Math is Good

I've been buying and selling a lot of stuff on eBay lately. I must admit it's quite fun to buy things that way. It's also a bit nervewracking (like when you want something rare and there is only one for sale but you don't have unlimited funds so you are watching the clock and praying that no one outbids you at the last minute). AND it can be dangerous (it is so easy to get carried away with your bidding because the thrill of winning can spur you on to bid a lot more than you originally intended to)!

So, all this has caused me to think about how much things are really worth to me (and what should my maximum bid be?). I have a pair of black Born shoes that I wear to work. Craig got them for me for my birthday in 2004. Let's say they cost $100 with tax, to make things easy. I wear these shoes at least 3 times a week for 52 weeks a year so when you divide it all out it's like paying 64 cents per day that I wear them (or 27 cents per day just to have them for one year, whether I wear them or not). Not too shabby. I mean, I wouldn't hesitate to pay that price to be able to wear the oh so comfortable shoes. And then to think that I've had them for 16 months now so it is really just 49 cents each day I wear them (if I only wear them 3 times a week) or only 2 cents an hour. The more days I wear them, the less I "pay" each day to wear them. Eventually it will be like they were free! (How do you like that logic?)

I normally don't like to spend more than $40 on a pair of shoes but now I realize it's okay to spend even $100 on shoes if I know they are comfortable and that I will wear them a lot to make it worth it. I am all about comfort...and it is so worth it to spend a little more for a high quality item!

Now let's say you buy a $20 candle that burns for 70 hours. When you divide that out you are only paying 29 cents per hour to enjoy the wonderful fragrance that fills the room. Is it worth it? Yes!

So now you just have to consider all the things you are buying, how much you will use them, whether or not it's worth it and whether or not you can afford to have all of them at the same time. Obviously you can't go buy a house and a boat and a HDTV and an IPOD and a digital camera all at once just using the logic that when you divide the price by the number of lifetime uses the cost per use is minimal! You have to balance it all out with your income.