As a business owner, I see the world through the lens of making money. Most businesses are not going out of their way to help customers. Sometimes they do, usually when they have too much inventory or can’t move a product. Then you’ll get a “deal.”

Over time, I’ve realized there are certain things where trying to save money just makes life worse. Here are a few examples.

Cereal

I get irrationally annoyed when Wegmans puts their generic Frosted Flakes at eye level. I don’t want the knockoff version. I want the real thing, the cereal engineered by scientists at Kellogg’s to dissolve my tooth enamel with cane sugar.

How exactly is Wegmans supposed to outperform a company founded in 1906? Did they spend decades perfecting the formula with Tony the Tiger in a cereal laboratory? I doubt it.

Ironically, I’ve personally switched from Honey Nut Cheerios to Special K for no real reason other than needing a change. But the point still stands: cereal is not where I’m looking to save 80 cents.

Cheap Flights

My mom asked what I thought about her $51 flight to Grand Rapids. I told her I wouldn’t get on a $51 flight to Harrisburg.

Airplanes are not an item where I’m hunting for discounts.

Now, I’m also not the guy paying $2,000 for first class. I’m sitting in economy like everybody else. But there’s something unsettling about your flight costing less than an Uber ride to the airport.

I don’t want to hear:

“Well, we didn’t have time to investigate the check engine light on this plane, but we’ll get it next time.”

No thanks.

Shoes

These shoes I’m wearing are probably my favorite pair I’ve ever owned. I bought them exactly one year ago for $225, and I don’t regret a cent.

They work with jeans, slacks, and shorts. After they finally broke in, I even wore them while traveling, which means hours of walking without wanting to amputate my feet afterward.

Bad shoes ruin your day. The worst ones always destroy your heels. Bring a band aid in that toiletry bag is a pro travel tip.

Cheap shoes usually look bad, feel bad, and age badly. That said, expensive shoes aren’t automatically good either. I’ve bought pricey pairs that tortured my feet.

There’s no secret formula here. You need quality, but you also need a little luck.

Workstations

Who wants to spend their life using a slow computer?

Every second of frustration caused by outdated technology is unnecessary. If you spend hours every day on a device, it should actually work well.

My personal estimate is that technology starts going downhill after about 18 months. Same goes for phones. Stop living with cracked screens and cameras from 2019.

Good devices are worth the upgrade because they remove friction from your day. People underestimate how much mental energy gets wasted waiting on old hardware.

Subscriptions

I’ll say it out loud: if you can afford ad-free subscriptions and you still choose ads, you’re making your life worse on purpose.

I always think about that Black Mirror episode where people ride stationary bikes for credits and then spend the credits just to skip advertisements. That’s basically real life now.

Ads are an obstruction to peace.

If a good company offers a paid version that removes the garbage, it’s usually worth paying for. Just give them the money and reclaim your sanity.