This topic is “fertile” and needs a more memorable title.

The simple decision to buy something is a serious decision comparable to having (or adopting) a child, or starting a book… You not only have to live with that thing you bought, it also needs care and feeding. I feel the key factor is “liquidation” cost. Examples:

• A child is not sellable. Full stop.
• A book project ….if stopped half way, is a wasted effort
• A house ..if you don’t live there and can’t rent or sell, will go to ruin without repair
• some long-term derivative contract are very hard to unwind. In contrast, many financial products are easy to sell.
• purchased vs free books/magazines .. purchased -> attachment

The bottom line … buying something is a decision with long term consequences.

— enhancement of an old or cheap product.. Eg: The glass bookcase .. I spent 20-40 min enhancing the base, the wall-anchor, shifting the shelves ,,, /optimizing/ it ,  so I have developed an attachment… to “my own creation”.

But this old bookcase could lose usability due to wear-n-tear. Expected lifespan is 2-6Y. So my attachment and valuation are … “too high”

— The spare planks … I collected like a dozen planks free of charge. My Attachment? Not sure why. They still entail a cost of ownership. They increase load on the shelves, complicate moving, rearranging and finding things buried underneath. I used to put them in meter rooms, but still they complicated “finding things”

I want to discard the big pieces, the particle wood pieces (keep the solid wood pieces)

— The Christian God created mankind in His own likeness. Therefore, He cares about us. In the same vein, we are deeply attached to our personal creations, not only our children.

eg: If you worked hard to enroll into a top school that you personally chose, then you tend to have more motivation to keep up your grades and professional reputation.

eg: If you spent lots of t$ transporting, enhancing the product, then you will have a hard time letting go or liquidating it (attachment). However, experimenting and learning curve, with the tcost, is part of life. A blunt measurement like ROTI can be ruthlessly unfair to the small but meaningful DIY projects.

• eg: t-investments in legacy ikea desk [height, screws,,,] increases my attachment
• eg: pink or white bookcase .. sagging shelf fix … t-investment  increases my attachment
• eg: glass bookcase
• eg: stand`desk handle fix