The Sam Vimes “Boots” theory of socioeconomic unfairness, often called simply the boots theory, is an economic theory that people in poverty have to buy cheap and subpar products that need to be replaced repeatedly, proving more expensive in the long run than more expensive items.
This is great stuff but I want to warn folks about expensive luxury goods vs expensive durable goods.
Some things are expensive because they are luxurious or have lots of features but they still wear out fast. These days fewer and fewer things are expensive because they endure lots of use.
I learned the hard way with boxer shorts. I found the perfect boxer shorts after years of searching. Silky and light but warm in winter yet somehow no swamp ass in summer. Amazing combo of merino wool & some synthetic fabric.
The problem was they were $35 a pair on clearance… $75 regular. But I bought 10 pairs anyway. Well, the thing is, I didn’t realize they were no more durable than a typical pair of cotton boxers. Maybe less so. A year later, I had to replace them all.
That’s when I realized that it was a rich person’s only product. To them, a $1000 annual boxer short expense is nothing. But I can’t live that way. It hurt to give up wearing them.
You went through 10 brand new pairs of underwear in a year? And spent 350$ on underwear at one time?
I may have dragged it out to 2 years, but yes.
As for $400 in one go, yes. It was new underwear time. The expense was bigger than normal so I didn’t spend money in other areas to make up for it.
You and I are living very different lives.