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Joined 3 years ago
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Cake day: June 19th, 2023

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  • I have a similar childhood history. One thing that works for me is comparing what the daily use cost for the thing is. Like with a laptop, it may cost $2k, and I may use it almost every day for 5 years, which comes out to a little over one dollar a day which is not too expensive. However, something like a pair of binoculars that may cost like $500, but I only use them 4 times a year for 5 years would be $25 per day that I use them even though they cost 1/4 as much as the laptop.

    Also with the laptop, if you use it every day, going from a $1k laptop with a daily use cost of $0.50 a day to $1.00 a day is not a major jump in total daily cost, so going for a more expensive laptop that is going to make your daily experience better may be worth it, whereas going for binoculars that cost twice as much would cost $25 more per use, which is a much more significant dollar amount per use.

    Another way to assess the laptop price it is to compare everything else that costs you $1 a day. You may even be able to cut out $1 a day from your budget. Like if you live in a cold climate, just don’t warm up your car as long every day. Or buy a small size food thing instead of a large. Or skip eating out one day every two weeks.

    I’m sure some folks will disagree with this though process, but it has worked for me, and has helped me assess the value of things in my life that I may not give much thought to because they are not glamorous, like a mattress.