Needs, Wants, and Cash Flow

I believe there are two major essentials for EDC on a keychain: a flashlight and a knife. With those, you can get out of most typical everyday situations, like a power outtage in a public place.

Hubby and I had the Streamlight Nano on our keys for quite a while. At a price of about $6.50, it was an affordable little light. It gave off nice illumination for its small size, making it an ideal keychain flashlight.

Until they broke.

Both of our Nanos suffered the same fate. The bottoms twisted off somewhere, leaving us with just half a (useless) flashlight on our keychains.

So we hobbled along for a few weeks without a flashlight on our keys. Not really a biggie, as we never actually use the flashlight. But in the back of my mind was the nagging thought that one day we might need it.

There was no way I was going to buy another Nano, so I went in search of another affordable keychain light that received good reviews. I finally decided the Fenix E05 R2 was probably the best one. It got good reviews and it ran on AAA batteries... a big plus in my book. Unfortunately, it's not quite as affordable as the Nano. The Fenix runs about $20. So for Hubby and I to both get a Fenix for our keys, I'd have to spend $40.

Well, $40 could buy me 80 cans of veggies at a Food Lion sale.

I debated with myself quite a bit. Did I need the flashlight? Did Hubby need it? Could we live without it? Was it worth the money?

Ultimately, I bought them. Autumn is around the corner. The sun goes down sooner, things get creepier, and life in general needs a little more illumination. I decided the $40 was worth my peace of mind.