Don't Buy Cheapby Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger 17 Jun 2008 10:56 AM
Something in frugal living, it is easy to go for the dollar store mentality, shopping for things that are cheap. Personally, unless there is no way around it, we would rather do without than afford something that is not up to snuff. For example, we went without a DVD player for years and years, because anything good quality was out of our price range. We could have purchased something cheap., but chances are that replacing that cheap DVD player would have cost more than buying a good quality one from the very start. Here are some more examples. Clothes: I do a lot of thrift store shopping and yard sale shopping for children's clothing and sometimes jeans or shirts for the adults. I find that usually thrift stores act as good catalysts for quality. Most of the stuff there, being used and washed and used and washed, has proven itself. I would rather have a used Baby Dior sweater for the same price as a new off-brand sweater that stretches, rips, pills or runs after a few washes and then needs to be replaced. Plus the Baby Dior sweater could be resold or donated when we are done with it (so far, it has made it through three toddlers and still looks new). Gadgets: This weekend I bought a $12 spatula after going through a series of $4 ones that kept falling apart. The surface of the cheap ones is soft and crumbles after a few months. The more expensive one is made of wood and a harder composite, so I expect it will last us for many years. Paper plates: While I wouldn't encourage paper plate use, if you do use them go for the more expensive plastic kind. Why? You don't need a stack of them to support your food (making those paper plates more expensive), and you can wash and reuse the plastic plates if you like. Have you bought anything cheap that paid off? Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. Starting June 1st, don't miss her articles in the Baby Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here. Related Articles: One Simple Way to Curb Spending Are Recession Bargain Hunters Making It Harder to Be Frugal? Learn more about Mary Ann Romans  Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat. Relevantfrugal tags User Comments MegfromAllAboutAppearances (330) 17 Jun 2008 12:47 PMGreat post! I pride myself on being frugal, but there are moments when I look around and think that no one would know it by the looks of my home and its contents. Our place is well-organized since we got rid of the clutter, but it's not spartan by any means, and what remains is for the most part, really nice stuff. I buy a lot less these days, but what I do buy I try to buy right the first time. I carefully consider everything that I want/need in a product, check reviews, and (when I can) carefully look over the product. Rarely do I ever get the cheapest option. I'd rather go without then put up with poor design and bad materials. I looked around for months before finding what (I hope) is the right tea kettle for me. I wanted something that worked well, was easy to use, didn't look ugly (since I keep it out on the stove), and that wouldn't burn my hand like the previous one did. When I found the the tea kettle I was looking for, I was more than willing to pay extra. Right now, my husband and I are looking for a replacement meat thermometer for ours that broke. We're considering getting a wireless one, but we haven't been impressed by the reviews we've read so far. So, we may be waiting a little while longer. Tashi (1013) 17 Jun 2008 08:44 PMI spend more on quality too, when it appears that cheaper brands just aren't cutting it. After numerous purchases of makeup brushes for powder/blush, I finally gave up, since everything kept shedding badly. I spent $32 on an Aveda brush at the salon I've been going to for years. So far, I haven't had one problem with it, and am glad I invested in a higher quality item. Not that cheaper is always worse, as it's not the case all the time. I've had more expensive items that were substandard. That $32 brush will last me a long time (with proper care) and totally have been worth the extra dollars. george2 (35) 24 Jun 2008 07:06 PMMary, your post is right on target! Being frugal doesn't mean to buy the cheapest thing possible. It's about spending your money in the most efficient way possible. Our web site (www.theDollarRule.com) happens to be devoted to this exact sort of thinking. Even if you know you want to spend wisely, it's not always an immediately obvious decision. In the $4 vs $12 spatula example, if you chose wrong, you're not necessarily going to go broke. But if it's a bigger price tag (computer, toys, etc.) then the DR can help provide some helpful rule-of-thumb (i.e., "don't buy it unless you'll get at least 1 hour of use per 1 dollar you spend"). george2 (35) 24 Jun 2008 07:08 PMJust thought of something to add. Some of the best deals around is on older software (if there's no good freeware substitute), which people often practically give away if it's more than a few years old or a few versions old. Freecycle (freecycle.org) is a great source of older software. At worst, you can find plenty of offerings on eBay or Amazon. Also, some of our best "buys" have been free-after-rebate items at the office supply stores (Office Depot/Max/Staples), such as spindles of 100 CD-R blanks we got a good number of years ago. We never had to buy a single blank CD after that. Normally, I'm wary of most mail-in-rebates, but in this case if they failed to pay up, I wouldn't have been out all that much. Community Tags frugal, save money, shopping tips, thrifty Discuss this article
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