NOT WORTH EXTRA
The following is about how we THINK and how to change how we think. I will use money to illustrate.
I’m working through this saying… “Some things are worth the extra they cost” Ask 50 people and you’ll get 50 answers. They’re all wrong, but they are adults and they have equity retirement investments and their houses are paid off, so…
Actually, their houses are NOT paid off, and they have almost nothing saved for the future. So, that is exactly why they are all wrong. WHEN you are where you NEED to be financially, relationally, in your employment, or elsewhere … THEN you can put a value on extras that makes them “worth it.” Truth is that the best “tell” for when someone is doing well financially, according to one investment advisor, is not what they PAY for, but whether they have SAVED enough for an emergency.
“BUT …,” you may say, “that thing IS worth extra TO ME.”
The truth is that people often OVERVALUE habits that sabotage their health, marriages, employment opportunities, and finances. There is a battle between the “here and now” of the body’s limbic reward system and the “what could be” of the prefrontal cortex. The brain weighs options weirdly. It isn’t logic, its dopamine. Who is in control of your brain? Your logic, or the dopamine-enhanced limbic system? Certain things give rewards, small but definite, and not doing those things means going without that tiny reward. If you can overcome those urges you can give yourself larger rewards later. As a result you will experience satisfaction that only comes with major accomplishment.
We never threw a party when Johnny finished his homework, but when he graduated we did. Graduation was an accomplishment worth celebrating. It was worth the EXTRA.
Simple examples follow…including this wacky video
COFFEE. Instant coffee made at home can cost as little as 5 cents per serving. I’ve tried pod coffee, coffee shop coffee, McIck coffee, and gas station coffee. If I’m at a nice restaurant for a meal I often try their coffee ONCE. (Most restaurants are clearly incapable of concocting a decent cup of Joe. For example, many don’t understand that when I order coffee I am ordering a HOT drink not a slightly warm one…) Yet for all the coffees I’ve tried, none are worth EXTRA. Same caffeine, same flavor (except that some are wayyy too harsh to the palate). Why would I regularly pay 50 cents to make home-brewed pod coffee when my instant is nearly the same flavor at a tenth of the cost? That coffee isn’t 10x more flavorful (and isn’t even twice as good) or even easier to make. I wouldn’t pay $4 for coffee house coffee regularly either. It isn’t all that. On the other hand, I’ve tried chicory mix and I’m sure my instant is a ton better. As soon as your house is paid off you can afford any coffee you want; until then let your coffee remind you that you have other priorities.
ORGANIC. I will not willingly buy organic. I understand that those with medical conditions may require nothing less. I’m not talking to those folk. A potato is a potato. Even if it costs 3 times as much it is still a potato. Same calories, similar nutrients, same store and your body won’t ever know the difference. Paying 3x the price gets you very little. I also have the advantage of knowing things most have not been made aware of about fruits and vegetables. For instance, not a single crate of broccoli or bananas crosses the border without being gassed. They have to kill the snakes, spiders, toads, mice, and other critters which are hitching a ride. In the fields those products may have been grown “organically,” but the crate isn’t gassed in the field. The “organic” walnuts and peanuts you buy all have a micro-spray of IGR. That is a chemical which retards the growth and reproduction of moths. It doesn’t matter that they were “organic” in the fields or on the trees. Once they go for packaging the IGR is added, even to “organic” nuts. The packaging for certain items has pesticide on it to keep fruit flies from laying eggs. In the field those green beans were “organic” but that doesn’t apply to the packaging that delivers them to the store. You think you are getting chemical-free produce, but reality isn’t that clear-cut. So, why are you paying so much extra for the word “organic” when you still have a car loan to pay off?
HAIR. I refuse to pay tons of money for hair-care products. Aren’t they good? Sure, they make their manufacturers a ton of money. If I have money invested in that company I want them to do well. That doesn’t mean I will buy their products. I just know there are a raft of foolish people who will buy just because of the name on the label. Get a good no-name shampoo and conditioner. You aren’t a TV anchor, so it probably doesn’t really matter if a split end happens a few times a year. And if you don’t have an emergency fund you certainly can’t afford it.
DOOR CRASH FOOD. Business Insider published an essay by Samantha Chavarria where she admitted her family was spending more on food delivery than they were for their mortgage. When she realized what they were doing, she made a plan and reduced delivery spending by $2,100 a month. (Fact is the family could have eaten 16 oz steaks every day for less.) If you can afford restaurant food delivery you can afford to pay off your credit card balance. Make a sandwich with leftover chicken and use the money saved to pay off your high-rent credit card.
“Worth It” is a matter of priorities. If you don’t have the resources to pay for a Rolex then there’s nothing “worth it” about it. Live in the land of REAL for once. Take control of your own brain. It is hard to extinguish poor behaviors unless one sits down and thinks through both the positives and negatives of that behavior. It all comes down to the thought process. If you think you “deserve” a candy bar you will buy a candy bar. But when you challenge the “deserve” part of that (or the “worth it”) you may find that what you really “deserve” is a paid off credit card, or more flexibility in your budget at the end of the month. Once you challenge one thought it is easier to challenge others. Over mere months you can change who you are by thinking differently. Money is not the only place where this kind of challenge matters. It matters in your relationships and in your job, too.
It matters any time there is a tiny reward which stops you from doing the best thing.
Copyright 2025 Donald Whelpley
[PLEASE NOTE that Don is always open to discussing the thoughts and opinions he shares here and welcomes comments as shared in the comment section. He doesn’t use other social media platforms and won’t see whatever you’d like to share with him if you post it elsewhere.
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