My two cents... Just don't loose sleep over these deals.. It is a disease... and it's only going to get worse. In hindsight I realize that when I was poor and could only afford a walmart tent, I travelled more, experienced more and enjoyed more of the outdoors than when I could afford these things. Heck, when I got a free full size SUV upgrade wherein I could car camp, it was like hitting a jackpot.
Being too poor or too rich you don't worry. But when something is within grasp, which is the "middle class, American dream...." is when your mind starts playing games with you. "What if I could have contacted the owner just a hour ago? What I just started driving toward Murietta, What if I just turned all my stocks into cash prior to the crash"...
"What if games playing out in the minds of the middle class ???" is what feeds all those crazy bailed out bankers. Get yourself an Expo Portal Detox. Just don't log on to the site unless you need to buy something really really specific. Don't daydream. Instead enjoy and make do with what you have. The outdoors are a lot more fun if you improvise. My snowpeaks, Fjallraven, MSR's, Asoto's were just collecting dust because I was constantly looking to upgrade to the latest and greatest with miniscule return on value. Instead wear what you own down to the ground and when the time comes, head out a buy another one.
Best piece of advice was given to us by an elderly couple in their 60's when my wife and I were visiting Petroglyph national monument. They took a liking to us during a hike, mid way they handed over their camera and requested that we hike further up and capture the rock art in their camera. We returned to the parking lot, met with the couple and returned the camera with the pics. and this is what they said " We waited till retirement, invested in this half a million dollar RV and planned that we will tour the country post retirement to our heart's content. Fate would have it that both my knees and her hips chose to give out during this time. We depend on kind strangers to see the sights through their eyes and our camera. Our advice, do what you plan to do NOW. Don't wait".
Folks. Time and tide wait for no one. $60,000 will grow a lot when invested in the market now and they can buy a heck a lot of fuel and hotel stays. Someone got a great deal, good luck to them. For the rest of us, Just move on...
