One Time Versus Ongoing Expenses

So I've been talking about how all year I've been spending a lot of money. Or what for me feels like a lot. But I realized, as I contemplated buying another pricey item, there is one thing that saves me from overspending. And that is that these expenses (except for my health care expenses) are one-time expenses. So my friends who pay $600 more a month than I do in rent pay that every month. That's a total of $7,200 a year. That's two sets of furniture, or a whole lot of clothes. Or two vacations. The good thing about one time expenses is you pay up front and then get to use the items/service. So you don't have to continue paying, even though you might continue consuming them. Like with clothing. Or furniture. So while these items depreciate, at least you only have to pay for them once.