What’s It Worth

Whether or not I care to admit it, I’m a gear whore. I love everything about it; the fit of a boot with a cushioned sole, the feel of a baselayer against the skin, the razor sharp edge on a finely tuned snowboard. I especially appreciate when gear is made well and thought has been put into the little details like a zipper pull.

Now that I’m a homeowner, my gear budget is all but non-existent. I accept that because now I have a place to keep all my gear. The part I don’t like is when I have to decide on buying gear or spending money on the house. I’ve entered a realm where I equate what gear I might be able to buy with what household items I could purchase for the same amount of money. It usually goes something like this: “I really need to get a new washer and dryer.” Of course, for the cost of the washer and dryer I could buy a new bike, which I also need (but not entirely).” “Even better, I could buy a new snowboard and have money left over for a new sleeping bag.”

I guess I should consider myself lucky to even have such dilemmas in my day-to-day. Still though, it would be nice to have a little extra cake to support my addiction to the Patagucci. I guess I’ll just need to plan a little better and budget for these inevitabilities because it would be a bit difficult trying to ride to town on a water heater.