The toy you couldn’t live without at eight is in a box in the attic now. Today’s must-haves are headed there too.

Desire is intense and short-lived, and the intensity gives no information about durability. Whatever you currently need has the same emotional signature as the thing that consumed you at eight and now sits in a box you have not opened in years. The wanting was real; it was just about the wanting.

Before a purchase you are certain about, picture it three years from now in a drawer. If it still seems worth it, buy it without guilt. If the answer is obviously no, you have saved money and some space, which is a reasonable return on thirty seconds.