Law Technology

Our Two Wisest Purchases - Multitasker and Unitasker

By Andrew Flusche

I always like to reflect on things we have bought over the years and think if they were worth buying. Luckily my wife has gotten into the purging mood, so we have made several donation trips to Goodwill lately.

I wanted to highlight two purchases that I think were exceptionally smart.

Multitasking card table

We bought this standard folding table early in our marriage. I think we paid $50 for the table and two matching chairs. That was four years ago. The table has had many uses in our house since then.

• Dining table - Now we have a nice wooden table and chairs, but the folding table was our main dining table for a couple years. Not the fanciest arrangement, but it worked.
• Homework table - While my wife was working on her second degree (interior design), the folding table served as an extension to her desk.
• Craft table - My wife regularly uses the table for craft projects.
• Desk - Right now the folding table is the desk in my home office.

Unitasker hair clippers

One thing I love about Unclutterer is their Unitasker Wednesday posts. These posts highlight ridiculous things that we purchase that are intended for only one purpose. But Unclutterer is clear that unitaskers aren’t always bad.

My simple hair clipper kit is a great example. I bought this kit over a year ago for around $30. Since then, I haven’t paid for a hair cut. A typical guy’s cut (plus tip) costs around $13. If you get your hair cut every two weeks, that is a savings of $338 per year.

How many items have you purchased that gave you a 10X return on your investment? Probably not many. If you’re looking to cut your own hair, I recommend a kit like the Wahl 79900 Clip-N-Trim.

What about you?

Have you made any good purchases like this? A small investment can sometimes be really smart. It just depends on what you buy.

Full post as published by Legal Andrew on May 18, 2008 (boomark / email).