I used to be utilitarian and had the minimal amount of everything around the house but I caved in and started buying duplicates. 1/2 cup measuring cup for pet food? I no longer use the same one as baking, I just bought another and now it lives in the container/bag of food. Measuring spoon for supplement powder? Same thing, it lives in the jar now. For under $100 you could buy every duplicate you'll need around your house. Never look for that "thingy" again, never think about what you last used it for or if it's dirty or in the wash again. It's small but it's worth it.
Along the same lines, Spotify. Could I torrent all the music I want, manage a library and set up streaming around the house, sync the files with my phone, etc? Yes. I used to do it too but now I just don't want to even think about it. $15/mo and it's solved. Forever.
I keep a bag of chargers/socks/toiletries/etc packed and ready. Don’t worry about losing a charger or unplugging the one you use daily. For $30, just get a second dedicated to traveling.
If it’s something you struggle with packing or being ready, buy two. I know people who do this with clothes/suits, but that personally doesn’t fit my travel style.
I won't argue that Spotify isn't a fantastic value, but the price has gone up and will continue to do so (especially if artists are ever going to make anything meaningful from streams), and nothing lasts forever..
I find that online services in general degrade and become worse values and experiences for users over time, nearly inevitably. In many cases because initial funding can help to support the early unsustainable pricing.
I guess I'm saying it's good to have a downloaded backup of the all-time favs while using spotify for convenient listening.
Strongly disagree about Spotify. Quality aside, many albums simply aren't there! I have my own routine of discovering new pearls (YouTube used to help me with that years ago, nowadays it just suggests what I already viewed or some random stuff) and I set aside some time for that. After that, I choose the albums I really like, in the best quality.
The problem that Spotify actually tries to solve is that no matter how much we love that particular piece or album, we will get bored with it at some point, even if you dose your pleasure. So in theory Spotify could ease the process of finding interesting music. But in practice, I wound nothing can bet the tedious process of manual research and selection.
Also, what's to keep them from removing stuff later? The streaming video services do this all the time. It's a very common story to hear of someone watching some TV series, and then halfway through, it's removed from their streaming service and either disappears altogether, or moves to some other service that they're now expected to sign up for. It's much easier to just set sail on the high seas than to put up with this nonsense.
I have the same policy for most cheapo stuff. Like measuring tapes.
My good one is always Somewhere(tm), so I just bought a dozen cheap ones from Ikea. They're good enough for random "does this fit there" -measurements and there's enough of them so that it's impossible to lose them ALL at the same time :D
I also have so many screw drivers, torx bits and 10mm sockets that it's impossible to lose them all. Are they the best quality? No. But it's more important to find one when I need one.
Along the same lines, Spotify. Could I torrent all the music I want, manage a library and set up streaming around the house, sync the files with my phone, etc? Yes. I used to do it too but now I just don't want to even think about it. $15/mo and it's solved. Forever.