Man up?

It assumes I pay a 35% tax rate (in real life I pay (20%), it also assumes I have massive healthcare costs (my rates are affordable) and it doesn’t let you tweak your salary much so it’s pretty limited.

Exactly! I don’t hate ‘cheap’ things based on their price. I tend to dislike them because they fall apart. At the same time, I know I’m getting what I paid for. Conversely, when I see something I value at a low price, I’ll stock up on it. I do not stop valuing it.