Upgrade my server/storage. I only have 1.5tb of storage total for everything including my music, shows, etc.

But I am able to manage it, so I can’t really justify buying more storage for it when I technically don’t need it.

A couple days vacation to go hiking. I haven’t had a vacation in years, and I desperately need a break from my life. I’d be thrilled if I could just get on a plane, go across the country and see some mountains for 2-3 days and then come home, but I just can’t afford it. Maybe next year, she says, for the 3rd year in a row…

I put off buy new hard drives for my NAS. I have an 8 bay and slowly filled it over the years with 6tb drives since they were about $200 at that time. Now that I ran out of that space I started replacing the 6tb one by one with 12tb which at the time was around $200 as well. Ive needed a new HD for years now but couldnt really afford it, but now I really need a new one and I REALLY can’t afford it… this hobby is essentially dead at these prices. Ill continue to purge data and hope in a few years some miracle happens and prices drop again. I also hope these current drives hold out without issues…

😭 i want so bad but these times it makes no sense

A FUCKING HOUSE

The new Framework Desktop with 192GB unified memory, specifically for LLM inference. I’ve looked at the numbers and there’s no scenario for me in which it’s economically sensible to upgrade from 20GB gpu vram + rent EU API inference for larger models. Even if the tokens became more expensive by factor of 10 overnight, by the time the hardware paid for itself it would already long be obsolete.

It’s an impressive machine, but I just can’t justify the purchase.

Healthcare

In 1995: a virtual boy

In 2015: an Oculus Rift

In 2026: a Steam Frame

I really want to do an electric conversion of a Geo Tracker.

One with a blown engine showed up on Craigslist for $1k two weeks before my daughter’s due date.

Next time.

5 years ago, I’d be out every night systematically removing flock cameras. I have the skills, the tools, and the experience avoiding getting caught. Instead I told myself these things weren’t going to happen and these skills will ever bring me joy. So I cleaned up, got married, finally went to college. I have a career I’m dedicated to and it isn’t even dubiously legal.

I see why we aren’t out burning things in the streets now. I can’t drive 5 over without worrying that a traffic stop will land my wife in alligator Auschwitz for being the wrong color. I can finally afford to buy food for my kid and it’s subject to the whim of people who want my kind dead. I don’t care about everyone else enough to risk what little I actually have.

Plenty of things, but the first that came to mind was the same as OP. The Steam Frame looks really cool, but at the price it’s a whole thing.

Same for other electronics - a Framework laptop, building a new desktop (good luck to me there), a Steam Deck.

Lots of newer video games. It’s easy to turn down some of them, because I know I haven’t made time to play a lot of what I already have. Likewise for books in general, where money isn’t a bottleneck but time and space are.

Pokemon cards - just recently had a mini-convention day here in town with a bunch of collectors/vendors selling. Made me really want to go back and fill out my weak collection of WotC classics, but the price (vs how much I care) is a bit prohibitive.

The list is long and varied.

Can’t afford: New floors and AC in my house (~$20K)

Can’t justify: a XGIMI Aura 3 Max 4K 120Hz UST Projector ($2K)

Can’t afford: A camper van (~$60K)

Can’t justify: A new PC (~$3500)

One thing I did justify recently was $2K on a new bed. My old bed was over 20 years old.

Motorcycle. I had my previous one for 17 years and travelled many kilometers with it. However, it has worn down up to the point of the replacement parts being more valuable than what the bike would sell for. In other words, it was a write-off. As I ride my bicycle to work and I have too little leisure time already, I simply cannot justify buying my own motorcycle again.

Fortunately, my FIL has several and will lend me one if I want to.

Literally anything. Clothing. A bed. A UPS so I can safely update my six year out of date BIOS that is causing issues snd the constant, random power outages here don’t make me feel safe enough to just do it whenever. A car. Insurance for a car. (Or being able to afford to live in a city with good public transit) Gender affirming care. A place to live. Privacy. Safety.

Oh yeah and my cancer meds that I am forced to live in poverty for and the threat of losing then dangles over my head if I lose my medicaid. Which is possible now.

I wanna go to Japan and do the Saigoku Kannon pilgrimage. D:

Hope you get your steam frame and get to play 40k soon. :)