I’ve had a bit of an obsession the last few days. I want a bread machine. Or at least, I think I want a bread machine. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time I’ve pondered it.

It sure sounds appealing. I could have fresh bread, any time. I could potentially save money by making my own bread. I could bake healthier, more bespoke loves of bread, attuned to my very own needs!

I was looking around for one of the $100-ish kinds, but I didn’t find any in stock anywhere. (You think you stock enough blasted air fryers, Walmart?) But perhaps that was fortunate. As I did a bit more research online, I came to the conclusion that if it’s worth getting one, it’s worth investing in a good one. I’m eyeing one at about 350$. I’m a superhero of modest means, so that’s not exactly chump change.

So, that brings us to the question. Do I need it? Does the Fortress of Diplomacy need it? No, of course not. Nobody needs a bread maker. I’ve baked bread without one. But it is a lot of work. The real questions are, “Do I really want it?” and “Can I justify it?”.

I could buy it, get bored with it, and let it collect dust for the rest of eternity. But maybe I’ll do better. Maybe I’ll use it faithfully! And if I do that, making things like bread and pizza from scratch, I could potentially save a good deal of money. That would give me the justification the second question demands.

To test whether I truly want it or if this is just a passing fantasy, I’ve set a challenge in front of myself. I’m going to simply scrimp a bit and put aside 50$ every week. If I keep that up for 6 weeks, I’ll have 350$ set aside. If after that much time, I still want it, I think that’s a good indication I care enough to make good use of it.

Who knows? Maybe the price will be lower then, like a sale. Or maybe I’ll decide I won’t want it. I could always put the money towards advance repayment of the mortgage on the Hall of Diplomacy. Time will tell.