--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When we contemplate buying something, we…" description: "\"When we contemplate buying something, we usually ask the price of it, then decide whether or not it is worth that much to us. But when we expend time a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e5/ruth-stout-30404_asks_when-we-contemplate-buying-something-we_2933055.png" --- # When we contemplate buying something, we usually ask the… ![“When we contemplate buying something, we usually ask the price of it, then decide whether or not it is worth that much to us. But when we expend time and energy, we often just go ahead and pay.” quote by Ruth Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e5/ruth-stout-30404_asks_when-we-contemplate-buying-something-we_2933055.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e5/ruth-stout-30404_asks_when-we-contemplate-buying-something-we_2933055.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e5/ruth-stout-30404_asks_when-we-contemplate-buying-something-we_2933055.png) > “When we contemplate buying something, we usually ask the price of it, then decide whether or not it is worth that much to us. But when we expend time and energy, we often just go ahead and pay.” [Ruth Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-stout/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People evaluate monetary cost but often ignore the hidden cost of time and energy, leading to unexamined investments. **In simple terms:** Time and energy costs are often overlooked. Key Takeaway Assess all resources before committing. Themes productivity decision‑making cost time energy Mood pragmatic reflective Type self‑help motivational When to use this quote - budgeting - project planning - personal goals - resource allocation Key Concepts economics behavioral psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do you measure the value of your time? - What criteria help you decide if an investment is worthwhile? A Different Perspective Time spent can be valuable even if not quantified. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Buying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buying/) [Buying something](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buying-something/) [End times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/end-times/) [Energy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/energy/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Time and energy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-and-energy/) ## Related quotes > [You have to pay the price. You will find that everything in life exacts a price, and you will have to decide whether the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-nunn/you-have-to-pay-the-price-you-will-find-that-everything-in-life/) [Sam Nunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-nunn/) > [Amy felt her phone vibrate. She held it up. It was from Ian. DON'T ASK THE PRICE OF ANYTHING. DON'T SMILE. DON'T SAY "DO…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/amy-felt-her-phone-vibrate-she-held-it-up-it-was-from-ian-don-t-ask/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Once we looked at flowers, now we ask the price of land.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush/once-we-looked-at-flowers-now-we-ask-the-price-of-land/) [Rush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush/) > [Everything comes at a price. Everthing in your life. The question you have to ask yourself is, what price are you willing to pay?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paullina-simons/everything-comes-at-a-price-everthing-in-your-life-the-question-you/) [Paullina Simons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paullina-simons/) > [Buying something on sale is a very special feeling. In fact, the less I pay for something, the more it is worth to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-rudner/buying-something-on-sale-is-a-very-special-feeling-in-fact-the-less-i/) [Rita Rudner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-rudner/) > [We have always said actually this isn't about money, it's not about price. This can be an experience. It doesn't have to be about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-ahrendts/we-have-always-said-actually-this-isn-t-about-money-it-s-not-about/) [Angela Ahrendts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-ahrendts/) > [Buying something on sale is a very special feeling. In fact, the less I pay for something, the more it is worth to me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-rudner/buying-something-on-sale-is-a-very-special-feeling-in-fact-the-less-i-2/) [Rita Rudner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-rudner/) > [A woman is always buying something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/a-woman-is-always-buying-something/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [The reason that so many of us cannot save money is because of our friends. They're always buying something we can't afford.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-ewing/the-reason-that-so-many-of-us-cannot-save-money-is-because-of-our/) [Sam Ewing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-ewing/) > [I never buy a piece of art. I don't see the point in buying something because I know my eyes will get bored of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-pilkington/i-never-buy-a-piece-of-art-i-don-t-see-the-point-in-buying-something/) [Karl Pilkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-pilkington/) > [Small wastebasket liners, $1.17 ... tall wastebasket liners, $2.29 ... garbage can liners, $3.98 ... I think I just spent $7.44 buying something I'm going to throw away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-guisewite/small-wastebasket-liners-1-17-tall-wastebasket-liners-2-29-garbage/) [Cathy Guisewite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-guisewite/) > [If you have a choice between buying something and paying down your credit card, pay down your credit card.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/if-you-have-a-choice-between-buying-something-and-paying-down-your/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) > [Manipulating currencies is when you're going into the marketplace and buying something in large amounts to depress the value of the currency.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-dimon/manipulating-currencies-is-when-you-re-going-into-the-marketplace-and/) [Jamie Dimon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-dimon/) > [We never will have any prosperity that is free from speculation till we pass a law that every time a broker or person sells…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/we-never-will-have-any-prosperity-that-is-free-from-speculation-till/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [If I see a movie star in the department store buying something, I'll kind of sidle up and see what they're saying, what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/if-i-see-a-movie-star-in-the-department-store-buying-something-i-ll/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) ## More by Ruth Stout > [You know how some people seem to think that their love for classical music makes them spiritual or at least something quite special? And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-stout/you-know-how-some-people-seem-to-think-that-their-love-for-classical/) [Ruth Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-stout/) > [Only in the winter, in the country, can you have longer quiet stretches when you can savor belonging to yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-stout/only-in-the-winter-in-the-country-can-you-have-longer-quiet-stretches/) [Ruth Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-stout/) > [The unmulched garden looks to me like some naked thing which for one reason or another would be better off with a few clothes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-stout/the-unmulched-garden-looks-to-me-like-some-naked-thing-which-for-one/) [Ruth Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-stout/) > [If 'heartache' sounds exaggerated then surely you have never gone to your garden one rare morning in June to find that the frost, without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-stout/if-heartache-sounds-exaggerated-then-surely-you-have-never-gone-to/) [Ruth Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-stout/) > [Working in the garden . . . gives me a profound feeling of inner peace. Nothing here is in a hurry. There is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-stout/working-in-the-garden-gives-me-a-profound-feeling-of-inner-peace/) [Ruth Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-stout/) > [Working in the garden gives me something beyond the enjoyment of the senses. It gives me a profound feeling of inner peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-stout/working-in-the-garden-gives-me-something-beyond-the-enjoyment-of-the/) [Ruth Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-stout/) > [The central paradox and challenge of marriage is that we have to make family out of someone we're not related to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-stout/the-central-paradox-and-challenge-of-marriage-is-that-we-have-to-make/) [Ruth Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-stout/) > [Farmers are philosophical. They have learned that it is less wearing to shrug than to beat their breasts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-stout/farmers-are-philosophical-they-have-learned-that-it-is-less-wearing/) [Ruth Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-stout/) > [the bliss that comes from ignorance should seldom be encouraged for it is likely to do one out of a more satisfying bliss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-stout/the-bliss-that-comes-from-ignorance-should-seldom-be-encouraged-for/) [Ruth Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-stout/) > [“I love spring anywhere, but if I could choose I would always greet it in a garden.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-stout/i-love-spring-anywhere-but-if-i-could-choose-i-would-always-greet-it/) [Ruth Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-stout/) > [There is a privacy about it which no other season gives you… In spring, summer and fall people sort of have an open season…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-stout/there-is-a-privacy-about-it-which-no-other-season-gives-you-in-spring/) [Ruth Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-stout/) > [It’s a fair-sized job to write a book that people can be bothered just to read; when they begin to steal copies, you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-stout/it-s-a-fair-sized-job-to-write-a-book-that-people-can-be-bothered/) [Ruth Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-stout/) > [Why do people who like to get up early look with disdain on those who like to lie in bed late? And why do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-stout/why-do-people-who-like-to-get-up-early-look-with-disdain-on-those-who/) [Ruth Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-stout/) > [To the Memory of those faithful brown slave-men of the plantations throughout the South, Daddy's contemporaries all, who during the war while their masters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-stout/to-the-memory-of-those-faithful-brown-slave-men-of-the-plantations/) [Ruth Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-stout/) > [Farmers are philosophical; they have learned that it is less wearing to shrug than to beat their breasts. But there is another angle to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-stout/farmers-are-philosophical-they-have-learned-that-it-is-less-wearing-2/) [Ruth Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-stout/) [Explore all 17 Ruth Stout quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-stout/) ## More Asks quotes > [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. Introverts think before speaking, not through speaking. If you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-helgoe/if-you-ask-an-introvert-a-question-wait-until-she-thinks-about-it/) [Laurie Helgoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-helgoe/) > [I don't wear a watch because I want my arms to weigh the same. 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If you were a director you'd like to work in Hollywood too.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-polanski/why-did-erich-von-stronheim-leave-germany-why-did-hitchcock-leave/) [Roman Polanski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-polanski/) > [There is nothing more I ask of this life than this moment, exactly so. And suddenly forever seems like too short a time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-andreas/there-is-nothing-more-i-ask-of-this-life-than-this-moment-exactly-so/) [Brian Andreas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-andreas/) > [Success will come when the societal attitude changes and not a single woman in America asks herself the question 'What did I do?'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/success-will-come-when-the-societal-attitude-changes-and-not-a-single/) [Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/) > [The most fundamental question we can ever ask ourselves is whether or not the universe we live in is friendly or hostile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/the-most-fundamental-question-we-can-ever-ask-ourselves-is-whether-or/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [The rich people are apparently leaving America. They're giving up their citizenship. These great lovers of America who made their money in this country-when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/the-rich-people-are-apparently-leaving-america-they-re-giving-up/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [There is a way to be a woman, ask for what we deserve and be able to negotiate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracee-ellis-ross/there-is-a-way-to-be-a-woman-ask-for-what-we-deserve-and-be-able-to/) [Tracee Ellis Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracee-ellis-ross/) > [For someone to ask 'Who did you play for' and to be able to answer a single name 'Liverpool' that would be brilliant...I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-carragher/for-someone-to-ask-who-did-you-play-for-and-to-be-able-to-answer-a/) [Jamie Carragher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-carragher/) > [I have no hesitation in saying that although the American woman never leaves her domestic sphere and is in some respects very dependent within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/i-have-no-hesitation-in-saying-that-although-the-american-woman-never/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Ask God for temp'rance. That's th' appliance only Which your disease requires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/ask-god-for-temp-rance-that-s-th-appliance-only-which-your-disease/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I don't know how to say it exactly. Only...I want to die as myself. Does that make any sense?' he asks. I shake my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/i-don-t-know-how-to-say-it-exactly-only-i-want-to-die-as-myself-does/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [Physicist Isador Isaac Rabi, who won a Nobel Prize for inventing a technique that permitted scientists to probe the structure of atoms and molecules…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-saul-wurman/physicist-isador-isaac-rabi-who-won-a-nobel-prize-for-inventing-a/) [Richard Saul Wurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-saul-wurman/) Browse all 7,138 Asks quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When we contemplate buying something, we usually ask the price of it, then decide whether or not it is worth that much to us. 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