Phones have such little longevity to them that it really doesn't make sense to get the real high end ones. I felt that way about laptops for a while, but they're a bit more justified if you need portable power. Took me almost a decade to finally get a laptop because of frugality.
My phone is still some cheap Chinese pile of shit though. I've often thought of replacing it with something a bit better, but again that realisation that it'll be obsolete within two years doesn't justify the cost.
I'm frugal with just about everything though. I rarely buy clothes or things I actually need. My entire life can fit into a backpack!
YOu and I have a lot in common my friend. I don't accumulate stuff anymore and most of my clothes are a decade old or more. I don't care much about fashion and am perfectly ok with that. While I am more of a hoarder than you my entire life fits into two suitcases and a dog carrier.
Hahaha I can relate to this so much too. My girlfriend is always noting how everything I have has holes in it somehow. It isn't even something I really noticed until she pointed it out, for me it was just normal. I just keep clothes until they're completely gone.
The largest purchase I've ever made was the laptop I'm now using. I put it off for so long, but it was an essential item for working and travelling. It took me about a decade and quite literally making it a necessity for me to finally get one. I joke that I had to move through two countries in order to give in.
I think that laptops are one of the few things on the planet that it is worth getting a higher end one of. Right now I am using a cheap one because I had hoped that my gaming rig could be upgraded but I liked how lightweight and transportable my new much cheaper laptop is that I never bothered to see if I could upgrade it. It is currently sitting next to me in a chair being all but completely ignored.
Yeah that's pretty much why I took so long to get one. I knew I couldn't get a cheaper one, and biting down and paying that premium just felt horrible. That said, I love this thing so much. I can't wait to do more with it. Already noticing my productivity has increased.