Economics, shoe shopping and me...
It might be a good idea to mention, for the purpose of a setup, that I was an economics major in college. I got my bachelors degree in economics with a concentration in finance. The difference between finance and economics at my college was whether you took International Banking and Corporate Finance or Intermediate Macro and International Trade. I took three of the four of them.
Sometimes I like to go shopping. Most of the time I hate it. But sometimes I turn into my sister and I obsess about something until an opportunity presents itself where the object of my obsession becomes a fiscally prudent decision.
That happened tonight.
I went and had dinner at this fun little Lebanese falafel joint that is kind of near my house that a friend of mine owns. It is a good place the people that work there have always been good to me and I enjoy the company as much as I enjoy the food. It needs to be said because I don't go to a ton of places that deliver the total package for me, but this one does.
So after dinner, the wife and I walk up the street, we had to buy a sympathy card for a family member and we passed by this sports store. Outside they had an assortment of rain jackets, you know the ones that are made from flimsy tent material, that were on sale for thirty dollars. Hell of a bargain. So I take one of the jackets, try it on and... PRESTO! It fits like shit. I hated it, didn't like the color, or the fit or the way the zipper felt, nothing, not one redeeming quality to this jacket and even at thirty dollars I was bored to tears with it and couldn't have cared less.
So know you are probably asking yourself, what does that have to do with fiscal prudence or economics and justification, you saw the jacket, it was a bargain by all conventional valuation methods and you hated it so you didn't buy it? Why are stringing us along? Or maybe you are thinking, "huh... I guess I forget, through all his rambling what I am reading about, I'm thirsty, I want some chocolate milk."
But as I was taking the coat off, something caught my better half's eye and she says, "Oh. Great, bandanas, I need some for work." I am now thinking, "this is great, while she is looking at the bandanas, I will saunter over to the wall where they have the shoes and see if they have anything that is interesting looking."
One hundred and ten dollars later I am the proud owner of two pairs of shoes. Here is how it all went down. As Joe Friday would say, just the facts.
Fact: I walk to work, and have been doing so in either a combination of running shoes and a Dr. Marten's boot or just a ruddy pair of Dr. Marten's black classics.
Fact: My round trip to work is about 2 miles, possibly a little under, but I take a route that is not the most direct so that I can get coffee in the morning.
Fact: My feet have been hurting horrifically after work lately.
Fact: I typically wear chinos or a chino style pant to work. On Friday's I wear jeans.
Fact: I "needed" a new pair of shoes that would be comfortable, fashionable and reliable (I might be editorializing a little bit).
Here are the Shoes:
The instigator:
The accomplice:
I am standing there, at this sports store, looking at the shoe wall and being pissed off because Merrill (a company whose shoes I love dearly) has jacked up the price on all of their shoes. A hiking moccasin that used to cost 45-55 dollars is now 85-95 dollars. I am not fuming, but I am also not willing to spend the money on the shoes. (I know what you are thinking but wait for it, it gets better). So I ask the shit of a store employee if they have the shoe in a 13, he grimaces, says he will see if they have one and then disappears. Now at this point I am convinced that regardless of the fit of the shoe, I am not going to buy it. In fact, I am going to try the shoe on and try to find something wrong with it. Something that will make me not want to buy it. This little plans blows up in my face, they have the shoe, I try it on, and I am in love with them all over again. Now at this point, the kid is talking about the corporation Merrell and their beginnings... in England.
At this point I stop because this is me being me. The kid was a kind-hearted dipshit and if you are reading this and you know me, you are probably saying, "I bet that he tore that kid up and down." And, you know, I wanted to; but I didn't. I sat there walked around, content in my knowledge that Merrell was a thoroughly American company, founded somewhere out west - I had Utah in my head and on further examination I was right - and that this kid didn't know boogie monster from a gila monster. (Normally I try to not push the links but they are too cute not too.)
Sorry to stray so far off the path here. So as I am trying the shoes on, and doing my slow burn at the clerks stupidity I notice that they have a special going on, buy one get one for 25 dollars. So now the old econ brain gets going. I am willing to spend 50 bucks on these shoes, and if I buy another pair and spend 100 bucks on two pairs of shoes, my per unit cost comes down in line with a price I am comfortable paying. And I get a second pair of shoes to kick around in. Brilliant! So I went over the numbers in my head again. 75+25 divided by 2, yep unit cost of 50 bucks per shoe. I am sold. Sign me up. Can I wear them out? So lets recap, I am unwilling to spend 75 bucks. The solution: SPEND 100.
Jeebus Christ.
Bad news on the iPod front, Day 3 and it is crapping out again.
Sometimes I like to go shopping. Most of the time I hate it. But sometimes I turn into my sister and I obsess about something until an opportunity presents itself where the object of my obsession becomes a fiscally prudent decision.
That happened tonight.
I went and had dinner at this fun little Lebanese falafel joint that is kind of near my house that a friend of mine owns. It is a good place the people that work there have always been good to me and I enjoy the company as much as I enjoy the food. It needs to be said because I don't go to a ton of places that deliver the total package for me, but this one does.
So after dinner, the wife and I walk up the street, we had to buy a sympathy card for a family member and we passed by this sports store. Outside they had an assortment of rain jackets, you know the ones that are made from flimsy tent material, that were on sale for thirty dollars. Hell of a bargain. So I take one of the jackets, try it on and... PRESTO! It fits like shit. I hated it, didn't like the color, or the fit or the way the zipper felt, nothing, not one redeeming quality to this jacket and even at thirty dollars I was bored to tears with it and couldn't have cared less.
So know you are probably asking yourself, what does that have to do with fiscal prudence or economics and justification, you saw the jacket, it was a bargain by all conventional valuation methods and you hated it so you didn't buy it? Why are stringing us along? Or maybe you are thinking, "huh... I guess I forget, through all his rambling what I am reading about, I'm thirsty, I want some chocolate milk."
But as I was taking the coat off, something caught my better half's eye and she says, "Oh. Great, bandanas, I need some for work." I am now thinking, "this is great, while she is looking at the bandanas, I will saunter over to the wall where they have the shoes and see if they have anything that is interesting looking."
One hundred and ten dollars later I am the proud owner of two pairs of shoes. Here is how it all went down. As Joe Friday would say, just the facts.
Fact: I walk to work, and have been doing so in either a combination of running shoes and a Dr. Marten's boot or just a ruddy pair of Dr. Marten's black classics.
Fact: My round trip to work is about 2 miles, possibly a little under, but I take a route that is not the most direct so that I can get coffee in the morning.
Fact: My feet have been hurting horrifically after work lately.
Fact: I typically wear chinos or a chino style pant to work. On Friday's I wear jeans.
Fact: I "needed" a new pair of shoes that would be comfortable, fashionable and reliable (I might be editorializing a little bit).
Here are the Shoes:
The instigator:
The accomplice:
I am standing there, at this sports store, looking at the shoe wall and being pissed off because Merrill (a company whose shoes I love dearly) has jacked up the price on all of their shoes. A hiking moccasin that used to cost 45-55 dollars is now 85-95 dollars. I am not fuming, but I am also not willing to spend the money on the shoes. (I know what you are thinking but wait for it, it gets better). So I ask the shit of a store employee if they have the shoe in a 13, he grimaces, says he will see if they have one and then disappears. Now at this point I am convinced that regardless of the fit of the shoe, I am not going to buy it. In fact, I am going to try the shoe on and try to find something wrong with it. Something that will make me not want to buy it. This little plans blows up in my face, they have the shoe, I try it on, and I am in love with them all over again. Now at this point, the kid is talking about the corporation Merrell and their beginnings... in England.
At this point I stop because this is me being me. The kid was a kind-hearted dipshit and if you are reading this and you know me, you are probably saying, "I bet that he tore that kid up and down." And, you know, I wanted to; but I didn't. I sat there walked around, content in my knowledge that Merrell was a thoroughly American company, founded somewhere out west - I had Utah in my head and on further examination I was right - and that this kid didn't know boogie monster from a gila monster. (Normally I try to not push the links but they are too cute not too.)
Sorry to stray so far off the path here. So as I am trying the shoes on, and doing my slow burn at the clerks stupidity I notice that they have a special going on, buy one get one for 25 dollars. So now the old econ brain gets going. I am willing to spend 50 bucks on these shoes, and if I buy another pair and spend 100 bucks on two pairs of shoes, my per unit cost comes down in line with a price I am comfortable paying. And I get a second pair of shoes to kick around in. Brilliant! So I went over the numbers in my head again. 75+25 divided by 2, yep unit cost of 50 bucks per shoe. I am sold. Sign me up. Can I wear them out? So lets recap, I am unwilling to spend 75 bucks. The solution: SPEND 100.
Jeebus Christ.
Bad news on the iPod front, Day 3 and it is crapping out again.
posted by V. at 11:11 PM
4 Comments:
This is like a love story. The story of two pairs of shoes and the man who loved them.
I know you 5 will be very happy together.
Victor, I can relate. My economics of shopping goes like this. Anything that costs under $20 costs practically nothing. (If this number seems to high for you fill in a lower one, like .99 you cheap ass.) Therefore, five things that cost under $20 = 5 * nothing = nothing! Unfortunately, that nothing tends to add up to closer to $100. I spent $80 last week on 2 skirts, a jacket, and a top that cost nothing.
Also, did you really buy the second pair of shoes? They are very Metro. Snap!
The best part of the second pair of shoes is that they match my Rosemary, Juniper exfoliating body scrub.
See, that's why I'm content in my liberal arts-ness. I know that I can't even figure out such equations, so I just throw my hands up and say "Wow, those are cool, I think I'll get them!" Ahh, blissful mathematic ignorance.
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