My husband has this somewhat amusing, somewhat frightening addiction to finding a "good deal." The problem is, he finds "good deals" on things we just don't need. Steve looks at the price of something to determine whether or not it is a good deal. I have been encouraging him to look at the big picture instead. Here are the top things I consider when determining whether or not something is a good deal:
- Is it useful?
- Will it last?
- Do I have anything like it already?
- How much does it cost?
The great thing about these four simple questions is how versitile they are. You can ask yourself these when purchasing a new item (or when throwing one away) and you can ask yourself these when deciding whether or not to hire someone (just switch the it to he/she).
While my husband would list "How much does it cost?" as the number one question, I consider it last. I have found that cost really has very little to do with whether or not something is a good deal. Sometimes an item or a person's value far exceeds the dollar value and sometimes, you get what you pay for, so its not always a bad idea to pay more.
