> But, it's still $500. That's real money that could be used to earn more money somewhere else. On the other hand the 2000$ bike is perhaps so much nicer that

> But, it's still $500. That's real money that could be used to earn more money somewhere else. On the other hand the 2000$ bike is perhaps so much nicer that you ride it more often and have more fun doing it. It might last longer as well lowering the fun factor even more. > With things like digital cameras (or any consumer electronics), it's silly to expect anything to last more than 10 years, on the very long end. I think that's an unreasonable assumption. I had a Kyocera camera (designed in 1999) but even though I would call myself frugal (some people would call me cheap) and I didn't have much money I basically had to replace it around 2006 because of technology progress and lack of batteries, replacement parts.