Puzzled

I am not a stingy person, but I have learned to be prudent in respect of the expenditures I make. My circumstances are such that 'impulse purchases' are taboo. And yet... is price comparison, the search for the best buy, really the basis of my decision where to spend the next Euro and on what?

The question came to mind when on Saturday I considered buying a Levis denim work shirt. (Yes, they're stocking this classic once again after many years without it in their collection.) At EUR 69 not beyond my means and I very nearly bought it. Then I reflected... at home I really need a printer/scanner for working purposes, having done without for months and months. Months during which I have bought the odd shirt. But wait! The printer also costs EUR 69.

Consider shoes. I can easily weaken and decide to replace the Tod's I bought in 2005... around EUR 250. But for months and months I have been grumbling about the inadequacy of my 13 inch Sony analogue CRT television set. A new LG Flatron HD is on special offer this week for, yup, EUR 250.

So I think that for me it's not entirely a question of price. I suspect there's a learned inhibition about the acquisition of hardware, a recollection of times when buying a printer or a television set was a relatively huge investment, to be made only when absolutely essential.

How strange!