What is something you wanted as a kid and bought now that you're an adult with disposable income?

When I was like 19 or something, I went into a restaurant, got seated, asked to see a dessert menu. I ordered dessert. Then I asked for an appetizer menu. And I ordered an appetizer. Then I paid, and left.

When I was a kid, I was really into driving games, started off with Mario Kart and Stunt Race FX on the SNES, later moved onto F1 World Grand Prix on the N64, for which I had one of these bad boys.

You put your legs either side of the wheel to hold it in place. It wasn't very good at all if I'm being honest. Even at the time, 9 year old me thought it wasn't great.

So during covid, I saw that V3 pictured above being sold on facebook marketplace for 20chf (swissbux), and thought I could do better. Started off with a Logitech G29 and ended up with this:

Yes, cable management is not great, but I'm in a relatively small apartment, so gotta wedge it in a corner, but it's my corner, the Corner of Speed

2 tv's side-by-side with 2 consoles for local multi-player. Dream achieved with a bonus wife to play with.

I always loved construction equipment as a kid. I had a full set of die-cast Cat construction machines and would play with them in a sandbox my dad built.

Three months ago I bought a Kubota U27-4 mini-excavator. Needless to say, my inner 8 year old is thrilled.

A pinball machine

😂 disposable income! 💀😐

A real video game set up. I have 17 consoles in the house and over 450 games.

I even have the old CRT TV with an AV switcher hooked up so I can switch between consoles quickly without having to mess with any wires.

A Honda S2000. I saw the first one in 1999-2000 before college, and I thought, hell yea I want that. So in 2008 I bought a brand new one that I still have.

Permanently Deleted

I sold a bunch of 70’s and 80’s tabletop roleplaying stuff when I went to college. A few years ago, I reacquired many of those titles at collector’s prices. Not my most brilliant financial move.

A fucking sword.

I bought a house, and then the vacant lot next to the house, and hopefully someday before prices go nuts the vacant lot on the other side of the house. Urban farm, baybee!

I don't think there are any desires I carried over from childhood that I finally fulfilled later. Most things I wanted in the past I simply stopped wanting as I changed with age.

I have, however, on numerous occasions in my adult life, looked at something that probably would've made my kid self go into orbit with excitement and thought, "Man, if only I could get an adult to buy me this..." only to blink a couple times, see the lightbulb turn on, and go, "HEY, WAIT A MINUTE..!"

If only I had disposable income.

Mostly computer parts. Growing up, my father bought the family a computer (an 8088 Turbo XT. See my awesome 4Mhz power!) and in what can only be described as clinical insanity, he let me loose on it. Of course I discovered computer games and was hooked ever since. It also led me to a life working on computers, so that part of his plan worked. Thanks to that computer, I now have a comfortable income. And while my computer isn't on the bleeding edge of performance, I do keep it fairly modern. Last year I was having frame rate issues in some games and upgraded to a RTX 3080. Just recently, my wife's computer was having low frames so we bought her an RTX 4070 Super. The games have come a long way from Starflight on that old 8088, but the kid inside of me who fell in love with video games is still happy to play them.

A whole bunch fo NERF guns. Rival, Elite, Vortex, I got a fair few over the years.

Do I need them? Of course not.

Did 15y old.me always want a dozen or so? Definitely!

By the time you can afford it, the car ain't important..

A pair of rollerblades.

I remember sitting with my wife, waiting to get the train back home, holding the bag in my hands. That's when it hit me. I started to cry, loudly.

A pool table. Kept it for a few years, then replaced it with kids. The table was way cheaper.

I’m building my way up to a helicopter.

Disposable income?

A Nintendo 3DS because I didn't have a console (like ever) and it was cheaper than a switch.

I've only had time to play it a handful of times

A really nice electric guitar, amp, and pedal. Money was tight as a kid for a lot of reasons, my dad did the best he could. However, this meant playing with some equipment that didn’t sound quite right.

Now I have what I always wanted, but have trouble finding the time and energy to play.

Does a hot wife that pole dances count? But yeah, I built an arcade machine and have a problem with building emulator consoles

Hentai figure XD

Indoor hammock.

My own drill (and an assortment of other power tools). Part of me still feels like I shouldn't be allowed to use a drill even as an adult, but I get more joy than is reasonable from hanging stuff on my walls. Such an efficient use of vertical space!

Lot's of cats.

We had computers at home when I was little. Vic-20, C64, PCs.

But, of course I wanted a NES like all the other kids. Or a Megadrive/Genesis. But, no, computers are for work. We don't do video games.

So, I've had to make up for that by having a collection of all the consoles I never had. I've had a good run doing software development the last two decades, so I'm financially comfortable. I've recently taken the plunge into becoming an indie game developer. So, I guess the joke's on both me and my parents.

My gaming collection currently has a VIC-20, C64, plus/4, A600, A1200, NES, master system, genesis, WiiU, switch, Gameboy, GBA SP, DS, 3DS and PS Vita. And a miyoo mini, retroid pocket 3+ and a gpi case for emulation.

A pickup truck.

It's the first thing I remember ever wanting. I remember as a kid watching one plow snow on the yard of our apartment building and instantly falling in love. I always thought that it would just be too expensive and unpractical but few years ago I stumbled upon a perfect black used Nissan Navara King Cab for sale for a reasonable price and I just went fuck it and bought it. It's by far my favourite possession.

When I was 12-15 I really wanted a moped, but my parents wouldn't let me get one.

Now, I bought myself a full fledged motorcycle. It's currently the best anti-depressant in my life. I love riding around on it, exploring unknown country roads and riding spiritedly through the twisties.

My next goals are to upgrade to a faster motorcycle and do some track days.

A wii.
Now I need someone to play qith.

Doritos. My dad brought home some bags from USA and instantly got hooked on that shit. Fast forward a decade and now with money and selling locally, I ate them until I got sick.

You guys get disposable income?

On a serious note, here it's very hard to get to a point to get any disposable income, unless you stay living with your parent's all your life and never get married, ...

This is the main reason why I'm now able to actually afford a used ps4, physical manga and be able to finally buy games, especially indie one's without the guilt of pirating them.

NOTE: I'm 20 and have been working since I was 18 seasonal work since that's mostly all you can find here, even if you finish university/college so I just skipped that part.

Independence from my parents. Mainly financial independence. Never needing anything from them ever again so they can no longer hold it over my head and be douchebags about how they had to raise me and pay for things.

As a child I always wanted original Converse Chucks. I was not allowed because the brand is so expensive.

I now have around 50 pairs original Converse Chucks, most of them rainbow, all hi-top. It completely escalated. I buy around 4 pairs a year.

I used to play the demo for Star Trek Bridge Commander so much and always wanted the full game - several years ago I bought a copy off Amazon (now it's available on Gog). Fun game, but it shows its age now.

Red Alert 2 big box

Alas, I'll never be able to afford Airwolf!

I didn't exactly buy this but I quit Catholic church and grew out my bangs, and bought my first pairs of bikini underwear, all of which was verboten for me as a youth.

I wasn't exactly a kid (I was in my 20s), but I'm now buying equipment for my home gym. For years I only had a barbell, plates, and two saw horses that I used as squat stands. I also worked out outside on my back patio. Now I have a garage, two benches (one adjustable), squat stands, and just bought a GHR/nordic combo bench.

Brass knuckles. I got 100% brass USA-made knuckles. They live on my desk (WFH) and I give them a good polish from time to time. They still bring a smile to my inner child.

It's not even necessarily the income for some things. Tons of things it just never occurred to me a person could get.

A great example is my Beast Wars Tigatron toy that I broke almost immediately after getting. One of the knees snapped. Mum glued it back together a few times, but he couldn't really transform like that and it always broke again. Then last year I was just like "Fuck it. Somebody's gotta be selling their own broken Tigatron on eBay with a good leg." At long last I finally have a proper OG Tigatron.

A really nice joystick, throttle, and pedals + additional button boxes for flight simulators and space simulators.

Growing up I had the cheapest little joystick and always wanted something more, but it was nixed by my parents. Now I’ve got it!

A sodastream machine.

Turns out I don't like most of their syrups though, so I mainly drink fizzed tap water and the occasional lemon squash.

Fountain pens. Such a simple and enjoyable process/hobby, and one that made real sense to me long before the entire world did…

I’m not where I want to be today, but I managed to find a few bucks and grab a Kaweco Lilliput in brass for my bday. Cheap af but legit makes me happy - even if I’m just doodling or trying to.

Course, that means I also need to spend money on good paper, but that’s a small expense relative to cost of pens and inks, and the feeling of laying down ink from a good pen, on straight up amazing paper, is nirvana.

I have a bunch of those retro mini consoles on a cheap projector on an unprepared white painted wall (cheap projector and unprepped wall mimics crt blur very nicely)

As a kid I wanted a Neo Geo arcade cabinet... now I have Metal Slug, Samurai Showdown and Fatal Fury on a 100+ inch "screen" (Not to mention the other consoles and switch)

I bought a Sega game gear (handheld console of the 90s) when I got my first job.

Now in my 40s I get the things I wasn't allowed when I was younger and they're usually gadgets or food related.

I have all the cool tech I need. I have takeaway too often and it always cheers me up, I have snacks and no one yells at me for using too much ketchup.

I love being an adult.

Thats a good one OP. Are you now the guy bestowing golden deagles to folks in MW2 lobbies? I always thought those people were the coolest. What are you doing with it?

Warhammer 40k

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A lot of the games I wanted to try as a kid

Some of them aren't as fun as I thought it would be, but at least I can still try them and confirm

Turntables and a mixer. When I was about 10 I saw Run-DMC on TV and wanted to learn to DJ, but my mother just laughed saying I already had a record player and they didn’t need to but me a second one.

A Zoo York skateboard with Independent trucks and Spitfire wheels.

A dog

An over-powered gaming PC

One of those old early-aughts full-size Yamaha keyboards. I mostly use it for riffing and figuring out progressions for my hobby; but it's so nice to finally own one of my own.

Mitsubishi 3000 GT. Found a black, beat-up, but running 1994 that I got for $900 3-4 years ago. Unfortunately, the wheel snapped off, as they're wont to do, so I only had a few months with her.

An original Saint Seiya action figure, more specifically Aquarius Camus.

All 7 Mighty Morphin Power Rangers figures, the Dino Megazord, Dragonzord, and Titanus. Got a black Dino Megazord too.

I have a ton of different Nintendo consoles and lots of gameboy color cartridges for that reason. Good thing I collected them like 8 years ago because they are stupid expensive now

Everything.

Dwarven Forge. I don't use it nearly often enough to justify how much I buy but I love it the same way my grandma loves her Thomas Kinkade village.

To a lesser extent, the Steam Deck is great for gaming on the go, it really is the computer in my pocket (well, backpack) I wished I had when I was a kid.

Really i've bought everything i've wanted as a kid, as a kid.

Nowadays it's less about what I buy and more what I build. Maybe one day I will have enough for a house, but I doubt it.

1969 harley.

I wanted something that was limited edition. Like the consoles.
So I have the limited edition animal crossing switch and the legend of Zelda Gameboy advance SP.
I also have numerous collectors editions of games.

Also, anime/ gaming figures. Have numerous shelves filled with them now, it's really cool to see every day in my living room.

Not quite what you asked, but the thing I wanted most (that I remember) was a fixed gear bicycle. I still want one but understand the impracticality so have not yet bought/made one.

Dungeons and Dragons miniatures and all the paints I want to paint them. When I was a kid, I couldn't afford more than just the characters I was playing.

Now I have hundreds and my wife, who has a lot of artistic talent, has taken to painting them with enthusiasm.

Big ass Star Wars Lego sets. Actually I didn't want them as a kid because they didn't exist yet, but I was really into Star Wars ever since I saw Return of the Jedi in a theater (one if my first movie memories), and I drooled over sets like the Imperial Star Destroyer as a young adult. Now I have my very own Venator!