this post was submitted on 04 Jan 2024
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That's quite an extensive list. Must be nice to be rich enough to afford the expensive version of so many things.
I'll quote Clint Eastwood for my tongue in cheek response:
"Well, l guess even a bonehead like you could understand that a man acquires this over a period of 50 years."
The thing is that when you buy high quality boots, or knives, or whatever, they last a lifetime. When you buy low quality instead, you have to replace the item every couple of years and it ends up costing you considerably more overall. Take your time, and build up a collection of high quality items that will last you forever. For stuff like Saran wrap, it's not that much more money and it works so much better that it's worth it. The generic stuff only sticks to itself and will just make you miserable.
I'm aware. It's the Sam Vimes Boots theory of socioeconomic unfairness, named after a character in a Discworld novel who explains the concept even better than you just did.
That's just it, though, I can't. The socioeconomic unfairness part of the Boots theory is that poor people never have enough money available at once to buy the more expensive item that costs less in the long run.
To be able to save money by buying the good stuff that lasts a long time, you need a lot of money. Being poor means not having a lot of money and thus we have to to pay what's known by some as the poverty tax by buying the cheap crap that ends up costing more in the long run.
Oof. I've been there, and it sucks. Sorry that's what you're dealing with right now. In those situations reusing whatever you can is wise. Spending all of your available free time acquiring more valuable and marketable skills is imperative. It shouldn't be as hard to climb the ladder as it is, but man is it rough. Don't give up! It can get better.