic car. Every human needs passions..and passions often do cost money. I´ve probably spent more than reasonable on fishing gear. But I do love flyfishing, and for that I need some expensive stuff. But it´s different than mindless shopping in my opinion :)
RE: Shopping and consuming: Does it really make you happy?