Cheaper Not Always Better

There are some goods that are bad bargain to buy from cheaper brands with doubtful reputation. Such as flea market smartphones or headphone imitations made by chinese black market companies. Devices made with bad quality material are a waste of money. So don't sink your money into any that doesn't give you a good guarantee at least!

 

The first you should look at before buying a product is it's quality. There's no need to buy something at a cheap price if you have to replace soon after you buy it. That's the mistake many people make. They see what looks like a good deal, and they buy something without questioning whether they are paying less for it because it's of questionable quality.

A frugal person is willing to pay a little more to get quality products which in the long term will save them money.

 

To be honest it rarely is - as I too would agree that quality over quantity is always the smart way to go if wanting to save money - for the simple reason that - although low priced products may give the illusion of being a good deal - they're usually not.

As not only does buying cheaper products - regardless of what you are buying - more often than not turn out to be a false economy - meaning - they are not always the best option from a money saving point of view - but its normally much more cost effective to pay a slightly higher price for quality and durability - as although a little more expensive initially - because better quality products normally last longer and don't need replacing as often as cheaper products - it generally works out way more economical in the long term.

 

I have experienced miserable bargains which cost me more if I had bought expensive but quality items. As I had posted in another thread, we bought an electric fan for 700 pesos which lasted for 2 years. And I am prospecting a branded electric fan that is reputedly high quality and durable but costing 1,300. I'm still in a quandary but more likely I would buy that 1,300 if it has a guarantee that will last for 4 years, at least. As what my husband used to say, frugality is being wise but quality is still the best.

 

I think that if you prioritize what's important to you, then cheaper could turn out to be better. Take for instance, I will not buy a cheap winter coat as it will not last, and also if the funds are not readily available for replacement. But I will buy cheaper stationery or choice cuts because I do not consider that as of great importance.

 

I agree. For some items it's good to just find the cheapest and to a certain extent for these purposes you could even already consider these purchases to be disposable, but for most others it really is best to just try and aim for quality as much as possible if you can afford it. I Think a healthy balance between the two makes for the best in a budget as you can also get somewhat overboard sometimes with buying quality everytime when the less expensive option is just as good, but for the most part it does serve as a good enough indicator of what you can expect as far as lifespan.

 

For garden tools that get repeated use or things like shovels, my husband always buys quality tools. You spend more time and effort rebuying something that breaks easily or only after a few uses. We also look for warranties on tools as well. Most big stores like Home Depot, Lowes are good about honouring warranties. A few times we've had to contact the manufacturer directly and they have shipped us a new product. So look for quality and warranties. They will save you money in the long run.

 

It depends on how much money you have at the time, how important it is to buy it, how often you will need it, etc.
So sometimes the quality, while other times the quantity matters more.
If you buy your stuff from a discount store than you should not expect that you will get much quality from the stuff you buy there. This also has a lot to do with being either a decisive or indecisive buyer ;-)