What does it cost?
I think there’s been a paradigm shift in my head… we’re very programmed to be a “What does it cost” culture. Worse in someways is the tendency to be a “What’s it cost per month” culture, but I’ll leave that one alone for fear of turning incomprehensible (seriously, ask my wife what happens when we drive past a Rent-A-Center, and someone is walking in).
The key question is not “What does it cost?” but “What is it worth?” What tangible benefit will I derive from the expenditure? Is that benefit worth as much as or more than the cost of acquiring it? If not, that’s a pretty lousy purchase, isn’t it?
The interesting thing is that you can apply this thinking to most areas of life. What is emptying the dishwasher worth? Dishes are easy to find, they are where they belong, newly dirtied dishes can go directly into the dish washer, there is less clutter, you are a happier person. It’s worth the 5 minutes of your time.
Apply it to something more nascent, like the cost of buying a book. What is it worth? Several hours of either entertainment or information (or, if you’re really lucky, both) that may or may not be available elsewhere. The ability to easily access and reference said entertainment and information in the future. Worth the cost of acquisition? Sometimes!
But it’s a shift from being concerned only with the flow of money outward to being concerned with the non-tangible income as compared to the purchase / expenditure of time, money, or other resources.
