Blogging for Change

Coming to terms with unit costs

by Kim McGrigg on
8/12/2008
in Budgeting and Building Savings

My family belongs to a local pool. It is not the fancy kind of pool; it is basically a hole in the ground with water. That being said, we love our pool. The people are great and the casual atmosphere is perfect for our family. 

The problem is that it costs $450 a year to join.

        It is about this time of year that I can’t help but start doing some math. So far this summer, we have only been to the pool 12 times, putting us at $37.50 per visit. I would never pay $37.50 to visit a pool—even if it were fancy. To make myself feel better, I plan to drag the kids to the pool (like it or not) a lot in the next few weeks to improve the cost per visit.

My friends and fellow pool members have heard me struggle with this issue for years. And even my most practical of friends don’t understand my desperate need to come to terms with the cost per unit. (In fact, several have indicated that they find my constant analytics somewhat contrary to what they were trying to accomplish by lounging at the pool. )

What do you think? Is the cost per unit always relevant or are some things worth making an exception for? I’ll watch the comments section for your insight..

Kim McGrigg is the former Manager of Community and Media Relations for MMI.

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