Perhaps you might be interested in a book that discusses issues relating to price and cost-benefit analysis in general?
Its called "Priceless" and Its subtitle is based on the famous quote by Oscar Wilde
A cynic is someone who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing
Here is a link for the book on Amazon (its reduced to £10.79 )
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Priceless-Knowi ... 1565849817
Have you ever considered that the Raspberry Pi, being so inexpensive, allows the saved cash to be spent on handsome accessories that add value in other more aesthetic ways?
On another level, I have always found that paying a little more up-front avoids the misery of having to buy things twice or more. My last Volvo S80 car purchase was £5,000, 7 years ago. Apart from fuel and other consumables, it cost me zero in maintenance, zero in parts, zero in headache. Guess what - I have just bought another one exactly the same (but 5 years newer) for £1,800. This is not specifically an advert for Volvo engineering but it partly illustrates my point.