MONEY WISE: Buy Good Tools for the Task, Whatever the Task

Photo by Oluwaseun Sanni on Unsplash

We all use tools every day.

I don't necessarily mean a hammer and nails, I mean we all have things that help us do the things we need to do:

• Cooking: knives, a cutting board; pots and pans, etc.
• Sports: shoes, special clothes, certain equipment
• Work: a computer and IT equipment, or specific tools of the trade

We all use tools every day.

Having good quality tools for the things you do regularly is vital to your enjoyment of any task.

TOOLS FOR TASKS YOU LIKE

Buying good tools for tasks you like to do seems obvious, and likely needs little justification.

EXAMPLE: I workout three or four times per week; I need to have comfortable and durable workout clothes and shoes. If there's any discomfort with what I'm wearing, it makes a task which I usually enjoy unpleasant. But if my gear is good, the workout is even better.

Facilitating the task you're doing by having good tools makes it more likely you'll do it again.

Also, remember that buying the best doesn't mean paying the most. 

Don't wait to buy an item until you need it; if it's an activity you do regularly, stock-up when it goes on sale.

Second-hand stores are also a great option. I like to go to consignment shops that sell high-end workout clothes at a fraction of the price.

Buy the best you can afford in order to make the task you enjoy even more enjoyable.

A worthy investment; hours of fun for both of us. Photo by Piotr Musioł on Unsplash

TOOLS FOR TASKS YOU DON'T LIKE

Now, it might be easy to justify purchasing good tools for tasks you like, but what about tasks you don't like?

Why bother spending money on those?

It's even more important to buy good tools in this instance so that those tasks are as pleasant as possible.

EXAMPLE: My mother never enjoyed cooking. In fact she hated it, and so never invested in good kitchen tools.

This made a task she had to do on a daily basis even more difficult, and made cooking more of a chore.

Imagine trying to meal prep with dull knives, and no kitchen equipment that might make each task easier. (We never even had a potato peeler! She would peel potatoes with a small knife which made the task longer and more challenging.)

She wants to do what?! Take our skins off?!! Photo by Franco Antonio Giovanella on Unsplash

Buy the best tools you can for the task you need to get done: it will either make an enjoyable task even better or an unpleasant task more tolerable.

BUY TOOLS FOR THE TASK... but only that task

A small caveat to the above: make sure you're buying tools that are truly for what you need, and not for more than what you need.

EXAMPLE: I bought my coffee maker at Walmart for $15.

What does it do?

It makes coffee.

I put the grinds in the little paper filter, put the filter in the basket, pour water into the receptacle, and then push the only button the machine has: ON.

And then... it brews the coffee. That's it.

It doesn't have a timer, it doesn't have a milk frother, it doesn't make espresso, it doesn't floss my teeth for me.

My coffee maker only makes coffee. (What a novel idea!)

I don't need to buy a state of the art coffee maker because I won't use those features.

I don't want a timer because I don't make my coffee at the same time everyday. Plus, I grind my own beans, so the thought of leaving the fresh grinds in the filter basket overnight - LOSING THEIR DELICIOUS AROMA - as it waits to brew in the morning is just... sacrilege.

I also don't need a milk frother because I only use a splash of heavy cream in my coffee.

Bean to cup; now that's fresh java. Photo by Jessica Lewis 🦋 thepaintedsquare on Unsplash

What I'm saying is: buy the best you can afford but don't pay more for features you're never going to use. 

Always ask "Will I use this tool to its full capacity?"

If the answer is no, then save yourself some money and downgrade the type of tool you're going to buy. (Like buying a coffee maker that only has one button instead of one that comes with a NASA console.)

PENNY-WISE, POUND-FOOLISH

Now, there will be some trial-and-error in this process, and you will inevitably waste money and buy less than useful tools at times.

EXAMPLE: When I moved into my last home, I bought a salad spinner. I was a little too frugal and bought a less expensive model with a small knob on top - a knob too small to get a proper grip - so spinning salads is annoying. It's the part I like least about meal prep.

Why is this a problem?

Because I eat salad every day.

I have a task that I do daily, but the tool I have makes the task unpleasant. That means it's time to buy a new tool.

Lesson Learned: Don't be penny-wise but pound-foolish.

Meaning don't save a few dollars on something now, only to end up having to re-purchase a better item at a later date.

The thing you saved pennies on in the first place is going to cost you more in the end since you're buying the item twice, and the second purchase will be more expensive than the first because the first cheaper purchase has already proven itself unworthy.

We learn as we go, it is what it is.

CONCLUSION

Whatever you do, buy the best tools you can for the job because it will make the task easier and more enjoyable.

Therefore, as much as possible:

• Buy the best tools you can for any task you need to do;
• Don't pay for tools with extra features that you will never use;
• Don't be afraid to re-assess the usefulness of your tools on a regular basis and replace as needed.

Good leashes mean good walks. Photo by Matt Nelson on Unsplash

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You might be asking yourself "How does this topic relate to recovery from binge-eating?" What I found is that - for me - finding new ways of thinking about life and its challenges helped me to stop stress-eating, and has been a very big part of my ability to stop binge-eating.

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