I've never had a head for money. Jenn is the budgeter - she has extensive graphs of the upcoming months in a notebook, and of course, the ever-present coupon organizer. I'm lucky if I check the balance in my checking account more often than the monthly online bill-pay.
Getting to know Jenn and her sensible money side has made me consider myself and my complete lack of sensible money side. I've been thinking about the perceived value of money and the different contexts that cause value to fluctuate. Why do I have an ashtray full of an unknown quantity of coin used to scrape together the price of a Frosty at 1 a.m., whereas the change Jenn saves for a charitable donation merits penny and nickel counting/rolling?
It was excellent synchronicity, then, to run across this article in New Scientist (via Kottke) about perceived value. It's long, but very interesting reading.
April 10, 2009
April 1, 2009
I just got a really good deal!
And I'm going to brag about it.
We needed a new vacuum cleaner. I'm not just saying "need" in a facetious sense, like how I "need" a piece of apple pie right now. Like, my current 6-year-old Dirt Devil smells like burning when I turn it on.
So I knew I needed to spend my money on something good, something that would last a long time and pick up all the cat hair tumbleweeding around here without screwing up the motor (see: current Dirt Devil).
Come on...everyone knows that Dyson is the way to go. But who has the money? I have waffled back and forth for months trying to decide if dropping $500 on a vacuum is the best use of my cash. It's not that I can't afford it, it's just that, well, it's a vacuum cleaner. And while the Dyson is the sexiest of all vacuums, buying home appliances is generally not seen as a sexy thing to do.
And then it hit me. Hello - Overstock.com. The Dysons they have on there are refurbished, but they are refurbished by Dyson, so I feel ok about that. And I have found the greatest deal ever on there - the Dyson DC14 Animal Upright Vacuum, store price $549.99.
I just bought it for $259.99. Free shipping. Plus a 2-year service plan for $36.99.
Boom.
We needed a new vacuum cleaner. I'm not just saying "need" in a facetious sense, like how I "need" a piece of apple pie right now. Like, my current 6-year-old Dirt Devil smells like burning when I turn it on.
So I knew I needed to spend my money on something good, something that would last a long time and pick up all the cat hair tumbleweeding around here without screwing up the motor (see: current Dirt Devil).
Come on...everyone knows that Dyson is the way to go. But who has the money? I have waffled back and forth for months trying to decide if dropping $500 on a vacuum is the best use of my cash. It's not that I can't afford it, it's just that, well, it's a vacuum cleaner. And while the Dyson is the sexiest of all vacuums, buying home appliances is generally not seen as a sexy thing to do.
And then it hit me. Hello - Overstock.com. The Dysons they have on there are refurbished, but they are refurbished by Dyson, so I feel ok about that. And I have found the greatest deal ever on there - the Dyson DC14 Animal Upright Vacuum, store price $549.99.
I just bought it for $259.99. Free shipping. Plus a 2-year service plan for $36.99.
Boom.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)