My oldest son's soccer games are always one of the highlights of my week, but this past weekend, I found myself tending to his bloody nose instead of enjoying the game. That meant I didn't see the ball when it came hurtling toward my head. Fortunately, it didn't hit my son. Unfortunately, it pounded right into my sunglasses on top of my head, giving me a nasty bump and breaking my sunglasses.
I've been having trouble finding a replacement pair I like, and that got me thinking. I bought the sunglasses at least three years ago at Macys for less than $25. While I'm sad that they're broken, I'm not devastated. If they had been $100 or $200 sunglasses, I would have been really upset.
I realized the same applies to our cars. We buy relatively inexpensive cars, and don't obsess over every dent and scratch. I'm sure we'd feel differently if the car cost $100,000 instead of $25,000.
There are things worth spending money on, certainly. And which things are worth spending money on varies by individual. I wouldn't judge someone who spent $200 on sunglasses and loves them (well, as long as he or she could afford them - I would frown on the purchase if the money isn't there!). I think the lesson here is simply that, whenever possible, it's best not to spend a lot of money on something that's likely to need replacing anyway.
I definitely don't want to spend more than $25 on new sunglasses, since who knows when/if I'll get nailed by another soccer ball. I went to Macys and discovered that they had replaced their sunglasses section with a Sunglass Hut kiosk. Ugh. I'm hoping that was just the store I happened to be at, so I'll head to a different store tomorrow with the $10 off $25+ purchase coupon.
2 comments:
I hear what you're saying about replacement costs, but I have to admit that the two pairs of Serengeti Drivers I purchased were a good investment in that I took better care of them than my cheap sunglasses. One pair lasted over 10 years and I still have the other pair (also more than 10 years old). Of course, there isn't anything you can do about accidental breakage. And I just checked the prices of Serengeti sunglasses...oh my gosh, I didn't pay anywhere near those prices for mine!
I hear what *you're* saying - in fact, I think I would consider more expensive sunglasses if I loved them and I didn't have young kids. My lifestyle right now just makes it so much more likely that they'll get broken before I"m ready to buy a new pair that it just isn't worth the risk!
Post a Comment