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> Buy things if they: > Get used everyday (Ex. Nice pants, laptop and phone). > Come in between you and the ground (Ex. Mattresses, chairs, winter tires). La

> Buy things if they: > Get used everyday (Ex. Nice pants, laptop and phone). > Come in between you and the ground (Ex. Mattresses, chairs, winter tires). Lately I've been hearing from friends and marketers "you use your mattress for 8+ hours a day so you should spend $2k on it" or something ridiculous like that. But I can't help feeling that it's bad advice. You should decide to spend money when the marginal benefit that you get out of those extra dollars is higher than some threshold, that's it. If you spend an extra $1500 on a mattress that isn't any better than a $500 one, then you've wasted $1500, regardless of how much time you spend sleeping on it. On the other hand, maybe it's a good idea to spend an extra few thousand dollars on safety equipment for your woodsaw that you use for your occasional weekend hobby, if it means you don't lose a finger one day.

fy20 6y ago
I think this goes together with the "don't buy cheap" rule. If you spend $100 on a mattress after a year or two it'll be ruined (and probably not very comfortable to begin with), so it's better to invest say $500 (random number, I have no idea how much you should spend on a 'good enough' mattress) to get something better quality. But yeah as you say, after a certain point it's diminishing returns. A Corolla will get you to work just as well as a Porsche, but that's not why people buy Porsches.
- lotsofpulp 6y ago
  $400 to $600 is the price Hilton/Marriott/Hyatt/IHG negotiated with Tempur Sealy and Simmons for their hotel mattresses. They come with pillow tops and don’t need to be flipped.
- jpetso 6y ago
  I may, in less experienced earlier years, have bought a needlessly semi-expensive >$1000 mattress. Even then, after sleeping on it for almost 10 years now, it has amortized pretty well. $100 a year isn't really something to worry over much, and saving half of it makes less of a difference than reducing coffee consumption for example. The cost per year still keeps falling. Even a $2000 mattress wouldn't be a giant expense compared to frequent & more expensive discretionary spending that people casually indulge in, such as new flagship smartphones or desktop CPUs/GPUs after 2-3 years, more than a single streaming video service or (God forbid) a car if bike+transit is a viable choice in your area. Nowadays I'd go about mattresses a little different, but in the grand scheme of things? Not even a blip.
smileysteve 6y ago
Welcome to marketing. Pricing is rarely established by the cost of goods but by what the buyer will pay. Buy for what you want, not what marketers are telling you; Anecdotally: $400 memory foam gel cooling mattress, firm is the best nights sleep I ever get and I miss it when I travel. $90 ultra high performance summer tires are amazing for the autocross and track day, but are loud and high wear if I drove more than 5k miles a year.

fy20 6y ago

I think this goes together with the "don't buy cheap" rule. If you spend $100 on a mattress after a year or two it'll be ruined (and probably not very comfortable to begin with), so it's better to invest say $500 (random number, I have no idea how much you should spend on a 'good enough' mattress) to get something better quality. But yeah as you say, after a certain point it's diminishing returns. A Corolla will get you to work just as well as a Porsche, but that's not why people buy Porsches.

lotsofpulp 6y ago
$400 to $600 is the price Hilton/Marriott/Hyatt/IHG negotiated with Tempur Sealy and Simmons for their hotel mattresses. They come with pillow tops and don’t need to be flipped.
jpetso 6y ago
I may, in less experienced earlier years, have bought a needlessly semi-expensive >$1000 mattress. Even then, after sleeping on it for almost 10 years now, it has amortized pretty well. $100 a year isn't really something to worry over much, and saving half of it makes less of a difference than reducing coffee consumption for example. The cost per year still keeps falling. Even a $2000 mattress wouldn't be a giant expense compared to frequent & more expensive discretionary spending that people casually indulge in, such as new flagship smartphones or desktop CPUs/GPUs after 2-3 years, more than a single streaming video service or (God forbid) a car if bike+transit is a viable choice in your area. Nowadays I'd go about mattresses a little different, but in the grand scheme of things? Not even a blip.

smileysteve 6y ago

Welcome to marketing. Pricing is rarely established by the cost of goods but by what the buyer will pay. Buy for what you want, not what marketers are telling you; Anecdotally: $400 memory foam gel cooling mattress, firm is the best nights sleep I ever get and I miss it when I travel. $90 ultra high performance summer tires are amazing for the autocross and track day, but are loud and high wear if I drove more than 5k miles a year.