The true cost of possession includes every future moment it demands.

The price is a single moment; the cost is spread across every future hour the thing will claim. Cleaning it, moving it, insuring it, thinking about it, deciding what to do with it eventually. Those hours are the real currency, and nothing at the register makes them visible.

Before any significant purchase, estimate the hours rather than only the money. If it will take a weekend a year for a decade, that is what you are agreeing to. Some things are easily worth it, and knowing which ones is the whole skill.