He didn't write he's a consultant, but a startup. And that means there is no billable time - you only calculate stuff against your living costs. And then a hundred dollar are no longer an extra hour, but up to 2 extra days. You learn that stuff if you fall on hard times someday - and if you try doing a startup then this is something that occasionally does happen.
Well, anyway, as much as I understand him, myself I still don't work with pirated software. Usually that means I search for OpenSource alternatives and learn to use those.
His profile says he is a consultant, so I sort of assumed that his startup was run concurrently. Thus, he's perfectly capable of selling the time he saves by using productivity-enhancing software, which makes the "It costs money!" objection rather unpersuasive to me.
Its not like I'm telling him rent, ramen, productivity software: pick any two. (Although I would say it.)
Well, anyway, as much as I understand him, myself I still don't work with pirated software. Usually that means I search for OpenSource alternatives and learn to use those.