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Interesting points. (I'm the original author, btw). Some thoughts: The "loser" word choice, as someone pointed out below, was a double entendre, meant to mea

Interesting points. (I'm the original author, btw). Some thoughts: The "loser" word choice, as someone pointed out below, was a double entendre, meant to mean, first, that you're losing in the long run when you make bad/cheap purchases, and second, that I think there is a psychological effect of surrounding yourself with low quality stuff. Second, I'm really not talking about expensive v. cheap. Most of the stuff I'm talking about, like nail clippers, might be 2-3 times the price of the cheapest you could find, but still well under $10. And, the quality is so much better it makes life easier/more enjoyable. And, of course there's a way to get beyond "piece of shit" when there's better or more expensive available. There are nail clippers on amazon right now for like $80. That's absurd. And, you can get fantastic meals for $15, or terrible meals for $80. I think that's kind of missing the point. We're talking about quality here, which isn't always synonymous with price. As to the psychological effect: I don't think anyone literally thinks "damn, I'm worth this" (maybe occasionally as a rationalization?) or "damn, I'm not worth it". But, I really do think that there is some psychological effect of surrounding yourself with cheap, shitty quality stuff that never quite works right. Whether that's morally wrong or not, I think people do this to themselves (I've got no studies to back this one up, btw, just what I've observed). I also think there's a psychological upside to surrounding yourself with well-made and well-designed stuff. If nothing more, it frees up some neurons from getting angry at shit that doesn't work well, but even more so, for me at least, it helps creativity.

wickedchicken 15y ago
My budget which keeps my working on my startup is roughly $10/day. Explain to me why I, using nail clippers once a month, would spend $7 more dollars (my entire food budget for a day) on better nail clippers. Small stuff adds up dude.
- spiffytech 15y ago
  You're either exceptional, or live somewhere where the cost of living is very low compared to America. Even in the scuzzy college dives here in Raleigh, NC, it would be a struggle to live on $10/day ($300/month); my share of a 4-way rent split on a reasonably-decent apartment is >$300/mo. If you're living on $300/mo in America, or somewhere with a similar cost of living (it sounds like the OP is), realize that (statistically speaking) the majority of the author's audience doesn't share your financial situation. If you're living somewhere with a considerably lower cost of living, adjust the price of "better than bargain-bin" nail clippers for your locale, then reconsider the point the author is making. Also, don't use nail clippers if the example doesn't fit your situation. I use nail clippers every week or two, so it's a good example for me. For you? Buy the paper plates that don't get soggy, and aren't so flimsy that you need two hands to keep your food from spilling. Or invest in a nice set of real plates once that you can use forever, instead of buying paper plates every couple of weeks. Generalize. Don't reject the OP's point just because one specific example doesn't fit your lifestyle.
  - wickedchicken 15y ago
    $10/day ignoring rent, sorry. The thing is, there is no point spending extra money on things you don't care about. None. Thinking otherwise is an unfortunate habit that a lot of people (myself included) pick up. "Oh, I'll buy the middle of the road X because it probably is better than the cheap one." It's a habit I've spent a lot of mental energy trying to unlearn and I apologize if I get a little touchy when people suggest I "don't respect myself" when I attempt to be cost-effective. I would much rather be defined by the stuff I make than the stuff I buy.

wickedchicken 15y ago

My budget which keeps my working on my startup is roughly $10/day. Explain to me why I, using nail clippers once a month, would spend $7 more dollars (my entire food budget for a day) on better nail clippers. Small stuff adds up dude.

spiffytech 15y ago
You're either exceptional, or live somewhere where the cost of living is very low compared to America. Even in the scuzzy college dives here in Raleigh, NC, it would be a struggle to live on $10/day ($300/month); my share of a 4-way rent split on a reasonably-decent apartment is >$300/mo. If you're living on $300/mo in America, or somewhere with a similar cost of living (it sounds like the OP is), realize that (statistically speaking) the majority of the author's audience doesn't share your financial situation. If you're living somewhere with a considerably lower cost of living, adjust the price of "better than bargain-bin" nail clippers for your locale, then reconsider the point the author is making. Also, don't use nail clippers if the example doesn't fit your situation. I use nail clippers every week or two, so it's a good example for me. For you? Buy the paper plates that don't get soggy, and aren't so flimsy that you need two hands to keep your food from spilling. Or invest in a nice set of real plates once that you can use forever, instead of buying paper plates every couple of weeks. Generalize. Don't reject the OP's point just because one specific example doesn't fit your lifestyle.
- wickedchicken 15y ago
  $10/day ignoring rent, sorry. The thing is, there is no point spending extra money on things you don't care about. None. Thinking otherwise is an unfortunate habit that a lot of people (myself included) pick up. "Oh, I'll buy the middle of the road X because it probably is better than the cheap one." It's a habit I've spent a lot of mental energy trying to unlearn and I apologize if I get a little touchy when people suggest I "don't respect myself" when I attempt to be cost-effective. I would much rather be defined by the stuff I make than the stuff I buy.