The Yummy Unit Calculator | steamHouse
steamHouse · Value Economics

The Yummy Unit Calculator

Money measures cost. It doesn't measure value. This tool maps what actually makes your life better — and where you might be leaving value on the table.

A "Yummy Unit" is the satisfaction you actually experience when you spend time, money, or energy on something. A $5 coffee might be worth 8 Yummy Units to you and 1 to someone else. Neither of you is wrong — but only one of you knows their own exchange rate.

📐
Calibrate
Discover your personal value exchange rates
📈
The Enough Curve
See where spending stops paying off
🔄
Reallocate
Find the hidden returns in redirection
🎯
Decide
Apply this to any real decision you're facing

5–8 minutes · No data stored · Everything runs in your browser

Your Context Step 1 of 6

Your starting point

Rough estimates are fine. This is about patterns, not accounting.

Approximate annual household income
Sets your position on the satisfaction curve. Not stored.
$75K
Top 7% of the world's population earns less than you
Monthly discretionary spending
After rent, bills, groceries — what you spend on wants, not needs.
$500
Current monthly giving (any cause)
Donations, tithes, mutual aid, informal support — all of it.
$50
💡 These numbers don't need to be exact. The tool works with proportions and patterns — ±20% won't change the insight.
Satisfaction Map Step 2 of 6

How satisfied are you right now?

Rate each domain from 1 (deeply unsatisfied) to 10 (deeply fulfilled). Be honest — this is for you.

🔍 Notice which domains are highest and lowest. Your highest-rated areas might not be the ones you spend the most money on. Your lowest-rated areas might not be fixable with spending at all.
Your Exchange Rates Step 3 of 6

Calibrate your Yummy Units

How much satisfaction does each of these actually give you? Rate them honestly — there are no wrong answers.

0 YU
Nothing 3 YU
Mildly nice 5 YU
Solid enjoyment 8 YU
Love it 10 YU
Peak joy
🎯 The key insight: Your YU-per-dollar exchange rate is personal. A $150/month coffee habit might be 8 YU for you and 1 for someone else. Knowing your own rates is the foundation of every good decision about spending, saving, and giving.
The Enough Curve Step 4 of 6

The insight most people never see

Spending produces satisfaction — up to a point. Then the returns shrink. Here's where you sit on the curve.

Reallocation Step 5 of 6

What if you redirected?

When you move spending from the flat part of the curve toward something meaningful — a cause, a relationship, a skill, an experience — what happens to your total Yummy Units?

The 10 / 10 / 10 Check

How does each choice feel across time?

This is the hedonic vs. eudaimonic distinction. Pleasure from spending fades quickly (hedonic adaptation). Meaning from contributing compounds over time (eudaimonic growth). The Yummy Units from redirection arrive slower but stay longer.
Your Decision Step 6 of 6

Apply this to your decision

You now have your personal Yummy Unit profile. Use it on something real. Pick a template or describe your own decision.

steamHouse · The Yummy Unit Calculator · 2026
All calculations run locally. Nothing is stored or sent anywhere.