Is it good practice to limit the use of $(this)?

In this lesson we are defining a context for $(this), or in other words putting a label on $(this) with the name $anchor. This does not change the value nor anything else about $(this), it is simply a wrapper for the reference.

One reason we do this is for better readability of the code. This means that it is much easier to understand for the developer (you) and anyone else reading the code. This is the context. It is simpler to understand what is going on in the code by referencing $(this) with $anchor. Of note here, it is fairly common to put a '$' at the beginning of a variable which references a jQuery object. This is again for context and readability since, generally, the '$' is an identifier for jQuery.

There is really nothing lost here in terms of performance. This is especially true for functions because the variables which are set within the scope of that function are removed through garbage collection when the function exits.

Typically, creating and setting variables should not be a concern. They are tiny pieces of the overall picture in terms of performance for an app. It is far more important to optimize the operations and run-time of the functionality of the app.

Where it may be a concern, particularly for a browser-based JavaScript app, is polluting the global scope. This term is used when an app or script is unnecessarily defining variables in the root scope, e.g. the window object in a browser. This is also means that variables created in the global scope are kept until the app or browser tab is closed unless they are explicitly nullified.

Eventually, the path from here will be starting to understand design patterns and namespacing so that your app/ scripts are compartmentalized.