― Terry Pratchett, Men at Arms
I have often thought that when it came to investment items or bargains, you often have to have money in order to save money. I have never seen that so perfectly encapsulated than in the quote above.
If I want to buy something that is good quality and will last, I need the money to be able to invest in it in the first place. Or if something is 40% off, I still have to have the money to pay for the 60%. If I can’t, I will have to go with something cheap that will probably not last and end up costing me more money in the long run.
Similarly, ecological activists often condemn those who buy foods that are not organically or locally produced. Not everyone can afford to buy these products, as much as they may want to. It’s a vicious cycle because we *should* all buy genuinely sustainably produced items, but not all of us can afford it.