Time is money, they say. Which seems true for the wealthy, whose piles of cash keep growing whether they’re fast asleep or on safari hunting baby cheetas. But if you’re like the rest of us, it’s hard to imagine how that hour you spent watching Cake Boss in your underwear could have been turned for a profit. So let’s make sense of that saying with a different interpretation: time and money are limited commodities, and both should be invested wisely.

We’re lucky to live in a world of seemingly limitless options. From the products we purchase to the entertainment we seek, we’re surrounded by choices. But the persistence of laugh-track comedies on TV, Katy Perry songs on the radio, and Little Caesar’s Pizza on the planet suggests that we haven’t always handled those choices well.

The Discerning Consumer is fiercely protective of his time and money. He allows for a little impulse and the guilty pleasure or two, but he remains committed to careful evaluation of quality and value. And he will never, ever keep up with the Kardashians.