##### My dad used to say this all the time: “I’m not a rich man, so I can only afford the best.”
It sounded backwards when I was a kid — like some kind of logic puzzle. But now? I get it completely. And I live by it.
I’m not rich. Far from it. But that’s exactly why I try to buy good stuff — the things that last, the tools that don’t let you down, the brands that have earned a reputation for quality. I use Apple gear not because it’s trendy, but because it works, it lasts, and it holds its value. Same goes for good audio kit, well-made clothes, or anything else I rely on every day.
The alternative? It’s the lie of the “bargain.”
Terry Pratchett explained this perfectly in Men at Arms, in what’s become known as the “Boots theory” of economic unfairness:
> “The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money.
> Take boots, for example...
> A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair, which were sort of OK for a season or two, cost about ten dollars.
> 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.”
Sound familiar?
Buy cheap, buy twice. Or worse — buy three times. And each time you’re spending more money, wasting more time, and generating more rubbish. It’s not just false economy. It’s exhausting.
So no, I don’t chase “deals.” I research, I save, and I buy good stuff. Once.
Because I’m not a rich man.
And I really can only afford the best.