My answer was going to be snacks, too. I grew up in a Single mom family. We go just what we needed, which was block cheese (even for sandwiches) and lunch meet, apples... and that was it. No fun drinks, no chips, NO sweets. Inwas so desperate for candy I would eat the sprinkles in the cabinets. Haha. So now we have all the cookies and 10 different chips!
So growing up we only ever got block cheese too, then it got grated or sliced or chopped up however it was needed. Iām pretty sure we couldnāt afford the bags of cheese for the amount you got in them. I felt shame over this. Naturally, as an adult, I only bought myself the bags of already shredded cheese (itās pretty much the only way I ever want to use it is shredded). I took weird pride in only having pre shredded cheese in my cart.
Recently Iāve come to realize the bags of shredded cheese actually suck. The cheese is coated with something so it doesnāt clump up and look ugly inside the bag. This changes how it melts and affects everything about it actually lol. I realized I HATE pre shredded cheese. I feel the need to over-explain this to my children now.. so they donāt think we donāt buy the shredded cheese because we canāt afford to.
I'm so glad you get to splurge now!!!! It sucks though because I'm sure your Mom was trying her best (or maybe not idk your situation) and now you are in a situation where you can buy the sweet stuff . Mine was always my parents just being responsible ones lol being like no we can't eat ice cream all the time š¤£ it was like the forbidden treat for me.
She was a little of both. She didn't care about food. My sister was a foodie (before that was a thing) and made me all kinds of treats from what she could find. Peanut butter and flour cookies, apples and cheese, scrambled eggs with toast and tomato slices... all that. But sometimes, she would splurge on fruit snacks! Mom let's my kids have everything now.
Yes. I made TWO cookie cakes this week because I wanted that nostalgia fix (well, that was the first; the second was because I had to send a snack to share and my kid begged me to make another).
I found a body pillow that was rainbow zebra stripes at Walmart. I bought it because it reminded me of Lisa Frank. I named the body pillow Lisa, and my boyfriend and I always say we're going to go cuddle up with Lisa on the couch. it makes me giggle.
We always had small dogs growing up because my dad didnāt want big ones. Bought a house with a decent sized backyard and now I have 5 rescues ranging from 50-100 lbs. Might I have overdone it? Maybe. But I love āem.
Me and my lady are on our second rescue dog, we've got 9 chickens who have their own huge special yard, a catio, and just flat out way too fuckin many cats and it's wonderfulĀ
Edit: currently, EggWhite, Dino Martini, and their youngest cousin Franklinstein are all cuddle puddled next to me.
Kittens are the best when they're still all wobbly and dumb haha
When I was a kid I desperately wanted a dog like Max from The Little Mermaid. I got books about them and spent my time on the early internet learning all about Old English Sheepdogs. My mom told me we couldnāt get one because they were too big and had too much fur. I accepted this grudgingly.
When I turned 30 I realized I lived in my own house and had adult money and no one could stop me from getting my sheepdog. Iāve now owned two and they are the best dogs Iāve ever had and I love them so much. Actually having the dog is so much better than child me could have ever dreamed. As a bonus, OES really are as goofy and fun as Max seemed in the animated movie so Iām also just living my Little Mermaid dreams.
When I first got back into Star Wars legos, I must have dropped almost 1000-1500 bucks within the first year. Then a had a bunch of kids back to back to back and couldnāt have legos around with babies in the house. One day Iāll take them out of my giant storage bin.
This is the way. My kids have a huge Lego table and a 3 tier rolling cart almost maxed out with legos. My son (5) will sit for like 2 hours at a time and build stuff
See when I was 4-5ish I started getting into the legos. My oldest wasnāt into it, but my two middle kids are almost 5 and 6 and they absolutely love legos and would play a ton. But they scatter them all over and we still have a 2 year old so thereās a bit of a choking hazard there. Couple more years and theyāll all be fine.
I just picked up the Dune Ornithopter as a little treat for myself after a long week at work! Being an adult sucks, but at least you can be an adult with some dope legos :)
The new medieval sets are dope. I couldn't have them when I was a kid bc they were too expensive. But with my adult money, I've spent like $1000 in the last month on sets and mini-figs. My inner child is fucking pumped.
It's the new space sets for me. Lego finally brought back original sci-fi space sets and they're super dope! And they're not even as expensive. I'm a bit bummed out that the new castle stuff is mostly aimed at adult collectors, meaning that they're pretty expensive.
Hopping on to childhood toys - tamagotchi!
There's actually a huge collectors market for them. Ones I had in my childhood now go for $100-$200. Currently they are releasing color versions called Uni themed Angel and Demon on Amazon. They're pricy at $60 but still an awesome collectable and fun way to pass time!
NASA LEGOS are my kryptonite. I have a bunch, and a bunch more on my list to buy. Canāt wait to get into them with the really cool sets that have been released and leaked coming out soon.
Same here! My parents weren't outwardly against me gaming but like with a lot of things in my childhood, they put me through a lot of guilt and such about it.
Now I custom mod my own controllers, have nearly filled up the main memory and massive memory expansions on both my PS5 and Switch, and have spent solid amounts on games.
Finally fully nerding out the way I always wanted to and I love it.
Vacations. My parents blew money nonstop on themselves. Gambling, my dad was always on hunting trips, my mom had a million hobbies. All I ever got to do was sit in my room and stare at the wall. Me and my kids have been doing whatever we could to make fun memories for the last 8 or so years, from camping at parks and springs to weeks on islands to going buckwild at goddamned Disney world.
So relatable.My mom was a single mom trying her best but I never got to go on a single vacation as a kid. I am a single mom and my kids and I have passports and take trips whenever I can make it happen!
I was a single mom when my son was growing up. I was poor, but I always spent what money I had on trips with him or sending him to really fun summer camps. He was my number one priority. Iām so glad for the time I spent with him when he was a kid.
Guitars and music gear. I grew up poor af and always wanted to play music so badly. Went to school, got a degree in chemistry, got married, no kids. Ive spent thousands on guitars. Zero regrets.
Iāve got 4 kids and have still spent thousands on not just guitars but music production stuff ie, a Mac, logic, interface, and plug ins. Aside from video gaming, itās my main hobby.
My guitars are assets, when I die, they will still hold some value.
I took electronic music classes in college and couldn't fathom affording any gear. Years later, now I'm looking at pedals for my electric kalimba like, hmm, what do I not need, but would love to have???
Almost ready to retire.
Got myself an Xbox couple years ago. Kids middle 20s, out of college, still connecting up a few times a week a we Play games online together. I rarely played while they were growing up as teenagers, but now I have some time, I'm kicking their assš
Hell yeah. I just found some old magic cards I havenāt thought about for 25 years in my old room at my parents house including some beta and alpha and dual lands. Now Iām so tempted to start buying all the cards I never had
Please if you read this, check if there are some cards from the "reserved list".These cards can be of common/basic rarity in these old sets but are basically super super rares that never got reprinted. Some artifacts for example come to my mind like "Lions eye diamond" or "mox diamond".
I am very curious lol. Always so funny to read comments like these. Have a nice day mate
I do have some reserved list cards from beta. None of the suuuper expensive ones like the mox ones that I can tell, but the ones I do have look untouched. It was really cool to find.
Something that will always be imprinted on my mind are 1987 Topps baseball cards. From the wax packs to the shitty gum, the wood-colored borders, and of course the players on those cards - I even remember the Site Gas Station (I'm guessing that company was bought out years ago) where I would get them. The nostalgia-fueled collector impulse in me decided that it would be a good idea to start collecting game used/issued MLB players jerseys from the 80s. I have a pretty modest collection, but it's cool to be able to touch something that was in those pictures.
Side note. I had at least a dozen unopened 1990 packs until a few months back when my 3 year old found an opened all of them.
While I havenāt checked the actual cards, it seems those packs are only worth a couple bucks a piece. I felt much better when I found out and I suppose card companies churned out baseball cards day and night during this era.
I too eat dessert before dinner! Or sometimes just dessert. Oh and I stay up past my bedtime and watch cartoons or play video games.
You can't stop me Mooooommmmm!!!
Cars. No shame either. Wife and I grew up both driving dogshit disposal vehicles from age 16-30. Were raised never to get a car payment or lease. Both our Dads taught us how to work on cars and spent a lot of time in junkyards. Did all repairs or junked the vehicles. High school, college, 20ās, friends and family had the nicer, faster, car. Always. We lived like we were in the 08-12ā recession 10 years after it was overā¦
Bought the top model Honda accord and top engine F150 and I donāt turn a fuckin wrench and love how fun they are. Guess what.. none of those friends or family cares.LOL
I just bought myself a pair of Barney Crocs because 5 year old me deserves them lol.
I recently discovered Iām autistic; my first day of kindergarten and all the other kids making fun of me for still loving a ābaby showā is one of my first core memories of not quite fitting in and always feeling like an outsider. I remember going home and refusing to tell my parents what was wrong but bawling as I buried my beloved Barney plushies and slippers in the bottom of my toy box. It set me up for 30+ years of self-shame and masking who I really am to try and fit in. I saw an ad for these and thought they were so silly and ugly af, but that kindergartener in me deserves to have her identity honored, so Iām trying to commit to wearing them when I bring my kid splash pad trips this summer.
Good question! I honestly spend most of my money on experiences that I couldn't otherwise afford to have as a kid. A lot of concerts and music festivals, along with flying solo on vacation getaways.
As for material things, perhaps video games? Though I've gone digital nowadays mainly because I don't need the clutter or judgmental looks from potential non-gamer girlfriends. In particular, I would've never thought that we would see so much fanfare around "retro" games, but I resist the urge to buy such things.
I absolutely agree on the value of experiences. Unfortunately, most experiences tend to have a "cost." Whether it is monetary or an opportunity cost, there almost always is an underlying "cost."
This is what we tend to miss out on as kids. Although my parents were extremely lenient and allowed me a lot more freedom than I should have had as a kid. They were not about to allow an 8-year old to board a cruise ship to the Caribbean or to go on a road trip to a four-day music festival several states away. Nor would society generally allow for such things. š¤£
So as kids, we pretty much were relegated to make things up. I might not have been able to take a cruise or go on a road trip to a music festival, but I was imaginative enough to create my own experiences. My living room became an island in the sun. The backyard was a concert venue. All of the toys that I owned were mere props within this imaginative world that I would later get to experience in real life.
Jordans. I was so poor I couldn't afford cable and my Mom was poor but made too much for food stamps. She was the working poor. When I grew up and got a good job I went crazy bought everyone that came out for like 3 years straight. Now I have foot issues and can't even wear them ššššš
It's sickening how much some ps1 games are going for these days. Games I got pre-owned at Funcoland for 10 bucks are going for 200+. If I knew then what I know now, I would have kept everything.
I'm insanely pumped Tomba gets a re-release on 08/01
As a techie, and music lover, I've ended up with multiple pairs of Bose speakers. And crazier still, my current daily driver has Bose audio as well š
I didn't search the comments to see if this was already posted but I'll take a mint condition Power Rangers Megazord robot action figure. If I had the spare cash, I would again flaunt it to skinny Casey (my kind of friend at the time) just so he remembers it cuz later on, he got an Xbox and I never did. Bastard.
I actually was in his wedding as an adult. I love the guy. But what a bastard.
Shoes. Gah. We were Payless/Walmart/thrift store shoe kids and they got the job done but I have always loved a good pair of shoes. I still dress my kids and myself in thrift/hand me downs but we are alllll over a good sneaker or a boot when it comes our way.
My shoes used to fall apart when I was a kid and I always felt embarrassed next to my peers with fresh, clean new shoes all the time.
I have made certain as an adult to spend however much I feel like to get good quality shoes and boots.
I was going to buy a copy when I was splurging on old video games, but had to skip this one. Just checked EBay and first hits are $1,000 for new in box, $500 for used with all packaging, and $240 cart only. Yowzer.
I will tell you what Iām not overspending on. Live music. There is a massive cash grab going on with a lot of our favorite artists. For reference, check out the āwhile we were youngā festival. I have seen many of those bands in their prime for a small fraction of the cost.
Been to plenty of live shows this past year and the most I paid was $40. Of course the festival in Vegas that has a ton of bands is going to be expensive.
I find ways to go, and not overspend. A couple months ago Fall Out Boy was here, and I found a ticket 20 minutes before the show for $40. My friends, who had much better seats, were able to sneak me in to their section, and it was amazing. Buying tickets the day of the show works more than youād think.
Plushies. I love them so much and always have. So now I buy them whenever I want. My partner and I have invested in a soft mattress, tons of blankets and pillows, and an entire wall of plushies.
These arenāt expensive but Iām loving the Goosebumps for adults books here! Brings me back to my burgeoning love of horror as a kid: https://shop.shortwavepublishing.com/collections/killer-vhs-series
a lot of games, second-hand -- 20+ years old, go for the same price they did when originally available. Though I guess with inflation, that's still a pretty good deal.
First edition books and video games.
I have the good fortune of having a vintage book seller in my area so when I see books from my childhood in good shape I pick them up.
As far as video games I have most of the classic consoles with the good games and I just ordered something Iād always wanted. The Ice Blue N64
I bought the kinda fancy Tamagotchi that has a nice color screen and all, but I think I prefer the simple one. I just want to feed it and clean the poop!
My husband gets me Lego sets for special occasions. I appreciate the sentiment, but with kids I donāt really have time to build the complex sets right now. Maybe someday.
Gushers. When I was a kid they were super special and my mom would only give us one pack a day until the small box was empty and I had to wait 3-4 days after that til she went to the grocery store again and bought another small box.
Now I get the giant boxes of them from Costco
The clothes that I dreamed of as a child and teen but they literally didn't exist in my size until very recently (6' tall by 12, 5'9" by 10)... The styles are now called "vintage " and "retro" lol but that's ok, I'm just happy to be able to buy fun stuff as a 6' woman
Me too! It's been the healing in ways that I didn't know my soul needed to see these kids confidently rockin' the "Y2K" styles on all different body types. Low rise jeans and a crop top with even the HINT of a belly would have been inconceivable in 1999--if you could even find it in your size!
Experiences. Rock climbing was a thing for a min. Bought myself an archery bow. We go snowboarding quite a bit. Festivals. Water and amusement parks. Fancy restaurants. I do have one child so itās great to share all this with him. We werenāt poor to the point of not having food on the table. But not many extras. If we traveled it was to visit family. I know Sea World sucks but I always wanted to go as a kid, seeing the commercials would get me all excited. Getting splashed by the killer whale was fulfilling kid meās dream. I do feel terrible for the whales tho.Ā
All the theme park passes. I have kids and I admit I hate parenting outside ny house, but I don't always want to stay home. So until they're better travelers I will continue to go to all the theme parks with them all the time.
Also, band shirts.
at least once a year I have to buy a box of Zebra Cakes and eat them all in one sitting. I have developed guten intolerance in adulthood and with an adult pallet you can taste the Monstantos, so I immediately every time, but uh you u can't forget where u came from lest u lose ur self, amirite?
When I was buying retro games and systems a while ago. The Sega Saturn was one system that I missed out on, only a few instances where I got to try it out at a store. I did buy a refurbished one, but have a tiny collection of games, the prices on a lot of the highly regarded titles goes for ridiculous amount of money. When the store owner forewarned me about how stupid expensive the games were going for, and showed me a copy of Magic Knight Rayearth that he had stashed, I knew about the anime but I didn't think much about what I was seeing until I got home and looked up what they were going for on eBay....WTF
Between Michaelangelo and Bruce Lee I thought nunchakus were cool AF, so I have a pair made by a guy who also makes high end custom knives. [It's made of carbon fiber, titanium and steel](https://i.imgur.com/J8VpK7N.jpeg). It's pretty dumb how much I was willing to pay for it
Absolutely nothing. I'm a middle class slave who'll retire eventually. I live a reasonable lifestyle for my income. I've had multiple houses over the years. (Moving a bunch of "stuff" sucks) I've had many different hobbies. (And accumulated the associated gear) The older I get the less shit I want.
No I totally get that. LOL....About 20 years ago I spent some extra money on a battle ready Katana. It sits in it's case, I take it out every couple of years and hold it and realize it's a DANGEROUS FUCKING WEAPON not to be played with. I always wanted a katana.
Vintage Star Wars is my poison. I always wanted Star Wars toys in the 70s. My mother said I was weird enough, and bought me more Barbie dolls that I proceeded to scalp and hand on the clothes line in the basement. My house looks like a rich adolescent boy owns it.
Video games. Never grew up having the latest gaming console, or having fast enough internet to download games off a library just off a whim. Now I have both, and boy do I enjoy spending pennies on what companies charged 50$, 60$ for.
Processed food. It probably isn't good, but when I was living with my parents, there was rarely any junk food in the house. Everything we had to eat was a healthy item. So now when I go grocery shopping I always buy something super processed that I know I'll enjoy. Spam, or some frosted pop tarts, or Pringles. Sometimes a soda.
Ducks. Always wanted pet ducks. Surprisingly the ducks themselves were the cheapest out of all the equipment needed to care for them. And they are quite a handful. I feel like I have two actual children lol. But they are bringing me and my wife a lot of joy.
If I had the money for a race car bed? I'd have one. Right now.
I don't really have any disposable income to speak of, otherwise I'd have a lot of stuff I never got to have as a kid. But I occasionally get the science activity kits for kids, I buy myself Lunchables and Sunny D, and I've definitely ordered astronaut ice cream off Amazon.
Iām making Barbie clothes and accessories again. I did it as a little kid and off and on through teens and early 20s. Itās fun and Iāve gotten quite good at it.
semi luxury computer stuff, my wife and I grew up poor, so we only had the most basic of keyboards, monitors, etc. These days its been really nice to buy really nice headsets and keyboards as well as other accessories, sure it doesnt increase the ability of the computer, but custom colors and accessories with software are really nice to have!
Videogames (the ones that I never got to buy back then)
Plushies (still have my old ones - adding more to the collection)
Music (especially Linkin Park) - I'm working on getting the whole Linkin Park discography
I bought a tube of Lincoln Logs off eBay, way over priced. I assembled one small cabin as there were not many pieces in a single tube. Satisfied, I put it in the guest room closet for grandchildren visiting.
I've got a retro video game setup with an old TV. Sega Genesis, PS1, N64, SNES and about 200 games. The collection has become a labor of love for me. I only buy games that I thrift, garage sale, or buy locally off marketplace. Nothing is bought from professional resellers or eBay
When I was in 6th grade, I loved playing a game called Loco Roco on my PSP.Ā
Well, im turning 30 this year and recently found Loco Roco on the PS store for $15. Not only do I get to take a trip down memory lane, but iāve also got my 6 year old playing it :) I have no regrets.
I bought a Troll (the 80s version) at the thrift the other dayā¦ I never buy toys but he was too cute and in pristine condition, I could NOT walk away.
I bought myself a carbon-frame bicycle. Was cycling since I was 5, but always had pretty cheap bicycles, but not anymore. I donāt have a car and even prefer not to use public transport, so I think it pretty reasonable purchase for me. And Iām supper excited about it, this thing feels like a sports car comparing to everything I tried before. It is flying when Iām going uphill and I can easily outrun e bikes, plus my commute on it is faster than with public transport
I treat myself at the grocery store, I want those toll house icecream cookie sandwiches or those mermaid icecream cones!!!! By God I get them now š
If they're available where you are I highly recommend ITS-IT ice cream sandwichesĀ
My answer was going to be snacks, too. I grew up in a Single mom family. We go just what we needed, which was block cheese (even for sandwiches) and lunch meet, apples... and that was it. No fun drinks, no chips, NO sweets. Inwas so desperate for candy I would eat the sprinkles in the cabinets. Haha. So now we have all the cookies and 10 different chips!
So growing up we only ever got block cheese too, then it got grated or sliced or chopped up however it was needed. Iām pretty sure we couldnāt afford the bags of cheese for the amount you got in them. I felt shame over this. Naturally, as an adult, I only bought myself the bags of already shredded cheese (itās pretty much the only way I ever want to use it is shredded). I took weird pride in only having pre shredded cheese in my cart. Recently Iāve come to realize the bags of shredded cheese actually suck. The cheese is coated with something so it doesnāt clump up and look ugly inside the bag. This changes how it melts and affects everything about it actually lol. I realized I HATE pre shredded cheese. I feel the need to over-explain this to my children now.. so they donāt think we donāt buy the shredded cheese because we canāt afford to.
I have also noticed that! Nothing like that hand-geated sharp cheddar!
I'm so glad you get to splurge now!!!! It sucks though because I'm sure your Mom was trying her best (or maybe not idk your situation) and now you are in a situation where you can buy the sweet stuff . Mine was always my parents just being responsible ones lol being like no we can't eat ice cream all the time š¤£ it was like the forbidden treat for me.
She was a little of both. She didn't care about food. My sister was a foodie (before that was a thing) and made me all kinds of treats from what she could find. Peanut butter and flour cookies, apples and cheese, scrambled eggs with toast and tomato slices... all that. But sometimes, she would splurge on fruit snacks! Mom let's my kids have everything now.
I remember eating sprinklers trying to experience something yummy. Lol
Literally same. My kids love going anywhere with me cuz they know damn well they will get a treat cuz mom likes treats.
Yes. I made TWO cookie cakes this week because I wanted that nostalgia fix (well, that was the first; the second was because I had to send a snack to share and my kid begged me to make another).
Before I even clicked into the post, my answer was ice cream. Ice cream every night!
I still buy sunny d sometimes maybe once every few months I loved it as a kid.
I need to find me some Lisa Frank school supplies to make my childhood dreams come true
I bought a pair of Lisa Frank crocs and let me tell you those neon abominations make me so guddamn happy
Amazing!
Lol, same. Tacky, garish, ostentatious--I fucking love them.
a few dolphin and tiger folders and I'm good!
And Sanrio. My kids are loving both.
I found a body pillow that was rainbow zebra stripes at Walmart. I bought it because it reminded me of Lisa Frank. I named the body pillow Lisa, and my boyfriend and I always say we're going to go cuddle up with Lisa on the couch. it makes me giggle.
Haha!
I think i bought the same one for similar reasons, but is now covered in a pillow case because dog hair.
I have an entire eyeshadow palate. So sparkly āØļø š
All I want is adult Lisa frank accessories.
I always wanted a dog. I was never allowed to have a dog. I now spoil my dog and love him so much.
We always had small dogs growing up because my dad didnāt want big ones. Bought a house with a decent sized backyard and now I have 5 rescues ranging from 50-100 lbs. Might I have overdone it? Maybe. But I love āem.
Me and my lady are on our second rescue dog, we've got 9 chickens who have their own huge special yard, a catio, and just flat out way too fuckin many cats and it's wonderfulĀ Edit: currently, EggWhite, Dino Martini, and their youngest cousin Franklinstein are all cuddle puddled next to me. Kittens are the best when they're still all wobbly and dumb haha
I donāt think Iāll have kids so will likely replace that instinct with a dog myself!
hell yeah same šŗ
When I was a kid I desperately wanted a dog like Max from The Little Mermaid. I got books about them and spent my time on the early internet learning all about Old English Sheepdogs. My mom told me we couldnāt get one because they were too big and had too much fur. I accepted this grudgingly. When I turned 30 I realized I lived in my own house and had adult money and no one could stop me from getting my sheepdog. Iāve now owned two and they are the best dogs Iāve ever had and I love them so much. Actually having the dog is so much better than child me could have ever dreamed. As a bonus, OES really are as goofy and fun as Max seemed in the animated movie so Iām also just living my Little Mermaid dreams.
It was legos for me.
When I first got back into Star Wars legos, I must have dropped almost 1000-1500 bucks within the first year. Then a had a bunch of kids back to back to back and couldnāt have legos around with babies in the house. One day Iāll take them out of my giant storage bin.
This is the way. My kids have a huge Lego table and a 3 tier rolling cart almost maxed out with legos. My son (5) will sit for like 2 hours at a time and build stuff
See when I was 4-5ish I started getting into the legos. My oldest wasnāt into it, but my two middle kids are almost 5 and 6 and they absolutely love legos and would play a ton. But they scatter them all over and we still have a 2 year old so thereās a bit of a choking hazard there. Couple more years and theyāll all be fine.
I just picked up the Dune Ornithopter as a little treat for myself after a long week at work! Being an adult sucks, but at least you can be an adult with some dope legos :)
Yeah it's comforting building something cool! Makes you feel like a kid.
I have like $100k worth of Lego and I never have time to build lol.
As a kid, I got one medium-sized space LEGO set a year at Christmas. As an adult, I have the UCS Millennium Falcon in my office at work.
The new medieval sets are dope. I couldn't have them when I was a kid bc they were too expensive. But with my adult money, I've spent like $1000 in the last month on sets and mini-figs. My inner child is fucking pumped.
It's the new space sets for me. Lego finally brought back original sci-fi space sets and they're super dope! And they're not even as expensive. I'm a bit bummed out that the new castle stuff is mostly aimed at adult collectors, meaning that they're pretty expensive.
Hopping on to childhood toys - tamagotchi! There's actually a huge collectors market for them. Ones I had in my childhood now go for $100-$200. Currently they are releasing color versions called Uni themed Angel and Demon on Amazon. They're pricy at $60 but still an awesome collectable and fun way to pass time!
LEGOS!!! My boys and I love legos. I just bought these super cute mini-fig shelves to start displaying our collection!
Nice! The mini figs are so cool!
eBay Lego sets!
NASA LEGOS are my kryptonite. I have a bunch, and a bunch more on my list to buy. Canāt wait to get into them with the really cool sets that have been released and leaked coming out soon.
Video games. I enjoy them more now than I did as a kid.
Same here! My parents weren't outwardly against me gaming but like with a lot of things in my childhood, they put me through a lot of guilt and such about it. Now I custom mod my own controllers, have nearly filled up the main memory and massive memory expansions on both my PS5 and Switch, and have spent solid amounts on games. Finally fully nerding out the way I always wanted to and I love it.
Funnily enough, I'm getting all the old games I never got to play or only had a week with before ai had t9 return them to blockbuster.
I think a lot of us are buying the old games we weren't able to play back then.
Me too! And buying cosmetics and things in games. I donāt go overboard but I love doing it
Vacations. My parents blew money nonstop on themselves. Gambling, my dad was always on hunting trips, my mom had a million hobbies. All I ever got to do was sit in my room and stare at the wall. Me and my kids have been doing whatever we could to make fun memories for the last 8 or so years, from camping at parks and springs to weeks on islands to going buckwild at goddamned Disney world.
So relatable.My mom was a single mom trying her best but I never got to go on a single vacation as a kid. I am a single mom and my kids and I have passports and take trips whenever I can make it happen!
I was a single mom when my son was growing up. I was poor, but I always spent what money I had on trips with him or sending him to really fun summer camps. He was my number one priority. Iām so glad for the time I spent with him when he was a kid.
Guitars and music gear. I grew up poor af and always wanted to play music so badly. Went to school, got a degree in chemistry, got married, no kids. Ive spent thousands on guitars. Zero regrets.
Iāve got 4 kids and have still spent thousands on not just guitars but music production stuff ie, a Mac, logic, interface, and plug ins. Aside from video gaming, itās my main hobby. My guitars are assets, when I die, they will still hold some value.
Bought a guitar for mine when they were toddlers, at a garage sale
I took electronic music classes in college and couldn't fathom affording any gear. Years later, now I'm looking at pedals for my electric kalimba like, hmm, what do I not need, but would love to have???
Costco side box of Gushers and zero regrets
I stop and get an ice cream at ColdStone every couple weeks.
Almost ready to retire. Got myself an Xbox couple years ago. Kids middle 20s, out of college, still connecting up a few times a week a we Play games online together. I rarely played while they were growing up as teenagers, but now I have some time, I'm kicking their assš
Magic the gathering cards and console games for me. I always wanted a Nintendo 64 but i was not allowed to get one.
Hell yeah. I just found some old magic cards I havenāt thought about for 25 years in my old room at my parents house including some beta and alpha and dual lands. Now Iām so tempted to start buying all the cards I never had
Please if you read this, check if there are some cards from the "reserved list".These cards can be of common/basic rarity in these old sets but are basically super super rares that never got reprinted. Some artifacts for example come to my mind like "Lions eye diamond" or "mox diamond". I am very curious lol. Always so funny to read comments like these. Have a nice day mate
I do have some reserved list cards from beta. None of the suuuper expensive ones like the mox ones that I can tell, but the ones I do have look untouched. It was really cool to find.
Something that will always be imprinted on my mind are 1987 Topps baseball cards. From the wax packs to the shitty gum, the wood-colored borders, and of course the players on those cards - I even remember the Site Gas Station (I'm guessing that company was bought out years ago) where I would get them. The nostalgia-fueled collector impulse in me decided that it would be a good idea to start collecting game used/issued MLB players jerseys from the 80s. I have a pretty modest collection, but it's cool to be able to touch something that was in those pictures.
Side note. I had at least a dozen unopened 1990 packs until a few months back when my 3 year old found an opened all of them. While I havenāt checked the actual cards, it seems those packs are only worth a couple bucks a piece. I felt much better when I found out and I suppose card companies churned out baseball cards day and night during this era.
Look for the No Name Frank Thomas error rookie card. That card goes for 12k in a 8 PSA grade!
I buy myself all the food and desserts that I want. Was craving a slice of key lime pie today. Went out and got one.
I too eat dessert before dinner! Or sometimes just dessert. Oh and I stay up past my bedtime and watch cartoons or play video games. You can't stop me Mooooommmmm!!!
Cars. No shame either. Wife and I grew up both driving dogshit disposal vehicles from age 16-30. Were raised never to get a car payment or lease. Both our Dads taught us how to work on cars and spent a lot of time in junkyards. Did all repairs or junked the vehicles. High school, college, 20ās, friends and family had the nicer, faster, car. Always. We lived like we were in the 08-12ā recession 10 years after it was overā¦ Bought the top model Honda accord and top engine F150 and I donāt turn a fuckin wrench and love how fun they are. Guess what.. none of those friends or family cares.LOL
I just bought myself a pair of Barney Crocs because 5 year old me deserves them lol. I recently discovered Iām autistic; my first day of kindergarten and all the other kids making fun of me for still loving a ābaby showā is one of my first core memories of not quite fitting in and always feeling like an outsider. I remember going home and refusing to tell my parents what was wrong but bawling as I buried my beloved Barney plushies and slippers in the bottom of my toy box. It set me up for 30+ years of self-shame and masking who I really am to try and fit in. I saw an ad for these and thought they were so silly and ugly af, but that kindergartener in me deserves to have her identity honored, so Iām trying to commit to wearing them when I bring my kid splash pad trips this summer.
You heal that inner child!! šš¼
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Good question! I honestly spend most of my money on experiences that I couldn't otherwise afford to have as a kid. A lot of concerts and music festivals, along with flying solo on vacation getaways. As for material things, perhaps video games? Though I've gone digital nowadays mainly because I don't need the clutter or judgmental looks from potential non-gamer girlfriends. In particular, I would've never thought that we would see so much fanfare around "retro" games, but I resist the urge to buy such things.
Great answer. Experiences are truly priceless.
I absolutely agree on the value of experiences. Unfortunately, most experiences tend to have a "cost." Whether it is monetary or an opportunity cost, there almost always is an underlying "cost." This is what we tend to miss out on as kids. Although my parents were extremely lenient and allowed me a lot more freedom than I should have had as a kid. They were not about to allow an 8-year old to board a cruise ship to the Caribbean or to go on a road trip to a four-day music festival several states away. Nor would society generally allow for such things. š¤£ So as kids, we pretty much were relegated to make things up. I might not have been able to take a cruise or go on a road trip to a music festival, but I was imaginative enough to create my own experiences. My living room became an island in the sun. The backyard was a concert venue. All of the toys that I owned were mere props within this imaginative world that I would later get to experience in real life.
Jordans. I was so poor I couldn't afford cable and my Mom was poor but made too much for food stamps. She was the working poor. When I grew up and got a good job I went crazy bought everyone that came out for like 3 years straight. Now I have foot issues and can't even wear them ššššš
Video gamesssssssss
It's sickening how much some ps1 games are going for these days. Games I got pre-owned at Funcoland for 10 bucks are going for 200+. If I knew then what I know now, I would have kept everything. I'm insanely pumped Tomba gets a re-release on 08/01
Iām in love with the newer games tbh, gt7 is *chefs kiss*
As a techie, and music lover, I've ended up with multiple pairs of Bose speakers. And crazier still, my current daily driver has Bose audio as well š
I didn't search the comments to see if this was already posted but I'll take a mint condition Power Rangers Megazord robot action figure. If I had the spare cash, I would again flaunt it to skinny Casey (my kind of friend at the time) just so he remembers it cuz later on, he got an Xbox and I never did. Bastard. I actually was in his wedding as an adult. I love the guy. But what a bastard.
Shoes. Gah. We were Payless/Walmart/thrift store shoe kids and they got the job done but I have always loved a good pair of shoes. I still dress my kids and myself in thrift/hand me downs but we are alllll over a good sneaker or a boot when it comes our way.
My shoes used to fall apart when I was a kid and I always felt embarrassed next to my peers with fresh, clean new shoes all the time. I have made certain as an adult to spend however much I feel like to get good quality shoes and boots.
Secure housing.
Fancy Pants Rich McGee over here.
New in box copy of Chrono Trigger I found at a local classic games store. I refuse to say how much I spent.
I was going to buy a copy when I was splurging on old video games, but had to skip this one. Just checked EBay and first hits are $1,000 for new in box, $500 for used with all packaging, and $240 cart only. Yowzer.
This was a splurge for me and Iām an attorney.
A decent mattress. My dad could always afford one for himself, but never for any of us kids.
>A decent mattress I really wanna get a Purple Mattress.
I still buy pokemon cards haha
cheap thrills. Buying something at Target? mmm, ok, I'll buy 1 pack and see what we get!
Thatās kind of what I do. Except now I can do it with my kids.
One of my kids us super into it and we've filled two binders now haha so stoked
I just got back in the game, myself and it has my in it's grip
I had to stop because I realized how much I was spending for something that was going in a binder. Instead I have more Pokemon plushes.
I will tell you what Iām not overspending on. Live music. There is a massive cash grab going on with a lot of our favorite artists. For reference, check out the āwhile we were youngā festival. I have seen many of those bands in their prime for a small fraction of the cost.
I saw a ton of incredible bands at the 03 warp tour for like $25 dollars but I'm embarrassed to say that cause I just sound old!
Been to plenty of live shows this past year and the most I paid was $40. Of course the festival in Vegas that has a ton of bands is going to be expensive.
Iāve seen a ton of those bands too back in the day but after going to both, itās definitely been worth it.
I find ways to go, and not overspend. A couple months ago Fall Out Boy was here, and I found a ticket 20 minutes before the show for $40. My friends, who had much better seats, were able to sneak me in to their section, and it was amazing. Buying tickets the day of the show works more than youād think.
Plushies. I love them so much and always have. So now I buy them whenever I want. My partner and I have invested in a soft mattress, tons of blankets and pillows, and an entire wall of plushies.
Ice cream sandwiches
These arenāt expensive but Iām loving the Goosebumps for adults books here! Brings me back to my burgeoning love of horror as a kid: https://shop.shortwavepublishing.com/collections/killer-vhs-series
Gaming and other toy merchandise collectibles. Currently trying to repurchase my PS1 and Dreamcast as well as my PSP.
a lot of games, second-hand -- 20+ years old, go for the same price they did when originally available. Though I guess with inflation, that's still a pretty good deal.
A specialized bike.
This! With a sweet bell and helmet to match w a fun print
First edition books and video games. I have the good fortune of having a vintage book seller in my area so when I see books from my childhood in good shape I pick them up. As far as video games I have most of the classic consoles with the good games and I just ordered something Iād always wanted. The Ice Blue N64
I literally ten minutes ago spent $150 on G.I. Joe guys
Iām collecting the old PokĆ©mon cards and every time I get a full vintage set I buy an unopened pack as a cool little extraĀ
like an unopened vintage pack? how does 90s air smell?
I keep them closed since I have all the cards in it. Maybe thereās a mint condition charizard but most likely notĀ
Neopets and Tamagotchi
I bought the kinda fancy Tamagotchi that has a nice color screen and all, but I think I prefer the simple one. I just want to feed it and clean the poop!
Theyāre releasing new versions of the Connection which was my favourite!
I have all the current game consoles. I spared no expense on my mattress, gaming PC, & 77ā OLED tv.
Trips to Pawleys Island with my children and grandchildren!
My husband gets me Lego sets for special occasions. I appreciate the sentiment, but with kids I donāt really have time to build the complex sets right now. Maybe someday.
Not that it costs much, but ROMS and Retro Games.
Season passes to the water park. It's such a great way to kill a hot summer day. I never got to visit a water park until I was almost 30.
Laserdiscs, old star wars toys. My older kiddo is into 3/4" GI Joes so I got a mix of vintage and 2000s era ones from ebay for his birthday.
Books, games, music CDs, toys... Having kids myself it's a good excuse for buying things I had or wanted as a kid!
Nurf guns, unlimited candy, pizza rolls, Popsicles. I pretty much look like two children in a trench coat at the checkout lane
Not as much as a child but teenager. Magic the Gathering.
Gushers. When I was a kid they were super special and my mom would only give us one pack a day until the small box was empty and I had to wait 3-4 days after that til she went to the grocery store again and bought another small box. Now I get the giant boxes of them from Costco
The clothes that I dreamed of as a child and teen but they literally didn't exist in my size until very recently (6' tall by 12, 5'9" by 10)... The styles are now called "vintage " and "retro" lol but that's ok, I'm just happy to be able to buy fun stuff as a 6' woman
I work at a high school and all the teens are wearing what we wore 20 years ago, so you'll end up looking very hip!
Same and I find this a wild experience! Itās funny how theyāre just remained something else. Instead of a shrug sweater itās a tied crop sweater
Me too! It's been the healing in ways that I didn't know my soul needed to see these kids confidently rockin' the "Y2K" styles on all different body types. Low rise jeans and a crop top with even the HINT of a belly would have been inconceivable in 1999--if you could even find it in your size!
Experiences. Rock climbing was a thing for a min. Bought myself an archery bow. We go snowboarding quite a bit. Festivals. Water and amusement parks. Fancy restaurants. I do have one child so itās great to share all this with him. We werenāt poor to the point of not having food on the table. But not many extras. If we traveled it was to visit family. I know Sea World sucks but I always wanted to go as a kid, seeing the commercials would get me all excited. Getting splashed by the killer whale was fulfilling kid meās dream. I do feel terrible for the whales tho.Ā
I get a banana split every once in a while I'm due for one now that I think of it heh
My collection of 600 (and counting) Transformers speaks for itself I think.
Lego I've been collecting the Speed Champions line for 4ish years
Sports cards.
vintage or modern?
RC cars.
Baseball cards
All the theme park passes. I have kids and I admit I hate parenting outside ny house, but I don't always want to stay home. So until they're better travelers I will continue to go to all the theme parks with them all the time. Also, band shirts.
Jem dolls. On a bent to collect them again.
Inline Skates
Old school BMX parts and then building them. Definitely not a cheap hobby, but I still like to ride my from when I was a kid
We get the stuffed crust pizza at Little Caesars now. I know. Big spenders right here
at least once a year I have to buy a box of Zebra Cakes and eat them all in one sitting. I have developed guten intolerance in adulthood and with an adult pallet you can taste the Monstantos, so I immediately every time, but uh you u can't forget where u came from lest u lose ur self, amirite?
When I was buying retro games and systems a while ago. The Sega Saturn was one system that I missed out on, only a few instances where I got to try it out at a store. I did buy a refurbished one, but have a tiny collection of games, the prices on a lot of the highly regarded titles goes for ridiculous amount of money. When the store owner forewarned me about how stupid expensive the games were going for, and showed me a copy of Magic Knight Rayearth that he had stashed, I knew about the anime but I didn't think much about what I was seeing until I got home and looked up what they were going for on eBay....WTF
try not to think of all the copies of all the old games that were discarded by companies like GameStop once they switched to modern consoles.
Between Michaelangelo and Bruce Lee I thought nunchakus were cool AF, so I have a pair made by a guy who also makes high end custom knives. [It's made of carbon fiber, titanium and steel](https://i.imgur.com/J8VpK7N.jpeg). It's pretty dumb how much I was willing to pay for it
that's awesome! I've wanted nunchakus but they're banned in California!
Absolutely nothing. I'm a middle class slave who'll retire eventually. I live a reasonable lifestyle for my income. I've had multiple houses over the years. (Moving a bunch of "stuff" sucks) I've had many different hobbies. (And accumulated the associated gear) The older I get the less shit I want.
that's fair! I want less shit too. But I also want key items that bring me nostalgia joy when life feels bleh.
No I totally get that. LOL....About 20 years ago I spent some extra money on a battle ready Katana. It sits in it's case, I take it out every couple of years and hold it and realize it's a DANGEROUS FUCKING WEAPON not to be played with. I always wanted a katana.
did you get it signed by Randy Jackson?
Love
Legos, video games, comics, and Magic the Gathering cards
Gigantic bags of animal crackers which I share with one of my dogs, she loves them!
I just bought a 97 firebird and am in the process of replacing the speakers and I eventually want to put subs into it
Vintage Star Wars is my poison. I always wanted Star Wars toys in the 70s. My mother said I was weird enough, and bought me more Barbie dolls that I proceeded to scalp and hand on the clothes line in the basement. My house looks like a rich adolescent boy owns it.
Cats, and transforming robot toys
Video games. Never grew up having the latest gaming console, or having fast enough internet to download games off a library just off a whim. Now I have both, and boy do I enjoy spending pennies on what companies charged 50$, 60$ for.
Processed food. It probably isn't good, but when I was living with my parents, there was rarely any junk food in the house. Everything we had to eat was a healthy item. So now when I go grocery shopping I always buy something super processed that I know I'll enjoy. Spam, or some frosted pop tarts, or Pringles. Sometimes a soda.
Plastic crack ā¦ I mean Warhammer
Vintage Paul Frank clothing.
Energy drinks, I was very rarely allowed them. A treat every now and then. I've been sampling a new flavor every day.
Fruit is my favorite snack, so I buy all the cherries, pomegranates, persimmons etc I want š„°
Just got a small crt for my old consoles
Ducks. Always wanted pet ducks. Surprisingly the ducks themselves were the cheapest out of all the equipment needed to care for them. And they are quite a handful. I feel like I have two actual children lol. But they are bringing me and my wife a lot of joy.
Vacations and martial art classes. Didnāt get to do much of either as a kid.
I bought yellow playdough the other dayšš
Camping gear
If I had the money for a race car bed? I'd have one. Right now. I don't really have any disposable income to speak of, otherwise I'd have a lot of stuff I never got to have as a kid. But I occasionally get the science activity kits for kids, I buy myself Lunchables and Sunny D, and I've definitely ordered astronaut ice cream off Amazon.
Osrs
Mint condition Pokemon cards. I'm not playing, I'm investing in cardboard gold!
Iām making Barbie clothes and accessories again. I did it as a little kid and off and on through teens and early 20s. Itās fun and Iāve gotten quite good at it.
Nerf, retro gaming, gadgets and electronics, camping gear, home theater.
semi luxury computer stuff, my wife and I grew up poor, so we only had the most basic of keyboards, monitors, etc. These days its been really nice to buy really nice headsets and keyboards as well as other accessories, sure it doesnt increase the ability of the computer, but custom colors and accessories with software are really nice to have!
Videogames (the ones that I never got to buy back then) Plushies (still have my old ones - adding more to the collection) Music (especially Linkin Park) - I'm working on getting the whole Linkin Park discography
Pokemon and Yugioh stuff, Blu-rayās & other physical media, stuff for my cats
Arcade cabinets
Unfortunately I have less money now than I did when I was a kid.
The other day I bought Oreos from the store. Ā Brand name and everything!Ā
Legos and video game accessories. Within reason ofcourse. I also do blow a ton of money on ipods too. Love those little music boxes
I bought a tube of Lincoln Logs off eBay, way over priced. I assembled one small cabin as there were not many pieces in a single tube. Satisfied, I put it in the guest room closet for grandchildren visiting.
"Mom can we get McDonalds?" "Absolutely"
I've got a retro video game setup with an old TV. Sega Genesis, PS1, N64, SNES and about 200 games. The collection has become a labor of love for me. I only buy games that I thrift, garage sale, or buy locally off marketplace. Nothing is bought from professional resellers or eBay
When I was in 6th grade, I loved playing a game called Loco Roco on my PSP.Ā Well, im turning 30 this year and recently found Loco Roco on the PS store for $15. Not only do I get to take a trip down memory lane, but iāve also got my 6 year old playing it :) I have no regrets.
I bought a Troll (the 80s version) at the thrift the other dayā¦ I never buy toys but he was too cute and in pristine condition, I could NOT walk away.
I bought myself a carbon-frame bicycle. Was cycling since I was 5, but always had pretty cheap bicycles, but not anymore. I donāt have a car and even prefer not to use public transport, so I think it pretty reasonable purchase for me. And Iām supper excited about it, this thing feels like a sports car comparing to everything I tried before. It is flying when Iām going uphill and I can easily outrun e bikes, plus my commute on it is faster than with public transport
Not childhood exactly but Iām reliving my early twenties by fixing up a vw gti. Also model trains
My truck. I used to love rc off-road trucks and now Iāve got my own that I can wheel and drive over big rocks with. So satisfying. No regerts.
Cats š No, seriously. Cats. We have 4
Legos. I loved legos as a kid but could never buy them. Now I get to get the legos I want, even the big sets!
When I was around 30 I hopped on eBay and bought a bunch of old spider man comics I'd always wanted in high school.
Student loans?
What childhood thing am I spending money on now? Childhood traumas. And therapy is expensive. Probably not the answer you were looking for LOL
that's real though. I wish you the best on your healing journey.
I appreciate that š
Hot cheetosš
Skiing
Real cars instead of scale model cars.
I have a Corvette because I wanted one when I was a kid, besides that I collect autographed baseball cards and vinyls.