51–60 of 185 posts
It drives me nuts that we don't have a printer/toner database with cost per page.
Later in college, I bought a used laserjet from the university surplus sale for $20. That little printer got me through several reams of paper before the toner went out. By that point I was in the pages per penny range.
The two are so different that it makes no sense to put them in the same comparison.
One should compare phones within the category of other phones. Compare food with other foods.
By this logic, paying $10k for a day of "enhanced air" (whatever that might be) is a great deal. After all, you breathe something like 20,000 times a day.
This is completely backwards. Always think in absolute dollars and not in rates. $1000 is $1000 whether the cost per use is pennies or tens of dollars. Thinking in terms of rates is how people would fall for predatory installment purchases in the old days (you can have a new computer for just $2.5 a day!) The other obvious problem is looking at cost absent of a market. It's not just how much it is worth it to you, bu…
So my friends call me the cheapest person they know, but I also think like the author. If there is something I am going to use a lot and the added value helps me, then I'll shell out more for it. Really we're talking about Boots Theory[0]. If you buy cheap rubbish then you'll buy frequently. If you buy quality you may only have to buy once a lifetime, even if it is 3-5x. With your phone, if all you care about is texting and making calls, yeah, you're not getting any added value paying more. If you're a person that takes a lot of pictures and values the camera, you will get added value (don't come at me with the "buy a dedicated camera" because you're not carrying that in your pocket everywhere and thus can't capture the same moments).
So if you wear boots every day, it's better to shell out for the boots that will last you a lifetime rather than ones that will last you a season.
Along these lines, I find that not many people correctly calculate the cost-per-use of their car. They only think of the cost of gasoline burned, and maybe tolls and parking. They don't think about the cost of insurance divided by the number of trips, or the capital cost of the car amortized over the years of ownership. If people thought hard about the cost-per-use of driving, then other transportation options start…
Cost-per-use by itself is fairly meaningless, costs needs to be compared against value-per-use.
What is the worth of: a visit to my friends; taking a surfboard to the beach; taking a load of firewood to my parents; an emergency 2AM visit to a suicidal acquaintance; taking my nephew and his friends to the skatepark; helping a friend move; picking up a Craigslist chair.
Other transport options usually have severe limitations on availability, flexibility, cost, destination, load, etcetera. Optionality and peace-of-mind has huge value too (i.e. availability if urgently required, even if it happens that nothing urgent comes up).
Last time I mentioned on HN how useful a car is, someone suggested hiring a car instead, which is ridiculously more expensive and extremely inconvenient (at least where I live).
Disclaimer: I am carless at present. The non-financial costs are extremely high.
I just amortize the cost over the useful period. $2k bed / 10y = $200/y. If that’s worth it for me to upgrade then it’s simple to make the call. We spend a third of our life sleeping so having a good bed is a worthwhile investment.
The absolute cost is very important because it relates to budgeting and total resources.
The cost per use is interesting for making decisions between exclusive alternatives.
Should you buy a hot tub (no)? It’s not just the initial cost but also the maintenance cost (chemicals). When you divide total cost by actual use in hours it’s clear it’s a bad deal.
I often think of entertainment cost in terms of cost-per-entertainment-hour. AAA video games, for example, provide a much lower cost per entertainment hour than movies or amusement parks, for example.
I often think of cost in non monetary terms as well.
When you think about the hours required to maintain something per hour of enjoyment, a lot of things that you can afford all of a sudden seem like bad ideas (many kinds of pets, hot tubs, etc.)
So thinking about usage in a buying decision is a very helpful tool in making good decisions, although it’s in addition to looking at whether you can afford the total cost.
Along these lines, I find that not many people correctly calculate the cost-per-use of their car. They only think of the cost of gasoline burned, and maybe tolls and parking. They don't think about the cost of insurance divided by the number of trips, or the capital cost of the car amortized over the years of ownership. If people thought hard about the cost-per-use of driving, then other transportation options start…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Actually the installments are a great way to think about purchases. I have a budget of 500€ for sports per year. I use this on gyms, running shoes and what not. I wanted to get into skiing so I bought some skis this year. It was about 700€. Normally this doesn’t fit my budget. But I’m gonna keep these skis for at least 4 years. Now the price is 175€/year. And I still have a bigger portion of my budget left for other…
i mean if you have trouble not staying in a budget, I suppose that helps, just seems weird to tout that as a great way, if you are overall spending more money...
This is completely backwards. Always think in absolute dollars and not in rates. $1000 is $1000 whether the cost per use is pennies or tens of dollars. Thinking in terms of rates is how people would fall for predatory installment purchases in the old days (you can have a new computer for just $2.5 a day!) The other obvious problem is looking at cost absent of a market. It's not just how much it is worth it to you, bu…
Actually the installments are a great way to think about purchases. I have a budget of 500€ for sports per year. I use this on gyms, running shoes and what not. I wanted to get into skiing so I bought some skis this year. It was about 700€. Normally this doesn’t fit my budget. But I’m gonna keep these skis for at least 4 years. Now the price is 175€/year. And I still have a bigger portion of my budget left for other…