I recently faced a small spending decision that spoke volumes: I had to choose between buying a pair of tickets to a Major League Baseball playoff game or a new jacket for the fall. My budget wouldn’t accommodate both, so it was one or the other.

For many people, no doubt, it would be a no-brainer. The game will be over in a matter of hours; the jacket will last me, well, possibly forever but at least for many years.

It...