Fifteen bucks at Walmart for a new one. I mean I could probably have driven all over on Saturday and found one at a Tag Sale or maybe found one at a thrift shop. But fifteen dollars isn’t much money in this days. But my opposition to a lava lamp isn’t monetary.

I’ve never owned a lava lamp, because frankly they’re kind of dumb and wasteful. If I bring the lamp into my office it will be on for 40 hours a week – figure 8 hour work days for 5 days a week. If it has a 25 watt bulb, which works out to be about 1 kWh per week or 52 kWh a year. While I don’t pay for electricity in my office, and save energy by not using the overhead lamps in favor of desk lamps with energy-efficient LED bulbs, it still seems like an unnecessary waste.

Plus it’s just more stuff. It encourages the production of more lava lamps at that distant factory in China or India. More clutter in the office, something later that I’ll have to give away and somebody eventually will have to dispose. Something that will have a bulb burns out, maybe as frequently as twice a year if I plan to leave it on all day at work and it lasts 1,000 hours per bulb. Another hassle to repair, more parts to feed it, more worry and clutter on my mind. I am sure most people would just toss it in garbage when bulb burns out, not spend time fiddling around on the internet finding the proper bulb to repair it, and then disassembling and replacing the bulb.

It’s also money that I would end up spending. I get $15 isn’t end of world, but again it’s stealing from my future. It’s money I can’t put towards that off-grid homestead or fuel to spend traveling up to wilderness to have fires and ride my mountain bike and smoke grass. It’s money that some day could be put towards land, solar panels, a tractor, or hogs. But I get it’s not that much money, and indeed most days the value of my investments and net worth swing much greater then that. But stupid things like this add up over time, a dollar here, a dollar there adds up to real money. After all, that’s the goal of saving and investing.

On the other hand, I would enjoy that lava lamp, it could sit on the table in front of my desk. When there are down moments in the office, when I need a little serenity on a stressful day, I could watch the bubbles of wax and chemicals float up and down. It would make my drab office a little more interestesting, much like the artwork on the walls or the hourglass toys on my desk. It would make a very corporate-looking office just a bit more fun. And its not like I’m moving out of this office tomorrow – there is a very good chance I’ll still be here in 13 or 15 more years through my retirement. And that could mean many hours, built over years and decades looking into the lava lamp. A lot of enjoyment for $15. Chances are it would last the whole time, as long as I got a steady supply of bulbs for to feed the fixture.

I’ve been thinking about lava lamps for a while ever since my Mom gifted my niece a lava lamp a few Christmas ago. And I don’t have get one right away. I might think about it a bit more, before rushing out to get a lava lamp.

I don’t like wasting money on mindless consumerism but at the same time, there are certain things I like to consume that do give a lot of pleasure and enjoyment to my life.