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Comment by tobr | Hacker News Reader

I can’t remember where I heard this quote, but I often think about it:

“I don’t like to buy things for my things”.

For example, if you buy a car or a house, it’s basically guaranteed that you will soon need car things and house things. Many of those things will in turn require their own things, and so on.

It’s interesting to consider the longest thing chains you have in your life, so you can avoid making them longer or avoid starting new ones.

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In my childhood, I was taught that "The more you have, the more you have to have to take care of the things you have." My Dad also taught me never to buy anything unless I have the energy, time, money, and space to maintain it, repair it, clean it, and store it, or to pay someone to do those things.

The price of a thing (like the e-bike I've been looking at to reduce my dependence on my car to get places) becomes considerably inflated when you consider those factors.

It does have a side effect of considerable levels of tool acquisition, and basically mandates having a workshop and power washer.

For a bike avoid pressure washing. I use a manual pump garden sprayer and I'm good. There's a worry that high pressure will force water into your bottom bracket or wheel hubs.

As an owner of an e-bike (Pegasus Siena E8F plus) I have to say that it's surprisingly low maintenance, especially considering how useful the thing is.

Apple ecosystem is like that. Especially if you have a family, that chain gets long, wide and each thing comes with a premium pricetag.

> For example, if you buy a car or a house, it’s basically guaranteed that you will soon need car things and house things.

I have a family friend who coined a saying I repeat often: “I never met a house that wasn’t a thief.”

> For example, if you buy a car or a house, it’s basically guaranteed that you will soon need car things and house things. Many of those things will in turn require their own things, and so on.

...then eventually, you need a bigger house to keep all those things in.

> The things you own end up owning you. It's only after you lose everything that you're free to do anything.

etc

Me and my wife have recently tried to sell as much as possible after realising this. Anything we know we won't need right now we sell so that we stop just having so many stuff...

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