- Money is worth more to me than the average US dev because I earn less than US developers, and therefore my time is definitely worth less.
- I cannot use this for work at my current workplace and I'm willing to bet a lot of other companies aren't fine with it either. I'm not saving time where it makes me money, so I would classify as a luxury, not a tool (spending-wise).
Here's how I think about SaaS investments. If it's something I want or am curious about, but doesn't really have a tangible ROI, I decide if it's worth my disposable income and disposable time. If I have neither disposable income nor disposable time, it's not worth it, no matter whether it's $5 or $500/mo. You see, even for $5/yr my time is worth MORE than that money and the cost doesn't make my time worth any more or less.
If it has a tangible ROI, then I figure out how much my time is worth, I figure out how much time or other resource the SaaS app will save and then decide if it's worth the tradeoff. For example, I suck at graphic design, so a monthly $13/mo to Canva is worth it to me to save time, aggravation, and headache, not to mention improved quality of results. I know that I save myself much more in time than the $13/mo is worth.
On the otherhand, I can't justify paying even $15/mo for a podcast transcription tool because I still have to spend dozens of hours checking the transcription and it doesn't save me any headache. So it's not worth it to me. It doesn't matter if it's $60/yr or $100/yr, my time is still worth the same. If it's not worth it at $60/yr , it's not worth it at $100/yr.
Maybe this thought process is different for others, but with so much SaaS out there, it's important to focus on what will drive high value. Incremental "auto-yes" spending at any price point can get you into trouble.
- Money is worth more to me than the average US dev because I earn less than US developers, and therefore my time is definitely worth less.
- I cannot use this for work at my current workplace and I'm willing to bet a lot of other companies aren't fine with it either. I'm not saving time where it makes me money, so I would classify as a luxury, not a tool (spending-wise).