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Is a $150 pair of jeans a better deal than a $50 pair? Is a $60-per-month gym membership worth it? Should you spend $20 more for a better coffee maker?

The answer is, of course, that it depends. One way to evaluate a purchase is to estimate its cost per use, rather than focus on the purchase price. Simply divide the purchase price by the number of times you’ll use the item. And be conservative: Studies show that consumers, especially if they’re excited about a purchase, tend to overestimate use.

Still, it’s a great aid in deciding whether to buy an item, comparing possible purchases, evaluating an upgrade or deciding between subscribing or paying as you go.

Cost per use doesn’t work for everything. For example, you use life insurance only once, making its cost incalculable. But here are a few examples of how calculating a cost per use can help.

CLOTHING — Kathryn Finney, author of "How to be a Budget Fashionista" and online at TheBudgetFashionista.com, recommends calculating a cost per wear of a garment before buying it.

She gives the example of a $500 winter coat that you wear 100 to 150 times per year over five years. That costs 67 cents to $1 each time you wear it. But if you buy a trendy top for $20 and wear it three times, it costs you $6.67 per wear. That makes a $20 top six times more expensive.

SUBSCRIPTIONS — Consider a DVD movies-by-mail subscription, such as Netflix. Is it the best option, compared with going to the video store, using pay per view or paying for a movie channel? Those aren’t an apples-to-apples comparison, but cost per use can help you evaluate them.

In the case of Netflix, a handy online tool is available free at FeedFliks.com. It can link with your Netflix account and report on your use, including cost per movie. That makes it easy to compare.

A fitness club membership is another good example. A $60-per-month membership costs $2 per use if you go daily. But it’s 30 times more if you go once a month.

BIG-TICKET ITEMS — Consider homes. Many four-person families buy a four-bedroom house, using one as a guest room. Assume a four-bedroom house costs $75,000 more than a three-bedroom house. And assume the guest room is occupied 20 days a year. If you own the house for a decade, you paid $375 a night for guests to stay with you. You could have put up your guests in a posh hotel for that.

That ignores some factors — four-bedroom homes might appreciate more, and maybe the extra bedroom is worth it for nonmonetary reasons. But the point is to know the cost.

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