Depreciation, Annuitization, and Time Value of Money - NOW we're talkin;!!

Actually, your vinegar bottle does cost something - it's just buried in the cost of the total product. And yes, the cost is indivisible, unless someone opens a store where you can get a lower price by bringing your bottle in for a refill. Having split that hair, let's now determine how many angels fit on the head of a pin....

You're exactly right, though - there is no logic whatsoever in our gear lust, and any attempt to justify it on other than "Oooh, shiny..." is just an intellectual exercise. I count myself lucky, the granddaughters are too far away to spend all my "vice" money on, and since I don't smoke, drink, gamble, or own a boat, I tell myself I'm allowed one vice. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it. (By the way, Karol's taken up quilting, which I'm discovering has almost as much gear as backpacking, and since she has a similarly obsessed friend - aka, enabler - may put a significant dent in my gear budget.)