I don’t mind paying good money for things where I know the total cost. When I want to buy a DVD for the kids or a pair of shoes or even a new set of computer speakers, I can calculate what the total cost will be and then decide if it’s worth the money. But there are a few items where it’s darn near impossible to figure out what the total cost will be. Here are two examples:
Cell Phone Plans – My rule for assessing a cell phone plan to take whatever the cell phone company is advertising as the montly rate and double it. I have a shared minutes plan with Kim that’s advertised at $59/month. I’ve never had a bill remotely close that. On a good month I can keep it under $90 if I lay off the 411 calls. Since when did making phone calls become so complicated? When I moved from Spint to Verizon last fall, Verizon sent me a “Welcome Package” that is supposed to explain their billing practices. I’d need a Ph.D in economics to understand the legal wording in this sucker.
Tires – Maybe I’m feeling the pain a little more than most on this subject since I’ve recently installed new tires on both our Honda Odyssey and VW Passat, but buying tires is an exercise in confusion and frustration. I walked into the local Goodyear Tires and found the tire I wanted, got the price per tire and multiplied it by 4. Easy enough I figured but not even close. I found out that it takes a whole mess of preparation before the tires can be safely installed. Once you add the computer wheel balancing, mounting, and old tire disposal fee the same you’re looking at about double what you figured.
Nordquist Blog 