A colleague and I are both on a mission to change the items that we purchase from those that are cheap and easily disposable, to those that may be more expensive, but have a longer useful life.

I wholly support this idea, I just wish I could have nice things.

I mean, I have no problem saving for and buying nice things, I just seem to be very unlucky keeping my nice things nice. New car? Scratched the paint within two months; big chip in the windshield. New leather shoes? Scratched the leather off the heels by sinking the heel in a crack in the cobblestones. New coat? Destroyed in a year from salty snow (added bonus: missing button!) because I didn’t Scotch-guard it, or take it to the drycleaners.

The more items I seem to destroy, the one major lesson I learn about having nice things: the cost of the item is rarely just the price one paid originally. It means factoring the cost of waterproofing my leather boots for winter, finding a good cobbler, taking the car to get washed regularly, having my beloved coat “winterized” before the next season….

All of these things are acceptable costs for me, as something I need to do to keep nice things. I just wish I hadn’t destroyed so many things before I learned this lesson.