The Umbrella Strategy

The Umbrella Strategy: Quality, not quantity on utilitarian objects that do not matter in the long run.

The umbrella strategy is named after a discussion one day in University. It was raining outside, and I was with a friend. He had a $16 large, sturdy umbrella from the Cornell Store with the Cornell logo and colours. I had one of my 4 or 5 flimsy $1.99 umbrellas. Although smaller and very fragile, it kept me dry.

We noted that although my umbrella will break much sooner than my friend's, I can go through 8 umbrellas before he goes through one and still come out even or ahead. Since his umbrella was going to be destroyed in the long run anyway, there was no reason to get an expensive umbrella. It might be more comfortable and look nicer in the short run, in terms of the utilitarian use of the umbrella, I got the better deal.

I find that I apply this strategy to nearly everything in everyday life. I used the Umbrella Strategy with by bicycle, which just happened to be destroyed in an accident. I seem to be very utilitarian, which may or may not be a good thing. Who knows?

By the way, my friend Ben interprets the umbrella strategy as not worrying about something until something comes up, and buying the cheapest item that will solve the problem and treat is as disposable. For example, we got caught in the rain one day, so we buy the cheapest umbrella. If we remember, it can be reused in the future, but it was just as good if we used it once and forgot about it.