Personal Finance and Investing

incessant advertizing most people see on TV. The frame of most consumer items is that your life will be better with it; you'll be richer, smarter, better looking if you have this. It helps a lot that I'm 73 years old, don't have a wide circle of friends, so I also don't have them showing me off the shiny new thing they just got. I have most of what I need already. In 2018 I bought what may well be my last car, and it was a make and model I'd long since decided would be my next one. When I finally had the money to pay cash, I went to a dealership, they had what I wanted, and I got it.

I see almost no conventional advertizing because I don't have a regular TV. I do watch my share of stuff but on streaming sites without commercials. The lack of ads is wonderful for several reasons, and the main benefit is I don't have to waste time ignoring the ads. I am on a limited budget, but my financial situation has improved in recent years, and I'm saving money steadily.

What I spend the bulk of my discretional money on is travel (although much less of that these past three years) and going to science fiction cons. Those have just finally come back as in person events, which makes me very happy.