I started my electronics journey in the 60s when stuff - especially discarded stuff - was hard to come by. When the new TTL chips came out relegating RTL to the history books, I could only afford to do mail order from the USA. As such, practically anything with a wire inside became a magnet for my attention.
Over the years, I have acquired and disposed of bucketloads of stuff - and some is still hanging around ... such as two 100m reels of RG11 coax. (Been sitting in the garage for 25 years now. Looked good for the price at the time

)
As I now look back on my acquisition mindset, I can see it was driven by (in decreasing order):
1. Getting stuff - especially at the right price - because I didn't have much (Very high in my early days - much more tempered now)
2. Purchasing equipment (because I didn't have one

)
3. Building up inventory for possible future projects (that are in the round tuit pile - and that's IF there is a specific idea in mind)
4. Saving things for posterity
5. My immediate use (as in use it the day you buy it
6. Selling on (a lesson I'm still learning because of (1) above)
7. Giving away
These days, however, things are somewhat different and the priorities have pretty much reversed from the above (except for (2), particularly enabled by EEVblog members

). This has been driven by several factors, most especially because equipment is so easily available and affordable - plus far more capable. Last time I bought an Arduino nano clone board, I paid as much for it as I did a 7400 series TTL chip back in the day (inflation adjusted).
But also, I have life experience that has brought my thinking into a more practical direction. There are just so many cubic metres of space to store stuff and only so may hours in the day to do things ... plus the realisation that what I have today is more than I can reasonably expect to utilise. This also leads to contemplating what legacy I will leave when the inevitable time comes.
From what I have observed of what other members here have expressed, I am not alone.