Well, this is an interesting topic.

From the earliest days, I, like many others, wanted the cool gear. However, being a financially disadvantaged musician.... Is that a redundant phrase? .... anyway, I bought what I needed to play. When I did buy anything, it tended to be the decent quality equipment. Gear that would last. Also being a bit tight with a dollar, I also was able to resist buying things on the spur of the moment. Well... mostly. A few notable exceptions do exist... I also tended to convert the old gear, and the seldom used gear into cash. As a result, over a period of 45 years, I have collected 4 nice guitars, 2 electric and 2 acoustic, 2 amps... a Mesa and a Spark modeler, and I'm on the fence now about selling my Line 6 POD2. I have a few mics and some other assorted gear. As far as studio gear.... same deal. One old (close to 15 yrs old now) computer running XP Pro 32 bit, and the accessory gear to make it all work.... I'll splurge on new hardware and software when the old one dies after I try to repair the old box.

I see lots of stuff I "WANT" but I have reached the point where I can say, nope... I don't need that, so I'm able to walk away. Same thing applies to trucks, guns, dogs, other misc toys, etc......

You can find my music at:
www.herbhartley.com
Add nothing that adds nothing to the music.
You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both.

The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.