flâneur

The Barbell Strategy for Buying Quality Stuff

thedeepdish.org · 1,304 words · saved by 1 readers

The idea that buying high-quality stuff saves you money in the long run is overrated, but there's a way to get the best of both worlds.

Imagine buying a cheap plastic laptop designed for children that constantly lags, and can’t open more than a dozen tabs without packing a sad. Now imagine you’re a writer, and this hunk o’ junk is the primary tool you use for several hours each and every day. Imagine how dumb you’d have to be to endure that much frustration and wasted time for the sake of a couple hundred bucks. (I don’t have to imagine, because I was that dumb guy.) After hitting peak pathological penny-pinching circa 2016, I’ve slowly but surely learned which things are worth paying money for. Sometimes, a lot of money. At f

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