this post was submitted on 11 Jun 2023
65 points (100.0% liked)
Frugal
59 readers
1 users here now
Discuss how to save money.
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
If you use it to make money, how much you should spend on it becomes a whole other formula. If a better tool costs 10x more, but let's you complete work 2x as fast, it's worth it. If you stare at a monitor all day long, getting a good one that doesn't cause you eye strain is worth it even if it costs way more. Etc.
I used to have a $90 Office Depot chair before COVID and they sent me home to work. I didn't realize how bad it was when I sat in it for two hours a day MAX. When I started spending 8+ hours at my desk daily, my back started aching something nasty. I was popping prescription amounts of ibuprofen just to make my back numb enough to sleep.
So two months into the pandemic, my wife (who also worked remote at the time and had an even crappier chair) and I spent $800 on new ergo chairs. That has been some of the best money we have ever spent.
Same thing happened to me when I went full time remote. An office chair that doesn't hurt the user seems to cost at least $500. Meanwhile a garage sale beanbag chair from the 70's that's 85% farts is comfortable for all-day chilling.
"85% farts" made me chuckle.
I hear that if you can hit up a local university or government surplus auction that you can find some baller chairs for bargain prices. The drawback is you have to compete at an auction.
Wanna see that auction clear out faster than a frat house with a tapped keg? Peruse the wares on display with a UV flashlight.
Wait...are you saying this is bad advice, or are you refuting other bad advice?
Sorry, was just saying that you shouldn't try to be super frugal with things that you use for income. Like if you get a deal on some tools, cool. But the value proposition changes a lot when it comes to tools used for work. $1,000 gaming monitor? Pass. $1,000 monitor with a built in KVM and a single cable solution that will charge my work laptop? Hell yeah.
This entirely depends on what the net positive is. If you get a 10x tool that gets the job done faster, but you use it once a year... Still not worth it