This post is adapted from YNAB's twice-monthly newsletter, Loose Change .

There was a period of time when I wanted a backpack. I didn’t really have a job and I constantly worried about money, but that didn’t stop me from pouring untold hours into the search. From salespeople and online reviews, I learned way too much about seam construction, carrying capacity, and ventilation (back sweat being one of the great under-diagnosed problems of our time).

‍ (Oh, that’s funny, you think this is an example of how men try to feel important when they can’t exercise power in other areas of their life? Nope, definitely not, moving on!)

Still, I could not answer one pretty relevant question: how much money was I willing to spend?

I generally felt panicked about money but what’s a couple hundred dollars when you’ve got thousands in your checking account, right?…