Price does not tell the whole story
Two differently priced objects may be used in very different ways. Cost per use divides the cost considered by the number of uses. A sixty-euro backpack used one hundred times costs sixty cents per use. It is only a way to organise comparison, not a guarantee that the purchase is suitable. Before calculating, ask whether you need the object and whether paying for it fits alongside existing expenses.
Define what belongs in the calculation
Start with the purchase price and decide whether maintenance costs relate directly to the object. When comparing two options, apply the same criteria to both. An item needing special care may cost differently from what its initial price suggests. Avoid mixing known values and optimistic estimates without identifying them. Writing what you know in one column and what you assume in another makes the calculation more transparent.
Work with scenarios rather than promises
Future use is an estimate. Try three scenarios: occasional use, likely use and frequent use. An eighty-euro coat costs eight euros per wear if worn ten times, two euros if worn forty times and one euro after eighty wears. The calculation does not predict the future; it shows how the conclusion depends on behaviour. Use a realistic number based on your routine rather than the ideal routine you would like to have.
Compare with what already exists too
Something you own may meet the need without a new purchase. Repairing, borrowing or using what is available deserve consideration even when they do not fit the same simple division. Cost per use can explain a choice, but can also rationalise impulsive spending. If you need to invent dozens of uses to justify a price, pause and return to the initial question.
Record the result to learn
Choose a past purchase and estimate how often it was actually used. Compare that with your expectation. The purpose is not guilt but recognising patterns: buying for rare occasions, impractical sizes or functions you do not use. Observation may improve future decisions. A good calculation makes a choice clearer, including the choice to postpone, rather than always producing a reason to buy.
