Anyone else calculate the cost of buying something in equivalent ETF shares?

[Retire-Canada]

The ETFs I'm buying are trading in the $30-$40 range/share so when I've been looking a spending money lately I've been converting the price into how many shares of ETFs I could buy instead.

Dinner out with the GF $40 = 1 share
New motorcycle tires $160 = 4 shares
Plane ticket home to see the parents $600 = 15 shares
Movie $14 = 0.5 shares
Week long mountain bike trip to Moab $1200 = 30 shares

These are all things I considered lately. I ended up just buying the plane ticket.

Visualizing the lost opportunity cost of buying ETF shares makes it easier for me to delay and/or eliminate purchases.

It also helps I can buy ETFs for free so I can throw $60 at them if I free up a small chunk of $$ by not spending it.

-- Vik

[Rage]

Yes, I do this, and a few variations on it too.  When I'm tempted to eat lunch out, I calculate how much I'm giving up per month for life based on the 4% rule.  A $12 lunch at Snarfs is giving up $0.04 per month for life.  Which, honestly isn't that bad, Snarfs kind of sounds good right now...

Another version is that I picture my retirement as a cathedral built out of exactly 100,000 bricks.  Those bricks cost $10 each.  100,000 is a lot of bricks, but a brick here, 10 bricks there, it adds up.  Also, these bricks occasionally mate and make more bricks.  It's not a perfect analogy. 

That week long trip to Moab, that's giving up $4/mo for life.  However, a week-long trip to Moab really shouldn't cost $1200, I go there all the time, don't you know about the campground just North of town?  I think it's like $10 or $20 per night (for tent camping).

[skyrefuge]

I like Rage's method a lot better, because "an ETF share" is a meaningless construct. Do you have some goal that says "when I have 15000 ETF shares, I can retire"? I hope not! VTI currently costs ~$109 for a share. Dinner out costs only a small fraction of one share, which means it must be a small amount of money...so you can totally start having more dinners out if you just switch from whatever ETFs you're buying to the more-expensive VTI!

[gimp]

No. I only think of it as hours of my time. If I get paid X after taxes, and a widget costs X, that means it costs me an hour. On the plus side, I really like my job...

[Retire-Canada]

That week long trip to Moab, that's giving up $4/mo for life.  However, a week-long trip to Moab really shouldn't cost $1200, I go there all the time, don't you know about the campground just North of town?  I think it's like $10 or $20 per night (for tent camping).

It costs us $150 just to get on and off the island we live on and then we have to drive 2 days to Moab and 2 days back. My GF won't camp so we end up in a hotel of some sort and eat out.

I can go to Moab a lot cheaper alone, but my GF wants to come along. She's [slowly] getting on the FIRE train so I'm not pushing her.

Next year I am switching to part-time so a trip to Moab will be a month long and she'll just fly in/out of SLC for a week of riding. The before and after parts of the trip will be camping out of my truck and be quite low cost.

I've got her thinking about the campground in the middle of town which has toilets and showers...it's like $30/night, but we'll save on cooking meals as well and if it keeps her happy I'm fine with that.

[Rage]

My GF won't camp so...

That dog won't hunt, as they say :)

Anyway, if you're there for a month you might be able to rent a place. 

[Prairie Stash]

No. I only think of it as hours of my time. If I get paid X after taxes, and a widget costs X, that means it costs me an hour. On the plus side, I really like my job...

I do the same as gimp for expenses. I also do the corollary for income.

Every year I get vacation days paid out, this year its 18 days. Is sucks thinking I'm working more than I need to. Then I do quick mental math, if I invest and leave the money there for 10 years then I'll be able to retire 36 days earlier. OT goes the same way; an hour now means 2 hours later.

Last years extra's (330 hours OT, 18 days paid out) knocked 900 hours of work off my future self's calendar.

[HappyMargo]

... My GF won't camp so we end up in a hotel of some sort and eat out.

I can go to Moab a lot cheaper alone, but my GF wants to come along. She's [slowly] getting on the FIRE train so I'm not pushing her.

I've got her thinking about the campground in the middle of town which has toilets and showers...

Same story with my DH.  He will not camp.  Thinks it's gross, especially the lack of showers.

I have gone camping alone quite a bit.  Mostly to be near a trail head for a super-early (think headlamp in dark) start up a 14,000-er.   But as a female it's kind of scary doing that. 

Your idea of splitting the difference & staying at a campground with showers & toilets could be a middle ground DH would consider.  Something I may trial run this summer!

[HappyMargo]

No. I only think of it as hours of my time. If I get paid X after taxes, and a widget costs X, that means it costs me an hour. On the plus side, I really like my job...

Oh & to answer your original question, I pretty much do what gimp does. 
I figure what my hourly take-home pay is and use that number to consider purchases.  "What?  This thing costs 4.5 hours of work?  Nope.  Putting it back on shelf."   

Helps me pause & think about what I really *need*

[dunhamjr]

nope.
its a hard way to look at it for me since i dont only by one fund/eft.  i dont buy many... but more than 1.

plus share prices typically change over time.
also if its a bond fund.  do you consider the DIV payments you are now not getting?  what about missed capital gains payouts?

the idea of a 100,000 brick building to me makes more sense.  $10 per brick.  100,000 bricks.  you are done once you have bought all the bricks.

i however.  don't do that either. :D

[Gone Fishing]

Every $1,000 I save is a $40 annual raise good for the rest.of.my.life. 

[HappyMargo]

Every $1,000 I save is a $40 annual raise good for the rest.of.my.life.

Yes!!