Tradeoffs

Abstract

The article contemplates on making true tradeoffs when purchasing items. The author argues that it is easy to consider tradeoffs between two similar products, realizing that the purchase of one precludes buying the other, but people tend to forget that money can be spent on many other items besides the ones they are considering at the moment. Making matters worse, the number of alternatives is so large that people struggle to consider them all, which leads people to sometimes make decisions that are at odds with their own values. Instead of forcing ourselves to think through every such tradeoff, the author recommends setting aside a budget for “unnecessary things that make you happy,” so that we can make tradeoffs in advance, rather than in the moment. – AI-generated abstract.