What do you pay for?
Have you ever asked yourself what it is exactly we pay for when we purchase goods or receive a service?
The differing prices of products and services make me ponder and wonder what exactly it is we pay for.
I recently discovered that what we pay for when we receive goods and services, asides the value is the comfort attached to it.
Usually, the level of comfort a good or a service provides determines the price value attached.
I've heard people say they can't pay so much to acquire certain possessions, be it houses, lands, cars, clothes, shoes etc. These expensive possessions are regarded as "luxuries".
And indeed they are luxuries as they carry with them a certain level comfort both literally and in reality.
A man who buys a Bentley 2017 car definitely receives more comfort than one who owns and drives a 2004 Honda. The prices are far apart and the comfort the former will give definitely beats that which the later gives.
A woman who travels by air from Abuja to Lagos definitely pays far more money than one who travels by road(at least times 2). However, the comfort she'll receive as a result of flying outweighs that of the road traveler. The time she will save (the journey being at most an hour ten minutes as opposed to the ten hours on the road), the comfortable sitting position and even the light flight refreshment is comfort worth the money she'll be paying.
I'd like to believe that comfort is worth anything. It is almost equivalent to having peace of mind.
There's no level of comfort I cannot pay for as long as I can afford it. Affordability. That informs the choices of the goods and services we opt for. This is because every man is to cut his coat according to his cloth.
And really, people generally love comfort, but not everyone acquires comfort because they are restrained by finances.
Nonetheless, if you have the financial capability, it's best to take advantage of every comfortable good or service you can afford.
So what are you waiting for? Take that luxury vacation. Purchase that luxury home. Order that luxury food. There's no amount too much for comfort. Just make sure it's within reason, and your financial means.
- Chizaram Opara
