From the article:

Years ago, I asked a friend what kind of case she planned to buy for her shiny new flip phone. She paused, a little offended. “I don’t like to buy stuff for my stuff,” she said. Those words drilled directly into my hippocampus, never to depart. She’s right! I thought.

Source: A Grand Unified Theory of Buying Stuff – https://bit.ly/3FGWGSa (via Pocket & IFTTT)