Airpods: $159
Amazon Earbuds: $10
Ratio: ~16 to 1.
Hamilton Tickets, Chicago: ~$800
Wicked tickets, Kennedy Center: ~$80.
Ratio: ~10 to 1.
Six pack, craft beer: ~$16
Six pack, bad: ~$4
Ratio: ~4 to 1.
Latte: $5
Coffee at home: Maybe a quarter
Ratio: ~20 to 1.
Some of these things I think are worth it all the time. Some are worth it some times. At least one I think isn't ever worth it. At all.
Do you think about consumer goods in this way? What ratios like this affect your buying? Is this ever a useful means of thinking about consumer goods?
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I never buy cheap scotch (especially blends) unless I'm intending to mix it and don't really care about the taste. But when I'm deciding between a $50-60 bottle and a $100+ bottle, my choice will really depend on how I'm intending to drink it. Do I want something for casual drinking, or do I want something nicer for more celebratory moods? It's just a 2 to 1 ratio, but that's one of the places where that comes into play for me.
ReplyDeleteSometimes yes, I do think in terms of short term cost vs long term value.
ReplyDelete90% of the time I buy my own coffee beans for grinding and drinking at home. I go to Starbucks one or two times a month, and usually because there is someplace besides a Starbucks I am going to nearby and either need to deal with a layover/waiting time (or to meet someone specific) or because I am going to a nearby place and desperately need a liquid refreshment afterwards or after getting there.
I also don't buy expensive coffee for use at home. I could easily spend $15 a pound for high end quality beans (most average coffee around here runs $11 a lb). But my normal buy is $5 for a 14 oz can from Whole Foods of vacuum packed light roast beans.
Fancy beans (or special blends/flavored coffee) is for when I have guests or a holiday/special day event. Ex: My wife's birthday I got a bag of more expensive flavored ground coffee with chocolate and cherry flavoring for her.
On other things I generally will aim at value shopping, but I have a tight budget most of the time for most of the past year. I have to live frugally or I'll have trouble paying the bills.
When buying harder goods I weigh in on features vs price difference. Like paying more for extra Ram and storage on a computer rather than having to buy and struggle external storage devices.
In some cases I will buy a cheaper thing if I guess that the more expensive version is not going to last long enough to justify the extra money. I'm like that quite often with some articles of clothing. High end socks can cost $5 a pair. Low End Socks you can get sometimes 5 pair for that same $5. If the high end socks are not going to last 5 times as long as the cheap pair of socks then they aren't worth the price.
No, I generally don't compare ratios. When you use small numbers, even small absolute increases produce high percentage increases.
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