This is difficult to explain. I can't figure out a rule of thumb for spending, the prices of things fluctuate so quickly it's confusing. Here are some examples

  1. A house, prices are out of control, inventory is low, sellers are greedy. I'm feeling not only unable to afford it but finding lack of value in inflated prices

  2. Computer parts. Relatively cheap compared to pandemic but more expensive than before but also much cheaper than 90s/00s, but still could be cheaper

  3. TWS earbuds, completely different ball game from regular earbuds, disposable electronics.

  4. Food. Nights out with drinks now sometimes cost me more than 2 & 3, but seem like just keeping up with inflation

The prices range from 100,000s to 100s, but some are fleeting, some semi permanent, some last a long time. I also spend hours researching prices of parts and waiting for sales, but spending the same amount on social events in an instant

  • Lettuce eat lettuce@lemmy.ml
    ·
    8 months ago

    If you're looking for a rule of thumb to decide if something is worth the price, I have a basic method that helps me:

    Don't think about the thing itself, think about what it provides to you. Say you are thinking about buying a GPU to play games on your computer. The one that seems like the best fit costs $400.

    What will that GPU provide you? You will get to play the games you want for about 5 years on average before the card starts to become too old to give you solid performance anymore. Or maybe you're not too picky on framerates and settings, so it will last you 7-10 years before your next upgrade.

    Consider how many hours of enjoyment you will get by playing games for the next 5, 7, 10 years. 5 hours of gaming a week, 52 weeks a year, 5 years gives you 1,300 hours of enjoyment. Now divide the original cost by that number. In our example, that's roughly $0.30 per hour of enjoyment.

    Does that feel like a good price for fun to you? If you could go to a magic vending machine, pay 30 cents, and feel enjoyment for an hour, would you?

    That's how I think about purchases, and it helps me quantify the value better and make purchases that are likely to be a good value to me. It also encourages me to use things a lot for a long time to get an even better amount of value out of them, which in turn is more environmentally friendly and helps me avoid the traps of rampant consumerism. Win win win.

    Hope that helps!

  • Call me Lenny/Leni@lemm.ee
    ·
    8 months ago

    It's a combination of people taking advantage of things, peoples' hands being forced, and trying to make sure only certain people get the stuff.

    I remember there was enormous backlash because people keep raising the prices on medical supplies such as insulin and inhalers. One day I discovered there was actually one place a friend of mine could get medical supplies for a reasonable price, but alas, people who didn't even have the medical condition would buy it all in bulk... all before selling it at a separate location for the normal insane price.

    It's clear that you cannot totally follow both prosperity and freedom.

    1. Some people know people will buy what they have to offer, so they ask for more in return. I will say what I object to is people killing the competition, for example the same YouTube we currently know was responsible for the Tiktok gossip.

    2. If money is a priority, you take your mind off a lot of subtleties. Going back to the topic of medicine, the mafia tried selling insulin cheap in some places, at least before they ran out and started selling unassuming random assortments in it. This trend, which you can actually blame Reddit for, didn't last.

    3. The biggest thing to remember is this thing we call currency is regulated and is dependent on uniqueness. It must be balanced with things like population and conflict. And note a part of this implies how non-automatic its existence is. If I began a civilization somewhere, the closest I'd do is go commodity, possibly with a services system, which I can already hear people bringing up my currently-faulty subreddit in response to (needs a few systemic fixes, I know).

    No matter what country anyone mentions here, there's a 100% chance it has a system that doesn't work. If it's not equal opportunity, it's an unequal opportunity, and if it's not flexible/independent, what you describe is inevitable, and things snap in two or get dragged down.