The Sweet Spot: More Bang for Your Buck
Value Defined
Value is relative and context-based. We measure a product's value by examining what it promises to do, how well it does it (versus it's own promises and those of it's competitors) and how much it costs. This is a concept every New Yorker, semi-professional shoppers all, understands in the bone.
You're in the sweet spot when you get the most value (features, speed, stability, etc.) for the least amount of money—also called getting the most bang for your buck.
This is similar to, but not exactly like a bargain; a bargain is when you buy an item of known value for less money, as in a sale. The sweet spot is smart shopping-understanding the actual value of the things you buy.
When is a Bargain Not a Bargain?
A 50¢ USD screwdriver is a bargain—until the third time you use it and it breaks. A screwdriver costing $8.95 USD is less of a bargain, but what you get for your money is a warranty that if it does break, it will be replaced—for free. That's actual value.
There is a huge difference between buying cheap and buying smart. In our experience, buying smart saves more money and delivers more bang for the buck.
At NextTech Magazine, when we review products and services this is how we think about value—we look at it contextually: How well it works versus how much it costs. If it does cost a little more, are you saving money elsewhere-as in time spent or work accomplished?
There are many hardware and software items that perform essentially one or two tasks—CD-RWs, hard drives and floppy disks, for example—that are both value-laden and quite inexpensive. We're always looking for items like these because we love to save money, too.
Is it worth a little more money to get what you really need?
Sometimes.
Measuring Actual Value
Often, spending a few extra dollars now can save you a lot of dollars in the future, whether in terms of stability, as in a Windows XP upgrade (no more time lost to crashes and good-bye, BSODs), or in terms of installing upgrades to lengthen the life of your system, rather than replacing the entire machine.
One method of measuring a computer's value is by dividing its cost by the number of days you've owned it-your actual cost of computing per day.
The longer you own your computer—and as long as it does what you need it to do, why get rid of it—its actual cost per day falls, another way of giving you more bang for your buck.
We're cheapskates. We never spend more money than we have to; we take the same approach with your money. It all comes down to time and money—it always does—and anything that can save either one is a good value by definition.
Updated: November 18, 2005