3 ms·

I always thought that, at least for me, there's a level of cost below which I can just buy something on a whim without worrying about whether I can afford it at

by ufmace 13y ago

I always thought that, at least for me, there's a level of cost below which I can just buy something on a whim without worrying about whether I can afford it at all, and above which I need to think about it for a minute. When I was in college, that level was about $10. It was a kinda weird transition when I got my first professional job out of college, and I had to get used to that threshold being closer to $1000 instead. I can see how it can be stressful if you're broke enough that your threshold for this is more like $1.

Florin_Andrei 13y ago
> there's a level of cost below which I can just buy something on a whim without worrying about whether I can afford it at all, and above which I need to think about it for a minute. When I was in college, that level was about $10. It was a kinda weird transition when I got my first professional job out of college, and I had to get used to that threshold being closer to $1000 instead. And then you get two kids and a mortgage, and that threshold drops like a comet into a neutron star.
pests 13y ago
I'm currently at the $10 threshold and live with a slightly older roommate whose threshold is more in your current range. Going out to restaurants, shopping, and general errands are so different for us. I help him out a lot so when we do things I listed he usually covers my meals and everything but I'm still in my lower threshold thinking. Going to the grocery store and spending $300, to the hardware store and dropping $400, picking up some car part for $100 in a single day and he doesn't bat an eye. I would have exhausted an entire month or more of pay in one day if I did something like that. Going to a restaurant and seeing a meal costs me, say, 2 hours of work requires me to think about it. If my roommate is covering it might only be 20 minutes of work. The differences are amazing.

by ufmace 13y ago

Florin_Andrei 13y ago

> there's a level of cost below which I can just buy something on a whim without worrying about whether I can afford it at all, and above which I need to think about it for a minute. When I was in college, that level was about $10. It was a kinda weird transition when I got my first professional job out of college, and I had to get used to that threshold being closer to $1000 instead. And then you get two kids and a mortgage, and that threshold drops like a comet into a neutron star.

pests 13y ago

I'm currently at the $10 threshold and live with a slightly older roommate whose threshold is more in your current range. Going out to restaurants, shopping, and general errands are so different for us. I help him out a lot so when we do things I listed he usually covers my meals and everything but I'm still in my lower threshold thinking. Going to the grocery store and spending $300, to the hardware store and dropping $400, picking up some car part for $100 in a single day and he doesn't bat an eye. I would have exhausted an entire month or more of pay in one day if I did something like that. Going to a restaurant and seeing a meal costs me, say, 2 hours of work requires me to think about it. If my roommate is covering it might only be 20 minutes of work. The differences are amazing.