FBC – 326 – How To determine what you should buy or not?

Today we are going to talk about purchasing behaviors guys. How do you determine what you should buy and what you should stay away from.

There is a simple formula you can apply to make this decision a no brainier.

All the details inside this episode

If you are serious about building a lifestyle business that gives you all the freedom in the world, then THIS is for you!

Click the link below to discover how to build a profitable business as a complete beginner (even if you failed in the past)?

CLICK HERE ➡️➡️ Starting Your Own Business VS Staying At Your Current Job…And Which Should You Choose? Answer here…

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://anchor.fm/freedom-by-choice/support

I just wanted to tell you about a quote that I really like.

If you buy stuff that you don't need, very soon you will have to sell stuff that you actually need.

And this is I like this quote because it's very powerful. And I've actually seen it unfold not too long ago with people I know. They were just buying, like, random stuff. So when I say buying, it's not just, you know, buying electronics and blah, blah, blah, but just like going out to party and stuff like that, but also buying all sorts of like really unnecessary stuff that you don't actually need here in Bali.

So, you know, here in Bali, to be honest, my wardrobe, 80 percent of that wardrobe is kind of useless. You can use pretty much the same thing all the time. Basically what happens is that I get my laundry that comes back on Tuesdays and Fridays and between Tuesday and Friday, it's not like I've used a lot of clothes.

And then the new clothes that are clean get put on top of the pile. And guess what happens? I just use that. So the thing is the ones that I never used afterwards, since they've been there forever, sometimes they can smell a little bit and I have to get them washed.

I've seen people absolutely waste their money buying all sorts of things that they don't actually need. They don't use it and soon enough what happened was the person blew all their money and was forced to sell everything. And including leaving the house they were in. So they were renting the house, but they had to leave the house and were homeless.

So when I'm saying don't buy stuff you don't need, dude, I'm not referring to food and water and that kind of stuff because nobody would buy anything. Right. I'm just saying just be reasonable. You know, there's some stuff. It's not like you actually need it, but you worked hard to be able to afford it and stuff. Yeah. Go out and do it, you know, as long as it remains smart enough to let you save money for what you actually need.

Some people, regardless how much money you give them, they're going to spend the money. There are some people like that and then do they learn when shit hits the fan that it's not going to happen again? I've learned the lessons and then, boom, same thing will happen again. I know people like that.

You know, you can try to help in the beginning, but it's just it's just like some common sense. Well, it's common sense for you. And you'll be surprised that for some people, it's really not common sense. They're always going to buy random stuff that they don't need. And, you know, well, it's going to bite them a few months later.

How To determine what you should buy or not?

What I suggest you do, and I'm not a financial adviser anything, but invest in in something that's actually going to produce some results afterwards. Not necessarily money wise because there are a lot of different investments.

You have investments in yourself, you know, stuff that's going to make you grow as a person or help you in some other way. So that's what I recommend. OK.

Again, I'm not a financial adviser but I've seen that unfold and it's pretty ugly, so I would like to warn you against it.

Frequently Asked Questions

What rule does Martin Ebongue use to decide what to buy or not?

He follows the principle that if you buy things you do not need, you will soon have to sell things you actually need. Martin uses this filter for clothing, electronics, and lifestyle purchases. The rule is simple, prevents lifestyle inflation, and keeps cash available for business or investment opportunities.

Why does Martin say 80 percent of his wardrobe in Bali is essentially useless?

Because the climate and routine in Bali only require a small rotation of clothes. Martin notes his laundry comes back twice a week, yet he rarely uses more than the same handful of outfits between cycles. The unused 80 percent represents money that delivered no real lifestyle benefit at all.

How can entrepreneurs avoid lifestyle inflation as their income grows?

Lock spending to a fixed percentage of income and redirect raises into investments or business growth. Martin sees lifestyle inflation as the silent killer of early wealth because each upgrade feels small while permanently raising the monthly baseline. Capping it early protects long-term freedom even as revenue scales.

What is the long-term cost of buying things you do not actually need?

Eventually you have to sell something valuable to recover the cash. Martin's quote is that unnecessary spending forces necessary selling later on. The compounding effect of small unnecessary purchases over years can easily reach tens of thousands of dollars and delay financial freedom by entire years.

About the Author

Martin Ebongue is the founder of martinebongue.com, an online business and lifestyle design blog focused on helping aspiring entrepreneurs build location-independent businesses. Since 2014, he has been creating and scaling online ventures across multiple niches, from digital products and affiliate marketing to SaaS and content platforms, while traveling the world. He shares the real-world strategies, tools, and systems that work, with a particular focus on AI-powered automation for solopreneurs. Follow him on YouTube, X (Twitter), and Instagram.

Related Reading

• FBC – 4 Part 1 – This is the story of my life: Success, Failure and The Hurdles.
• FBC – 3 – Escape your life of sacrifice! Don’t settle for less than your dream lifestyle.
• FBC – 8 – The Weirdest Challenge To Boost Your Confidence
• Other really cool tips that will give you an unfair advantage