Cost Per Use-Tuesday Tip

You know there is a rule of thumb on whether or not you can afford to buy the kewl thingy there in Ikea that you just have to have.

It is called cost-per-use. You figure out how many times you will use the item and divide that into the cost if the item to figure your cost for a year--as an example...

I had to have a fancy delux vacuum that all the young girls in the ward were talking about. So, it cost me (because I got the really fancy one) about $500. I vacuum about 150 times a year. If I have the vacuum one year, it costs me $3 each time I use it. If I keep it for 5 years, it costs me 66¢, now that makes it a bargain.

However, here is a good one, you want a new blouse, it costs $50. You may wear it 10 times in a year, less if you have lots of cloths. At $5 a pop, that is an expensive blouse when you could go to a discount store like Ross and get a perfectly good blouse for maybe $10 and have that cost go down to $1 per use.

If the item is not something you "use" rather something you will just enjoy such as a picture on the wall, you can say cost-per-enjoyment. Now, that's my favorite, 'cause I can really enjoy something----a lot.

And finally, the cost per use on boxes or bottles of consumable products is something you should pay attention to. It used to be that bigger was cheaper. A larger box of cereal cost less per ounce than a smaller box of cereal, but not anymore. One example I have seen is a popular brand of shampoo at a cost like this:

15.0 ounce bottle 90¢ cost 06¢ per ounce
22.5 ounce bottle $1.47 cost 06.5¢ per ounce

Watch out for that, most price labels have the cost per unit on them, do some comparison and save yourself some money. That may not seem like a lot of money, but when you realize it is 8.9% more for the larger bottle, you might want to give it some serious thought. How would you feel if the store charged you 8.9% more for everything you bought. Yikes.

Comments

Amberly said…
they do charge me 8% more.. it's called tax!! I like the cost-per-use idea... I've been holding out the fancy vacuum 'cause it seems like so much moola, but it would totally get used!
The Malone's said…
When things are put into that perspective, man I have a lot of useless junk lying around my home that is costing me way too much!
Bren's Life said…
Oh my Goodness! I have to agree with Malone's... I was just at IKEA today too. But I bought a runner rug? Since my husband hasn't replaced the torn out carpet all through out the hallway & it's yucky cement that you can see all the glue & stuff from when it was built....
I like your thinking though. Maybe I'll have to call you & say hey can you tell me how much this will cost me in the end!
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