The Cost Of Cheap Items
It could be easy to draw the conclusion from a lot of personal finance advice, that cutting corners whenever and wherever you can is a necessity. But is that always the case? Sometimes the true indicator of someone who understands their finances is the person who knows when to spend and when to save. Here are some items, inspired by Yahoo! Finance, you should invest it, not pinch pennies over.
Footwear
I own $5 ballet flats just like everyone else. It’s an easy sell- they’re cheap, you don’t need to break them in and they go with everything. But they break in thirty seconds and manage to wreak havoc on your feet in the meantime, so are they really worth the five bucks? So much of our time is spent on our feet, it would make sense that we invest in what we wear on them. Save steadily for a period of time, and invest in shoes that are easy to wear with several outfits, comfortable and well-made. You’ll never lose money on them, and you’ll save money on the myriad of health costs that could be associated with wearing shoes of paperthin quality.
Mattress
It’s the same issue as shoes- we spend a third of our lives asleep on our mattresses and not being comfortable and well-supported in that 8 hours is going to cost you more than the replacement cost- think of the health costs, the lost productivity, the annoyance of aches and pains. It’s suggested a mattress should last your 10 years, so invest for that period of time. The creaking, sagging, small board of foam kind of mattresses are not worth the money you spend on them, no matter how cheap.
Knock Off Electronics
You don’t have to buy the newest iPad or flatscreen TV, it’s perfectly okay to buy a model that’s a couple of years older and save money that way. But buying products from companies you’ve never heard of, with no warranty, just because they’re cheap, is going to cost you in the end. In all likelihood, they will break. And then you will have to replace them, because you have no warranty. And who knows, you might end up buying the reputable companies’ version you could have bought to start off with and then how ripped off will you feel?
Food
Apparently, Australians spend $5 billion a year on food they don’t eat. Moving beyond the immorality of this statistic considering the starvation levels in the world, this also says a lot about our mentality when purchasing. Just because it is cheap, doesn’t mean it’s worth buying. If you buy no-name brands, awesome. Save money on the items you feel are an equal quality. But don’t get suckered by specials, you’ll only spend more money. Just stick to what you need.
Furniture
Chairs. Cheap chairs are a complete waste of time. They’re uncomfortable, they break and they make your back sore. They really don’t have that much going for them, let’s be honest. The same is true of a lot of furniture. I love my $10 IKEA red table, it works fine. I also love my well-made kitchen table, and have been sitting on my parents’ sofa for over 10 years now to little effect. Invest. It needs to be able to stand up to the rough and tumble of every day existence.
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