Get yer Utils

The word utils is bandied about quite often here at Cheapions HQ.  Short for "utilities," wiki calls utility a "measure of relative satisfaction."  For example, I get a lot more utils out of 4 oz of dried apricots than I do from 4 oz of peanuts due to my great love of dried apricots and relative indifference towards peanuts, unless they are honey roasted or something magic like that.  We use utils when considering many decisions, for example, whether to attend an event.

Basically, it is useful to have an internal gauge of value instead of relying on external factors like prices or peer pressure.  What is this item or experience worth to me right now?  Buying General Tso's chicken for dinner when you are 3 blocks from your house is a different choice than buying it when you've been in the Minneapolis airport for 6 hours and you're very hungry and you have already licked the salt out of your little bag of peanuts which were not even honey roasted.  I read this quote that someone said somewhere: "Thrift becomes stinginess when it prevents you from having something you want and can easily afford."  Mmm.  I get so many utils from dried apricots that it becomes irrational to not buy them because they're a little expensive.
 

Some rights reserved by Itinerant Tightwad

Recognizing your priorities is a really important step in figuring out how to allocate your money.  People think of budgeting and saving as a form of dieting in which you have to deprive yourself of things you like.  But really, budgeting and/or saving is just a way of focusing your resources so you can get more of the things or experiences you like.  And then, there's the wonderful consideration of opportunity cost.  If I don't buy this falafel, what else could I do with these $7?  I could make an entire pizza or get 3 chocolate bars or rent a pair of snowshoes.  If I don't go to see Iron Man 2 tonight, what else could I do during that time?  You get the point.

Or do you?  If you have a full time job, consider the opportunity cost of that employment.  What do you give up in order to perform that job?  Timewise, perhaps you spend 40 hours a week at the office and maybe 5 hours a week commuting.  What costs do you accrue in order to be at work and adhere to the dress code?  Gas money, subway passes, wardrobe, lunches eaten out, etc.  What are you getting out of the arrangement?  Yes, money, but what else?  All I'm saying is, your biggest choice in your whole life and your biggest choice every day is what to do with your time.  Spend your time how you want to.