Have you ever met someone who always seems to think they need the newest and best of everything? I mean, they won’t take something that would perfectly meet their need unless it is also the top of the line…even if their budget won’t support the top of the line? Perhaps you are someone like that. Have you ever wondered why?
Now, don’t get me wrong, I like nice things. I just don’t believe that nice things – or even the best things – equal the most expensive things. Marketers work very hard to convince us that the higher price means better, but price does not equal the value the consumer receives. Marketers have trained most people to think that the higher the price the more identity-benefit in owning it. And, most people believe this without even thinking about it.
But where does the idea come from that we need the top of the line? Does a material possession that will ultimately decay, break, or become obsolete really impact our self-worth? Does our wanting the top of the line come from a true need or are we compensating for something?
I was recently reminded of this issue while helping a someone make a significant decision. Despite not having the financial resources or the need, this person’s stance was ‘the top of the line or nothing,’ even when there was more than a $10,000 difference between the options and a lower option would meet her need every bit as much as the top of the line without burying her in debt.
It made me think of my wedding day. It was a glorious day, perfect weather for the early spring date, and everything went according to plan. It was perfect, right down to the last slice of cake and glorious rose petal. When my husband and I were planning our wedding, we recognized that it was an incredibly important day, but it was just one day. We were both working professionals and while we didn’t have a lot in savings, we knew we could reasonably afford whatever we wanted the day to be. We talked about what was most important and where we thought it was best to spend a little more and where we could save a little money. We discovered areas where spending more to get the higher priced item wouldn’t actually add any more value to the day or our memory of it, so we decided to scale the spending back on those items…same bang (benefit) for less bucks. I will say that this is completely subjective, and our list would not necessarily be your list, but I’m sure we each have elements of our special day that were more meaningful than others.
For example, we splurged on flowers. I love roses and wanted nothing but red and white roses. I think our flowers were the most spectacular flowers I have ever seen (acknowledging that I may be biased).
We also have a love of music. My husband is especially fond of the violin and classical music. I love old churches and we found the perfect old beautiful chapel with a massive pipe organ. So we splurged on musicians. We hired an organist who knew how to work magic on those old pipes. We also hired two violinists, a cellist and a professional trumpet player. It was spectacular! Over a decade later I still have people tell me that the music sends chills down their spine when they think of our wedding. My intro was grand and glorious with the trumpet announcing my arrival, and then the others joining in. Ya’ll, the recessional was to Trumpet Voluntary…TRUMPET VOLUNTARY!!!
While we decided that the flowers and the music were our most important items, we also decided that the cake was not so important to us. Oh sure, we wanted to feed delicious cake to our guests, we just didn’t want to feed $900 cake to our guests. Despite my mother’s protest, I canceled the appointment with the trendy bakery and took a picture to my local supermarket bakery counter. I wanted classic, elegant, and delicious, but I was convinced I could do it for a reasonable price. In the end, I spent $97 for three sheet cakes and three 9″ two-tier cakes with a classic scroll design to decorate with red roses and place on the cake table. DONE! And, all night people commented that the cake was so delicious.
We made trade offs, taking a “lower model” in some areas and going “top of the line” in other areas, to suit our specific dreams for the day. We prioritized our spending to ensure we focused on that which was really important, and did not mortgage our future with wedding debt to cover added expenses that delivered no added value for us.
So, the next time you are looking for the top of the line, ask yourself these questions to determine if the investment, and the trade off, is really worth it:
- What is the need or problem I am trying to solve with this purchase?
- What features does the top of the line have that the other models don’t? Do I need those features?
- What model most closely matches the actual need/use I have for this item? Does the need truly merit the most expensive item?
- Will a more expensive model really give me the added value?
- What is the opportunity cost of buying the more expensive item? In other words, what am I giving up by choosing the more expensive item and is the trade-off worth it? (Really think about this, you may be surprised at the tangible and intangible costs…more time at work; loss of peace due to more debt; additional interest payments beyond the base price; additional time and expense in maintenance and upkeep; fear of loss or damage; unnecessarily decreasing your savings and therefore your financial safety net; inability to purchase something else needed more?)
- Would selecting a different model be a challenge to your identity somehow? If so, ask yourself why?
In case you haven’t heard this before, I will tell you now. You are more than your material possessions. You are more valuable than all the riches Elon Musk could ever accumulate. You don’t need the top of the line to be special. You are already special to the One who made you!
You are already ENOUGH!
