Another year has passed, so it’s time to look back at whether I spent money on good things that improve my life, or useless crap!
Having last year’s best and worst in mind I think helped me make better choices this year, as the “worst” section has been harder for me to figure out. But rest assured, money has been wasted. Let’s take a look!
Top 5 Best Purchases
5. Art! Having felt that the painted bookshelf and cabinet I bought last year were pretty awesome, I commissioned an artist friend of mine to make some wall art using similar patterns. Most people, myself included, believe that experiences are better than things, but this shouldn’t be used to discount the impact of good things in our lives, and art is no exception. This ranks in the top 5 because although it doesn’t have practical value, it has a high aesthetic value, and it’s something that makes every day a little brighter. Decor is worth doing right, IMO. Price: [hundreds].
4. Folding bed frame. I’d wanted to ditch my old box springs for years, but I never had the guts to do it. See, for as long as I’ve been alive, I’ve been using beds with traditional roller frames and box springs, but these are bulky and obtrusive, and they are largely carryovers from the past when mattresses weren’t thick enough to be comfortable by themselves (presumably). I finally made the transition, and couldn’t tell you the difference, except that my bed no longer raises the dead when I roll over. Plus, I have much more space underneath, and the thing is extremely portable. It’s a win all around, but is especially unique since it represents a successful parting from old ways, and that’s worth celebrating. Price: $80.
3. New Coat. Many years ago, I was at an outdoor event during the winter with a young adult group. I was freezing cold, but there was this skinny girl with a tiny jacket who seemed to be perfectly comfortable. “How is this possible?!” I wondered. For the first time in my life, it occurred to me that there is actually a difference in quality between coats, and the $45 specials I had always worn were bulky and cold for a reason. Now, I’ve bought different layers for snowshoeing (base, mid, shell), but these are only really useful when you’re moving and generating heat. I wanted something for when I simply needed to get around town, so I finally upgraded my coat. Not only do I have a pretty darn effective coat now, but I also have the inner jacket for wearing around the house, and I kind of love it. Price: $180.
2. Osprey 65L Backpack. I had long hoped that my 36L backpack would be large enough for backpacking, but after a difficult but valiant first trip into The Bowl to explore some mining ruins, I realized I was an idiot and 36L was not going to work for me. After some searching, I settled upon a particular Osprey backpack, and I really love it. They redesigned this one from the others, and have really improved it in every way. These are, technically, on the heavier side, and you can easily shave a few pounds off by going with a more “ultralight” brand, but I found it to otherwise be perfect for my needs, and it did well for me on my sojourn through the first two segments of the Colorado Trail. Plus, I just love the colors. I know that’s silly, but every time I see it I think, “Damn, I love this backpack”. Price: $280.
1. Nintendo Switch. So the PS4 ended up being great for streaming, Blu-Rays and DVDs, and a few games, but you can only get your butt handed to you so many times in Blackout before you forget that games used to be fun. I’ve long lamented the pressure I feel to achieve all the stupid little Trophies that Playstation attaches to every game, and buying a Switch has been a huge breath of fresh air, where I can just sit down and game. Xenoblade Chronicles has been my go-to, and Super Smash Brothers a fun switch-up, and I can’t tell you how rare it is for me to get angry at these games. It’s weird. Bizarre, even. Eventually I will setup an account so I can play some games with my brother-in-law and nieces, but, quite amazingly, you don’t even need an account to get started. You can just pop the game in and play. My greatest regret is not buying this sooner. Price: $300, plus a few hundred in games.
There are plenty of other purchases I could celebrate, but keeping this at 5, let’s move on to the worst purchases.
Top 5 Worse Purchases
5. Vegetables. Hear me out! In the first few weeks of the pandemic, almost all of my favorite foods went missing from every grocery store in the area. One fine afternoon, browsing the apocalyptic freezers at Wal-Mart, I found some lonely bags of mixed vegetables, and bought a bag in one of the weirdest moments of FOMO I’ve ever experienced. I probably don’t eat as many vegetables as I should, but God knows I have never made mixed vegetables for myself, and only bought this bag out of fear. It went on to sit in the freezer for months before I wised up and chucked it. I think this is worth mentioning because purchasing something you know you won’t use out of fear is STUPID. Price: $5. I could have done worse, of course, but still. Mixed vegetables. The heck was I thinking? This sort of behavior can sink you if it starts creeping into the more expensive parts of your life.
4. Crow’s Foot Wrench Set. As part of my big car project in the Fall, I needed some special tools to access my front sway-bar bushings. Turns out, this is pretty difficult because of clearance issues: you can either buy the right tools or drop a corner of the sub-frame, and I’d prefer not to touch the sub-frame in any way. So, in my rush to finish the project, I bought a pack of these crow’s foot wrenches. The problem was, the only size that I needed – 12mm – was the exact size that was not included! I opened the package before I realized this, and it’s not really returnable at that point, as it’s not designed to be a set you rent. I guess I figured they could be useful. Someday. Maybe. But I had to go elsewhere to find the 12mm I needed, and even then, I haven’t yet changed those bushings. Fail. Price: $20.
3. Software Quality Assurance book. What better way to become a better software developer than to understand what goes into good software quality, right? WRONG. This book sucked. QA is not software. It’s just different, you don’t need to study QA to write good software. I should have known better. The book was abysmal. It was written by one of those rare nerds who loves corporate policy, is extremely S on the Myers-Briggs types, and probably hates puppies. But there was nothing to learn! It was all lists! I couldn’t believe it. But I had bought direct from the publisher early in the pandemic and was afraid returning it would make me a wealthy asshole, and ultimately kept it, I guess because I can be a wuss sometimes. But this was one of those books I bought in that age old cycle: discover, covet, conspire to purchase, salivate, buy. But it was all dopamine and wasted green. Price: $70.
2. Grease Gun. Also as part of my big project this past Fall, I unexpectedly found myself buying sway bar end-links, because I guess these almost always self-destruct on Toyotas this old. Well, a few of the replacement end-links used zerk fittings, which are greasable, and you’re kinda supposed to grease them. I’ve never had a grease gun, so I went looking for one. I saw some that held mini tubes of grease, and I should have gone with one of these, but I figured the price wasn’t much different, and I had used zerk fittings before, so I may as well have a normal grease gun, right? WRONG. First of all, quality parts do not use zerk fittings. I will fight you! I’ve never seen an OEM part that has these. Real tie rods, ball joints, and end-links simply do not have these fittings, which are relics of days long past, when parts sucked and needed to be serviced on a regular basis. Things these days are packed and sealed and will often last hundreds of thousands of miles. One does not “service” them with grease. One simply changes them when they start to go bad. You only see zerk fittings on cheap-ass parts. So anyway, I did my thing and greased the fittings. But then I realized that the grease gun just leaks all over the place. Through the handle. Through the squeeze mechanism. Through everything. It’s disgusting. So finally I decided to empty the grease, clean it up, and donate it. I don’t ever want to deal with that nasty crap again, I’ll just buy better parts next time. Price: $25.
1. Gym Membership. Oh, yeah. Just like last year, subscription services get top place on the naughty list. Don’t get me wrong, going to the gym is a good thing. But, in my haste to prepare for two big overseas hiking trips, I signed a two-year contract with the gym, just a few months before the pandemic hit. Yeah. They’ve done a pretty good job setting things up so people can still visit, but I have never been less-inclined to visit a gym. I finally went a few times this past month, and hope to go more (since I’m locked in), but this is why you should avoid contracts like this at all costs. I guess they’re nice people, I guess my monthly dues are helping them stay in business, but signing a two-year contract for something completely non-essential (in my opinion – can you not jog around your neighborhood?) was a bad call. Whatever. Price: $30/month.
Last but not least, here are some honorable neutrals!
Top 4 Neutral Purchases
4. Game Boy Colors. I got rid of my Game Boy 5+ years ago in an excessive act of minimalism that wasn’t necessary but wasn’t the worst thing in the world, either. However, when I learned there was a legit bug that allowed you to catch Mew in Pokemon Red/Blue, well…I really wished I had kept it. In the name of nostalgia, I went all out and bought two GameBoys so I could trade the appropriate Pokemon, as well as a save cartridge (!), link, and the games themselves. And the bug works! I have Mew in Red now. However, I think my enthusiasm was a little more than my level of commitment, and I haven’t played them very much. It wasn’t a bad purchase, it is kind of fun, but I’m usually playing the Switch instead, not these. I have mixed feelings. Price: $200-300.
3. Car Parts. I bought a heck-ton of auto parts for my big project. The funny thing is…I still haven’t changed all of them. Now, much of this is preventive maintenance, stuff that I would simply like to change soon, and the front-main seal is not leaking too badly. But it might have been smarter to buy these as I got around to changing them, instead of all at once. To be fair, though, I had no idea that axle nut would strip out internally, so I haven’t started the other side for fear the axle on that side will have the same problem. But the point still stands: I didn’t need to buy all of these at the same time. Price: [varies].
2. Old Books. I’ve been on a kick buying antique mining books. Partly I want to scan these and put them in the public domain, partly I want to use them for research. Some of these I really love, such as the old supply catalogs from the late 1800s and early 1900s, but for a time, I wasn’t being very strategic about what I was buying. One book has already been scanned and can be found online. (Say what you want about government efficiency, the Department of the Interior and the USGS are really on top of digitizing efforts). Another book was a stove catalog from the 1930s, that I should have known was too late to match any of the stoves I’ve taken pictures of on my adventures. I’m glad I stopped when I did, and the books are still kind of cool, but was it really necessary to take it this far? I think I’m going to try to keep the scope of my collection reigned in. Price: $40 (for the books I have mixed feelings about buying).
1. Firestone Lifetime Alignment. I nearly forgot about this! The lifetime alignment is something you can buy for one vehicle for as long as you own it. Or something like that. Considering an alignment is usually around $90, the price tag of $200 would seem to pay for itself in just over 2 uses. I have never trusted this, but, in a moment of weakness, I gave in over the summer when paying for my second alignment from them. In theory, it’s a good deal, but what they didn’t tell me before I paid for this service is that it’s only good for every 6 months or so, or X number of miles. For my purposes, doing a bunch of stuff on my car and needing alignments afterward, this is not very useful. In theory, though, it’s pretty awesome to be able to get an alignment twice a year. I will probably never pay for this again, it almost belongs on the Worst Purchases list, but considering I work from home, I think there might still be a chance to goose it in my favor, since I have toe plates, can rough-align the wheels myself, and possibly wait until I qualify for the next “free” alignment, but I would not recommend this, especially if your car has high miles and is likely to need more alignments after servicing it. Come to think of it, I wonder if they market this more heavily to people with older cars or not, hmm. Price: $200.
Conclusions
I feel I’ve done much better this year, but there are still lessons to learn! Don’t buy things out of fear, check to make sure you actually receive what you expect to receive, learn to break the consumption lifecycle by waiting, and don’t buy vegetables! Also, focus on the stuff you use and enjoy, because spending money is not bad in itself, it’s only bad when it’s wasteful. But even then, when you aren’t certain how well your purchases have affected you, make a mental note about what they teach you and move on.