Weekend Binge

I’ve heard that a lot of relationships actually don’t break up over a single monumental thing. It’s those little annoying things that add up to irreconcilable differences.

It's like finances.

It’s not the one big purchase that gets you.  It’s all those little things here and there that just add up. 

I was painfully reminded of this when I got my receipt from a wild weekend of binging.  Specifically, binge apping!

““Angry Birds” is great and all, but for a buck, the HD version has way more levels.”

Come on.  $0.99.  No big.

“I love that song Pandora just played. Who cares that it was so popular EIGHT years ago!  I’m downloading it.  It’s only a buck.”

Another $0.99. 

But it went on.

“OMG!  I heart this old jam too!”

$0.99

“OMG!  Now I REALLY heart this jam!”

$1.29 (. . .  songs that are actually popular this century are a little over a buck.)

“This electronic comic book series has me hooked.  What happens next??”

$9.99 

“Now I know what happened next.  But what happens NEXT??”

$9.99

“This person I’ve never met,  said in this magazine I’ve never read, that this app I may never use, is a must-have app. I must have it!”

$4.99

It added up.

I got my receipt this afternoon.

$45.03??!

My eyes got so big with surprise, my contact lenses practically dislodged. 

How did this happen?  I thought the bill would be about $12.  No joke. 

I seriously planned on $12 - $15 TOPS!  Why the over 300% discrepancy in my head versus reality?

Here’s why:  Zero dollars and chump change add up to no more than $12-$15.

My brain, like most consumers,  (and retailers know this), doesn’t see a WHOLE dollar, when it sees $0.99.  It sees ZERO dollars and some CHANGE.

And $4.99 is FOUR.  It’s not FIVE dollars.  Of course, in reality, even grade school kids know $4.99 may as well be $5. 

I hear, see, and can deal with FOUR dollars.  It’s the softer, gentler version of its fraternal twin, FIVE dollars.

FIVE rounds UP to TEN dollars.   OUCH!  NO WAY!  :-(

FOUR rounds DOWN to a SINGLE dollar.  OK.  NO WORRIES! :-)

I certainly THOUGHT I could deal with it.  My reality is, I can’t.  

Today I’m lucky.  I have a couple gift cards from Christmas to handle my lapse in judgment.

However,  I’m well on my way to over $10,000  in apps by this time next year!    I can’t afford it.  Period.

Lesson learned.

App binging over.

I will absolutely and positively divorce my Ipad citing irreconcilable differences before I indulge another app binge.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some sofa cushions to check!