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submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by sunshine@slrpnk.net to c/solarpunk@slrpnk.net

Based on the excerpt from this Discworld book, what other items do you use regularly that would fit in this theory? (Boots and shoes are fair game!)

Text transcript for people who want it:

[The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money.

Take boots, for example. He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. Those were the kind of boots Vimes always bought, and wore until the soles were so thin that he could tell where he was in Ankh-Morpork on a foggy night by the feel of the cobbles.

But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his feet dry in ten years' time, while the poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet.

This was Captain Samuel Vimes 'Boots' theory of socioeconomic unfairness.]

Bonus: suggest ways you can repair/restore your item/other people's items.

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[-] theacharnian@lemmy.ca 5 points 1 year ago

My problem is I don't know what products are expensive because they are good, and what products are a scam. No idea how to even search to find out either.

[-] GBU_28@lemm.ee 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Oh easy, I just check for a thread on reddit where two guys are at each other's throats arguing the merits of different crescent wrenches

...oh, wait.

[-] j_roby@slrpnk.net 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

This whole thread reminded me of this old viral tweet

[-] tobor@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 year ago

This and Chocolate Rain, I guess that's two times he's made an impression on my life now

[-] winterayars@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 year ago

I've been paying and paying and paying for that damn root canal.

That one dental problem has cost me way more money than i made at that job in total.

[-] Quill7513@slrpnk.net 2 points 1 year ago

Boots, shoes, clothes, technology, cars, houses, furniture.

Everything.

[-] TeaHands@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

I see Sir PTerry, I upvote.

And hey, just sliding this totally smoothly into the conversation, did you all know we have !discworld@lemmy.ml (Lemmy / Kbin)

*sidles out awkwardly*

[-] HexesofVexes@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

Renting -

Buying a house is like having a bank account you can't access until you want to move. Renting a house is just paying into someone else's bank, and you end up unable to save for your own.

[-] 2Blave@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 year ago

The rich don't get rich by saving more or spending less: though it is an advantage when they choose to use it.

The rich get rich by exploiting the labor (or income from labor) of those less fortunate than them.

[-] cerement@slrpnk.net 1 points 1 year ago

@H3L1X reminds me of one rule from woodworkers/DIYers – buy a cheap set of tools, when one of the tools breaks, replace that one tool with a more expensive one (upgrading based on use)

[-] H3L1X@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 year ago

That is true, I do quite like that rule.

[-] cyanarchy@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

This works for all sorts of things, especially automotive tools, but there's one exception that I live by.

Don't cheap out on the things that come between you and the ground.

Your shoes, your socks, your tires, your bed, the chair you spend twelve hours a day in. Those are worth some investment. It pays dividends.

[-] Fluid@aussie.zone 1 points 1 year ago

Problem now is “luxury” brands, which is the same shit quality at a huge markup. Quality is often not even a consideration for producers these days.

[-] dub@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago
[-] Sheltac@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

It really is. I have a few friends who are not doing very well, and it amazes me the shit they have to pay for.

this post was submitted on 05 Jul 2023
32 points (97.1% liked)

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