Dear Riley,
Today I wanna talk about why it’s important to buy for the rule, and not the exception. This means to buy something that will cover 80% rather than 100% of what you’d use it for. When we try to find something that satisfies every possible scenario, it usually ends up being a compromise, or is very expensive.
For example, mom and I are replacing the kitchen table. The current table is 60″ inches, and seats 6 people fairly comfortably. Every so often, we try to squeeze 7 or 8 people in there. This works, but kind of sucks. We considered getting an extendable table, which can expand to seat 8 if needed. Extendable tables however, are usually not as sturdy, don’t look as nice, and are more expensive. We would have to make all of those trade-offs to satisfy the one day out of the month where we’d make use of the full length. We’re much better off just buying the most amazing 60″ table we can, and maximize the enjoyment we get out of it for 95% of the year. Who cares if it will suck for 5%.
It’s best to maximize the returns on the thing most important to you, and basically ignore the “nice to haves”. So often we get caught up when feature shopping, and go down the rabbit hole of research. This results in a distorted perception of needing every box checked.
Another trap to avoid is buying a feature that “you might need” in the future, but don’t need today. When we were shopping for your baby stroller, mom and I decided that we liked the Uppababy brand of strollers. They had two types, the Vista and the Cruz. With the Vista being their “flagship” model, that can expand to accommodate two kids. At the time, we knew we wanted to have a second baby, so the Vista was a strong option. The Cruz was cheaper because it was not expandable, but could be more expensive in the long run if we had another baby. We decided to go with the Cruz, because that’s what was needed at the time. Turns out this was a great decision. Not only did we save money, but the Cruz is much lighter, and easier to get in and out of the car. The real kicker however, is that you’re a giant toddler, and have pretty much outgrown the Cruz at 2 years old. This means that even if we had the Vista, by the time baby #2 came out, you wouldn’t fit into it anymore! So we would have paid more for the Vista, had a harder time lugging it around, and wouldn’t even get it’s true benefit of being able to carry 2 kids!
It’s all about buying for 80% of the use cases. Maximizing benefits on the most important features. And buying for what you need now.
Love,
Dad
6/4/17
Mom and I were re-organizing your toys today by categorizing them into “Keep, Donate, or Storage” piles. We asked for your feedback on every single toy, and were amazed that you quickly decided on which category each toy falls into. Not only that, but you only kept the toys you play with most often!