Whats the most you've ever paid to lose a pound?

I must have paid about $550 for a WM Versalite to save a little more than a pound over a Marmot Pinnacle.

I replaced an older mountain hardwear galaxy bag with WM alpinlite to save a little over a pound. Been thinking about upgrading tent.

I like the way you all think!
after I get enough evidence here, I'm going to use this thread to explain to my wife why I bought a new tent.

The experts say a pound on your feet is equal to 4 pounds on your back. When I switched to runners from boots, it took the equivalent of 8 pounds out of my pack. The runners I wear cost me about $120, so not all that much per pound. Like others here, when I bought a WM bag for $500, it saved me weight and introduced me to the wonders of high end gear. Justify it? Nope, I spent the $ because I could. Gear wears out and needs to be replaced. No sense in not replacing it with the best stuff you can afford and what you like.

All that said, I hope your purchase was discussed with your wife and she agreed it was your $ to play with. Even unexpected income falls into family income and she would be right to feel resentful if you made the purchase without consulting her.

To take this thread completely off the rails, my wife and I had good paying jobs. When we were younger, it was agreed that any OT I worked was my play money, as it was not in the regular budget. I feel like the bonus that started this discussion would fall into the same category, but maybe not if they always knew one would be coming each year. When we hit about 45, our threshold for discretionary spending was $500. I bought BPing gear, she bought stuff for the house. It was what we each wanted. Different couples, different people, would make different choices. To the OP, I say, don't think of this new tent as a one time purchase, but a tool that will give many years of use, each time saving you that pound on your back. It might've cost you $300 this year, but per night?? Per day with the pack on? Would you spend $3 a day to make your pack a pound lighter? I would, and have.

$500 for my new ProTrail LI saved me over 1.5 lbs compared to the existing solo tent.
The ULA Circuit saved more than a pound for me, and about 3 for my husband. $275 each with tax, IIRC.
In some ways, the weight savings end up being beyond price, because they allow me to do what I want to do, which I couldn’t anymore with heavier gear.

Perfectly said is right ^^^^. We bought a 30 ° UGQ Bandit XL quilt that is 950 fill and 20 oz. that works to its rating and covers both of us. That's 10 oz. each that handles most of our trips. It also packs down to just bigger than a Nalgene bottle, so pack size shrunk also. We have an EMS 800 fill 15° bag that was very well made and a bargain when we bought it. It weighs 2lbs. and we use it with the quilt to sleep down to 10° F. We also recently purchased a 20oz. BA tent that is sil-nylon , but ridiculously light , as light as DCF. It works for us because we are super careful with gear and have site and pitching knowledge. I can't stress enough how what Rebecca said is so appropriate to our situation. We try to spend wisely and find bargains , but at this point, I'll spend whatever we can muster to facilitate what we love to do.
I took the rear pannier racks off the gravel bikes and have amended and installed them on the fat bikes. We spent a large amount to get studded tires for them, more than a set of good shoes for my truck! We are ready for some cool winter trips, though. Thinking Lake George along Tongue Mt. down the ice. , some trips into the Vermont Wilderness on snowmobile trails that go for hundreds of miles, visiting and camping in central NY where fat biking is very popular. All doable because of the investment into UL gear.