The true cost of something is not what it costs to buy, but what it costs to own it over its lifetime

 I've been listening to this podcast by the guy who wrote the book The Obstacle is the Way, it's called The Daily Stoic, and everyday he gives a little nugget of stoic life philosophy to live by. I was particularly interested in today's wisdom, which was, don't consider the price of something to be what the seller is charging, consider it to be what it costs you to own. You might be tempted by cheap inexpensive items and ideas because they're 'on sale', but consider what the price you might pay for the ownership of it in the longer term. That makes so much sense. In the strictly materialistic sense quite directly, and also in the more spiritual sense: if something excites you at the start but has been taking toll on your happiness and well-being, it's total cost of ownership over a lifetime has gone up, and it may not be worth keeping around. Don't fall for the 'sunk cost' fallacy, consider your life as a limited resource, and unhappiness and stress as an ongoing payment of your life force. Would you rather abandon something that makes you feel terrible and hold on to what you have, or consider how much you've paid for it and keep on making those hefty payments because you're all-in now?