Originally Posted by
Dominik Dudkiewicz
Thanks guys.
It's good to hear that most don't consider investing too much in quality tools wasteful or something to feel guilty about.
I have never spent more than I can afford and have not taken on any debt to do so. In fact I am debt free. I also don't drink, smoke, spend money eating out or on clothes, cars, etc etc. I get very focussed on one thing. However, I suppose that there is no such thing as too much money and buying anything is at the expense of something else, now or in the future. So I suppose sometimes I think - have I indulged too much in this interest/passion vs possibly saving that money/investing it for the future. That said I do like to think of the woodworking tools I have as an investment, in my mental wellbeing, personal growth, and possibly even some sort of income producing venture in the future - but sometimes I think that maybe i'm just kidding myself and should be more responsible with my money for the long-term.
Perhaps it's as other have said the best way is to buy tools when you need them for a particular project. I have a habbit of thinking of a future project and realising i'd need a particular tool(s) to accomplish some aspect of that project, and then fixate on aquiring that capability - even if I don't end up needing it for a long while. Something about knowing I "can" build anything I can conceive of and the freedom that provides in terms of mental freedom to plan projects, even ones I may never get around to - is very nice. I think the guilt comes in waves, particularly when I've just bought a bunch of stuff and when I haven't completed a project in a while - then it feels kind of over-indulgent and maybe greedy or wasteful - I can't quite find the words to explain it.