Penny-Wise Pound-Foolish

At the moment, the office of our "Top Startup" is virtual. I work largely from home, but I take my laptop with me everywhere. In the first week I was here, I was selling my car - a personal matter, but the below example can apply to business too. In order to submit payment to my finance company, the process was:

Write letter
Buy FedEx label
Walk to bank & get certified check
Walk to Print shop and print letter and label
Walk to FedEx to acquire envelope and mail documents

This process was time consuming and required expending a lot of mental energy prior to leaving my house to make sure I had everything in order. So, after having to go through a similar process twice and being frustrated with it, it was time to get a printer. Initially, I didnt want to because so many print shops are within a 5 minute walk. However, this is a penny-wise pound-foolish attitude. They are all not as close as in my office. Not being able to print on demand (directions, forms, documents for review) directly affects stress.

So, I decided to buy an inexpensive multi-function printer for around $80. I expect the printer to last up until we have a physical office and buy a proper office printer.

The key here, is that when you start something new, it is good to watch your cash and spend wisely - but not to the point where you can't get your job done. In the long run, to get my $80 worth, I need to print 200 pages. I will do this easily.