There's a couple techniques for determining the intrinsic value of something to you:
* Look at the direct labor cost: My last W-2 job was something like $45/hour after taxes. I'd probably work an extra hour to get a coffee maker that'll last about 3 years. This doesn't really help price anything below $1000 or so, since the prices tend to meld together. But I definitely want to quit work 2 weeks earlier, so the entire bottom floor of my house is devoid of furniture(which might sum to $3000).
* Look at opportunity cost: I can live on about $800/month with bills/housing/etc. So $40 is 1.5 days of runway on savings. Would I rather have an extra 1.5 days of time to launch my next project, or would I rather have a coffee maker? It's possible the coffee maker would pay off.
* Look at ROI: Someone bought me a Keurig as a gift, and the K-cups that it uses are ridiculously expensive(something like $1/cup). Buying a coffee maker that uses bulk grounds is cheaper. You can make a spreadsheet comparing the 'status quo', 'buy new coffee maker', and 'attempt to find or make cheaper K-cups' options.
* Look at risk mitigation: Suppose I lose money hiring an unreliable freelancer. Maybe I've lost $1000, and I'm considering buying a Dale Carnegie book for $20. I think the techniques in that book can turn at least 1 in 50 freelancers around, so it pays for itself in expected value on the very next freelancer I hire. Or maybe my site went down the other week and I lost $15000 and I'm considering spending $500 in dev time to go bug-hunting in that area: It pays for itself if I estimate at least 3% probability of finding another bug of similar magnitude.
Similarly, I wanted a 3rd new monitor to expand on my 8-year old dual-monitors. I estimated its value at $500, and ended up buying whatever was the best quality monitor I could get for $500. I think it was listed as half-off on Newegg.
It's worth paying someone $20 every month or so to clean the grass around my sidewalk, if you look at what the city would fine you if you don't(risk mitigation) and looking at wage costs.
A quart of ice cream is probably worth $20 to me, since I rarely eat it except on somewhat special occasions. I usually pay $4.
Actually, I'm having trouble thinking of a single thing that I can't determine an intrinsic value for that's worth buying, and which I would need to defer to the market to decide on a price.
* Look at the direct labor cost: My last W-2 job was something like $45/hour after taxes. I'd probably work an extra hour to get a coffee maker that'll last about 3 years. This doesn't really help price anything below $1000 or so, since the prices tend to meld together. But I definitely want to quit work 2 weeks earlier, so the entire bottom floor of my house is devoid of furniture(which might sum to $3000).
* Look at opportunity cost: I can live on about $800/month with bills/housing/etc. So $40 is 1.5 days of runway on savings. Would I rather have an extra 1.5 days of time to launch my next project, or would I rather have a coffee maker? It's possible the coffee maker would pay off.
* Look at ROI: Someone bought me a Keurig as a gift, and the K-cups that it uses are ridiculously expensive(something like $1/cup). Buying a coffee maker that uses bulk grounds is cheaper. You can make a spreadsheet comparing the 'status quo', 'buy new coffee maker', and 'attempt to find or make cheaper K-cups' options.
* Look at risk mitigation: Suppose I lose money hiring an unreliable freelancer. Maybe I've lost $1000, and I'm considering buying a Dale Carnegie book for $20. I think the techniques in that book can turn at least 1 in 50 freelancers around, so it pays for itself in expected value on the very next freelancer I hire. Or maybe my site went down the other week and I lost $15000 and I'm considering spending $500 in dev time to go bug-hunting in that area: It pays for itself if I estimate at least 3% probability of finding another bug of similar magnitude.
Similarly, I wanted a 3rd new monitor to expand on my 8-year old dual-monitors. I estimated its value at $500, and ended up buying whatever was the best quality monitor I could get for $500. I think it was listed as half-off on Newegg.
It's worth paying someone $20 every month or so to clean the grass around my sidewalk, if you look at what the city would fine you if you don't(risk mitigation) and looking at wage costs.
A quart of ice cream is probably worth $20 to me, since I rarely eat it except on somewhat special occasions. I usually pay $4.
Actually, I'm having trouble thinking of a single thing that I can't determine an intrinsic value for that's worth buying, and which I would need to defer to the market to decide on a price.