So again, today I was evaluating an Amazon purchase and trying to decide which item/version was the best for the price. I realized about 10 minutes into my research I needed to stop digging in and just buy the damn thing and not waste my time being an idiot.
Wasted
Wondering what the “item” was? It was CR2025 batteries for our Polar Heart Rate Monitors. A 10-pack for $6-10. They really are all probably 90% the same and you just save a little buying 10 vs 2 or 4.
To make me realize how much more of an idiot I was being wasting time; you can always return Amazon stuff if it sucks. Maybe, MAYBE, there’s a $1 drop-off charge at UPS on the way home from my gym.
Hell Yes
Reflecting on this time loss later in the day, I thought about how it only took me 5-seconds to decide to join my slacker friends on a 5-week Australia/New Zealand cruise or zero seconds on spending $387 for an EconoMe ticket.
Thresholds?
I thought about what thresholds I have for spending without overthinking it. There have often been couples counseling discussions on “freedom to spend amount, $20, $50, or more?” Ramit has these all the time on his podcast with couples. Listening to some of those discussions, I can see both Ramit’s and the couple’s sides.
It’s nature. It’s the nature of a saver, a delayed-satisfactioner, often a person who’s quite pleased—over the long run—on their purchase. They found a need/desire, thought through the item/activity, considered different options—including funding, and then made the purchase they felt made sense to them. Done. Process (purchase) complete.
At what threshold(s) does the price not matter to me?
I can definitely see where $12, $20, or $120 doesn’t matter if I know of the need/desire.
I also can see where having a Fun Bucket set aside and planned out for the future allows the freedom to make such purchases at will. A freedom of “no’s” in the past has set up plenty of “yeah OK” options now. Not everything needs to be a Hell Yes.
As I type this, I can see how ridiculous I can be with stupid things like batteries. But to be clear, having an HRM battery be dead before a workout, a battery that was changed a few weeks ago—rather than a couple of months ago—drives you crazy if you’re a data person and want your workout HR stats. It’s like a Spreadsheets Geeks thing.
Doesn’t it seem like only an idiot would spend MUCH more time deciding on a $6 purchase than on a 5-figure cruise purchase? I want to type that question again because I just lived that $6 processing process.
So, my “thought” today is “Why do I have different spending freedom/easy spending thresholds?
Fun Bucket
I think for me; it comes down to having money set aside for having fun and freedom. It is because we have a financial (“retirement”) plan and that plan allocated safe (extra) money on the side for living a great Fun existence now.
Still Bettering
If you think I was bad buying CR2025 batteries, you should have seen us trying to buy a case for my wife’s new ipad. It took 2 minutes to pick out the ipad air, and MUCH more time to find the right case (<1% of the ipad price). It (I) take(s) work.
*** Nothing in this article is to be construed as financial advice. I am not a financial planner, nor do I pretend to be. You should always consult your own professional when seeking advice. This post is not a piece of literary mastery, just a random thought I had.