sometimes this is self-deluding. You perhaps didnt need those luxury furnishings, when a barebones one would've done the same job. It's an excuse that some people use to justify their splurge.
I’m in my late forties and have been battling a terrible back problem for the last 16 months. Sadly, it was caused by my own decision to stick to barebones instead of upgrading decades earlier. The 16 months have been extremely expensive, to a point that I would have had a 1200% ROI even if I had splurged.
I know that one person’s bad luck doesn’t cancel out good rules for financial management. And I agreed completely with you up until 16 months ago. But in retrospect, I would have made different choices.
I think the difference between “luxury” and not is a red herring here. The real wisdom is to spend enough to get really serviceable versions of the things you use everyday. That doesn’t mean “luxury”, per se. but it does mean if you e.g. spend 6+ a day in a chair at your home (or work) , make sure it’s a good fit for you.
Get a decent mattress and pillows. Replace your pot from college with the handle that falls off. Paint the room you hate the color of. The ROI on such things is huge.
This is way off topic, but ska is my oldest nickname. Hluska is my last name and it’s just a shortened version. It was even one of my usernames back in the day. Ska is such an enduring nickname that anyone who knows me well in person could logically conclude that I’m talking to myself now.
I agree with you (and clearly like your username), but writing to ska is quite amusing.
Thanks for commenting and I hope you have an excellent day! :)
Nice to meet another "ska". It's derived from my name also, and I've used it as a login and more for ages. Usually when people comment on it they assume I'm a big fan of the music style :)
I got an office chair that supposedly was $1000USD new.. it was many years used, but I really liked that chair. It had steel construction, swivel and almost no "rocker" tilt, wide base seat almost flat but with a seat cover that was just right.. it was square box'y basically .. shorter answer, do not use a cheap chair really.
Tried Herman Miller. To me it was very uncomfortable and I could feel the mesh and lining. Went for another type of chair that is marketed as ergonomic. It is polyster and has all the support you need, especially for tall people. It's not very soft but extremely good for your back.
Especially now, there's warehouses full of them. If you're comfortable bargaining you can even get them cheaper since demand isn't that high. Delivery might be a reach, but they'll often do it for $20-$40 if they have a delivery near you.
Very much worth it. Just be mindful of your wiring setup, I have a mercifully only slightly wonky 4090 connector from having too much fun with my adjustable desk when I got it.
I don’t know extent of your injuries, but weight exercises fixed back pain for me. You can’t seat in the good posture if there are no muscles to hold it.
This was also my initial reaction: don't buy an expensive chair; buy a squat rack, barbell, and plates. ROI is extremely high. Squats and deadlifts will do much more for your posture and long term back health than sitting in a different chair and still never using your back.
My wife used to wear a wrist brace for years until she started benching. Now she never gets pain. Lifting is also one of the safest sports there is. Highly recommend it for health, especially among the nerdy crowd who may not be inclined to try it; building muscle doesn't reduce nerd cred.
I think the line between "luxury" and "proper" is the debatable point.
And yes, no doubt some people use that as an excuse to over spend. But that doesn't mean people don't take it to the extreme in the other direction as well.
It really does come down to the numbers. If I can spend $X to take in $5x over the month, you should do that.
> If I can spend $X to take in $5x over the month, you should do that.
indeed, but the point was that the $5x is not known in advance, and in fact, might even be an emphemeral figure.
Buying the right chair and desk for your height is not a luxury, but buying something expensive, when a cheaper version, which would've done the same job, is available, is to me the definition of luxury.
To be fair, whether or not the cheaper version would do the same job is also not known in advance. There's also the fuzzy edges of what it means to "do the same job". All chairs ostensibly "do the same job" of providing you somewhere to sit. But there's variance there.
Just like all turing complete programming languages do "the same job" at some level. But we'd all be more productive in your choice of high level language over any processor-specific assembler.
Then it becomes a matter of asking when does it transition between appropriate and luxury. Which grain of sand makes the pile?
I'd say self-deluding that you're being financially "smart" by ruining your body hunched over a folding chair and $20 ikea table for 12 hours a day is a far more common problem, especially on HN.
Let's hope your customers don't have that same "anything but the cheapest option is luxury" mindset.
sometimes this is self-deluding. You perhaps didnt need those luxury furnishings, when a barebones one would've done the same job. It's an excuse that some people use to justify their splurge.