Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
[re Walmart]: What quality has decreased? They carry national brands and are a big player in organics these days.
Where did you price compare?
Yes they carry national brands but some of their products made by the national brands are made only for Walmart to hit a specific price point. If you are comparing a national brand at Walmart with a national brand at another store, ensure that the model numbers and place/year of manufacture.
Same here. You don't want to have to buy something twice. Too bad many of the Sears stores have closed. Craftsman hand tools were very high quality, though I think you can now get them at Ace and Lowes.
Almost worse than buying it twice is when you get stuck with an inferior one that doesn't break. It's tough to justify buying a new one if you have one that works, even if it makes the job harder.
It does definitely depend but buying cheap hasn’t served me well. I used to buy these IKEA desk chairs for $99 and I’d replace it every single year because it was garbage and the seat would be torn up, no padding, just awful. Then summer 2012 I sat in this incredible office chair at a high end furniture store. It was $1,000 but it was the best thing I ever sat on. I bought it. I still have that chair today and it’s still in identical shape as 2012 even though it has went through 3 moves. I bet I still have that chair in a decade. So was it expensive? Sure, but it doesn’t need replacement constantly so I’d say it was frugal over the life of the product.
I don’t do anything cheap when it comes to my home, if it’s not the best quality money can buy it isn’t going in or on my house. We live in a nice neighborhood of luxury homes and I’m here 99.9% of the time, I appreciate quality, I don’t do builder quality. I ripped all of that crap out and replaced it with premium products and finishes. For me that’s just a pride of ownership thing, I’m not walking around my house looking at garbage.
Where I’ll save money on quality is maybe basic things that never tend to last long anyway or the Amazon’s choice version of, say, batteries. I don’t know, stuff like that. In my life I’ve been repeatedly burned any time I’ve bought cheap crap though. I’ve found the “you get what you pay for” saying is almost 100% accurate. I can’t even count how many times I bought the cheap version of something and then it broke fast and I ended up then buying the expensive version later so being out both prices haha. That isn’t frugal that’s just stupid.
Find out, from experience or other sources, which name-brand products are actually better and which are not.. I buy store-brand mini-shredded wheats, which are indistinguishable fro Kelloggs and less than half the price. But I buy Daisy sour cream, at almost double the price, because it's pure and not all gelatined-up.
Life may be short, but it is still too long for me to buy cheap toilet paper. Don't want it if it doubles as sand paper. I will also not buy cheap Scotch. I will gladly pay $80-90 for a 750ml bottle vs $21.99 for a 1.75 liter.
I agree with those who minimize quantity but buy better quality. To me, "cheap" means that it won't work all that well and will fall apart soon but hey, it didn't cost much, so throw it away and buy another one. That's why we have so much junk in landfills.
"Cheap" also means that it's not worth repairing. I'd rather buy a good pair of shoes or boots that can be re-soled than keep buying new ones year after year. My oldest boots are a pair of Justins, bought probably 15 years ago, and I still get compliments on them.
Kraft doesn't make an ounce of cheese, or anything else, Independent cheese factories make cheese, and contract to label and ship some of their product for Kraft. The same factory also makes store-brand.
That doesn't mean there is no difference, though. Kraft has its own quality control people on the floor to enforce Kraft standards for everything that ships with a Kraft label.
When I worked for Green Giant, we fork-lifted a thousand pallets of unlabelled cans, to be sold later to whatever company wanted them. All packed by Green Giant. But the Green Giant got the ones picked at the best time of the harvest season.
I have to qualify all those premium purchases with the caveat that you take good care of your items as well. My jeep goes to the dealership for everything including the oil change. With an original owner warranty I'm not taking any chances.
Dealer doesn't always mean good quality even though it does mean expensive. Yes, a dealer oil change is likely to be better than Jiffy Lube.* However, dealer service shops are notorious for churning out lots of newbie technicians (who are the ones doing your oil changes) and upselling all sorts of unnecessary additional services. A trustworthy independent mechanic will give you high quality service at a lower price than the dealer- a hallmark of frugal spending.
* If my only choices were Jiffy Lube or the dealer, I would choose the dealer. Fortunately, those aren't my only choices. Also, there is zero requirement for you to use the dealer in order to avoid voiding your warranty. That's an old myth that never seems to die.
I don't really"skimp", I buy cheap, or perhaps I should say "less expensive", and I'll buy generic or store brand if there's no difference.
Example: oats are oats, quick, rolled, old fashioned or steel cut. Why buy a name brand when the store brand or generic brand is most LIKELY made on the same assembly line, just Different labels?
My "George" (walmart's men's 'brand' is the same really as FOTL or Hanes, why pay the higher price? They last as long, same cotton/spandex blend, etc.
Watches: I get a walmart cheapy at $8.88. they last 1 1/2 years-2. If I could get the backs off, I could probably change the battery myself, but they seem sealed to prevent that... probably to resell new watches.
Once, my ex wanted us both to get a "good watch". I got a manly gold colored one that came with a men's bracelet, and my ex got one with diamond chips surrounding the face.
They have batteries but are supposed to be windable by activity and light to help recharge the watch.
Mine cost (gulp) $800, my ex's cost (gulp) $600.
Mine is way to fussy to be reset, even the jeweler lady had trouble getting mine set, and they refused to replace it under warranty.. because"it works".
It lasted about 6 mos.
$800 buys a lot of $8.88 watches!
(For those Interested, yes, my smart phone has a clock..but my wrist is easier and quicker to tell time, I'm 57, have had a wrist watch since I turned 10, and the ONLY time I take it off is if I get wet. I even wear it to bed, I'll never know when I want to know what time it is!
My stepgrandfather was the same way.
That"good watch" of mine? It sits in the dresser drawer!
My ex's too!
Watches also get banged around, dinged, the "crystal" gets scratched, etc, so if a cheap one does the job and gets damaged, easy cheap replacement, that good watch? Needs to be sent away, with an expensive repair bill, just to get repairs.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
