Tag Archives: value

My Shoes Wore Out Working From Home?

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Every once in a while I manage to forget one of the basic tenets of personal finance:  You get what you pay for.  One of the places I always seem to fall victim to this is “fast fashion.”  About a year ago, when it became clear that I would be wearing sneakers nearly every day of my life whether I was working or not, I bought myself a pair of cheap sneakers from Amazon.  They were really cute and super comfy.  And the tread wore off the bottom, turning them into a slip hazard by the end of November.  March to November is not a particularly good lifespan for a pair of sneakers—especially when they are predominantly worn sitting at a desk.  I decided that I would try a different brand, and I bought another pair of cheap sneakers from Walmart.  These were cute and comfy….until my feet started sweating in them.  But I dealt with it because they were new.  Until the tread started wearing off the bottom after only a couple of months.

You get what you pay for.  Cheap sneakers are exactly that.  They’re cheap.  They are not good quality.  They are not made to last.  And I should have known better than to buy them.  What I really wanted was a pair of Allbirds wool sneakers.  Cute.  Comfortable.  And quality. But at $100 a pair I couldn’t justify it.  But having just spent a total of $50 on two pairs of sneakers that now live in a landfill a year later, I decided I needed some quality sneaks.  I turned to my favorite clothes re-selling website, Poshmark. I found a pair of very lightly worn previously owned Allbirds in my size for $55 and took the plunge.  I know some folks are averse to previously owned shoes.  But it doesn’t bother me with shoes that are machine washable like the Allbirds are.  I’m always going to have a layer of sock between my foot and the shoe regardless.

In retrospect I should have bought the good sneakers to start with.  Even if I were not ok with wearing used shoes, it would have made more sense to spend the $100 on good sneakers up front rather than wasting money on poor quality shoes.  As it turns out, I spent over $100 on shoes anyway.  And I contributed to the waste in landfills because I bought shoes that were basically garbage to start.

You get what you pay for.  I remember that now.  I hope you can learn from my mistakes.  Next time you pick up a piece of cheap clothing, think about whether it will last.  It may make more sense to spend more on something better.

Cost and Value

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This week I had one of those experiences when spending more money makes more sense.

My longtime readers know that I love my Instant Pot.  Lately I’ve taken to making my own yogurt in it.  I’ve found that for relatively little effort, I get nearly twice as much yogurt for the same money, and it tastes better than what I buy in the stores.  The downside is that it ties up the inner pot of my Instant Pot for the better part of a day (6 to 8 hours of cook time, plus at least another 6 hours sitting in the fridge to set).  I started thinking that it might be a worthwhile investment to buy a second inner pot to give myself more freedom to cook on the weekends.  My research found that the going rate on an inner pot for my 6 quart cooker is between $20 and $25.  Not a bad investment, considering that the money I’m saving on yogurt will pay for it in less than 2 months.

It seemed like a plan.  Until the little voice in the back of my head reminded me that there are times that I wish I had TWO Instant Pots.  Every time I roast a chicken in my magic pot, I wish that I could be making mashed potatoes in the same pot at the same time.  Or rice at the same time as chicken and broccoli.  If I had two, I would be able to make a main dish in one and a side dish in the other.  A second Instant Pot would solve both the yogurt issue and the side dish issue.  So back to the internet I went.  How cheap could I find a second-hand second Instant Pot?

A quick trip through eBay yielded exactly what I wanted—a nearly new 3 quart Instant Pot (a fancier model than my other one) that sells new for $100.  It has all of the pieces I need and has just one very tiny ding on the side of it.  And it was $40.  Only $15 to $20 more than just the inner pot for my existing cooker.  I took the plunge.  It arrived this past Friday and I’m tickled.  The ding is barely noticeable.  It works perfectly.  I can hardly wait to make chicken and mashed potatoes next weekend!

Did I spend more money than was necessary?  Yes.  Do I get additional value from that extra investment? Absolutely!  To quote a friend, “Cost and value are often confused, but seldom related.”  I got a value this week that to me was absolutely worth the cost.

Bargain? Or Value?

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Lately it seems like the concept of bargain versus value keeps popping up in my life.  A bargain is something that you purchase for a really amazing low price.  A value, however, is something that you may pay a pretty penny for, but over time that item pays for itself many times over because of how much it is used.

For example, I have two pairs of brown cowboy boots.  One pair I bought about ten years ago for a bargain price of about $15.  I’ve probably only worn them three times.  They’re not that comfortable, they’re hot because they’re not real leather, and the soles are pretty slippery.  The other pair I bought this past July when I was at a conference in Nashville.  It caused me a little pain to fork over $130 for them because I almost never make splurges like that.  But since July, I’ve easily worn them at least twenty-five times (many times during the summer months that are not exactly boots weather), and I’m always looking forward to the next time I can put them on my feet.  They’re really comfortable, and I adore them.  And if you figure out the cost per wear, right now they’re only a little more per wear than the bargain boots.  Within a month I’ll have worn them enough times that the cost per wear is less than the bargain boots.  That makes them a value.  My beloved boots have already given me lots of use.  And I’ll be wearing them for years to come.  The expensive boots are clearly the better value.

Boots

Similarly, last week I went shopping for a new suit (after somehow getting away with just not having one for several years).  I had to choose between an all-black skirt and jacket and a suit made up of a black skirt and jade jacket.  The jade suit was 40% less expensive than the black suit.  And I bought the black suit anyway.  The versatility of being able to mix and match the skirt and jacket with other items in my already existing wardrobe made it the better value.  I can see myself wearing either the skirt or the jacket to work at least once a week.  That simply wouldn’t have happened with the other option.

For a bargain lover like myself, it’s hard to admit that sometimes it makes sense to spend more money for something that will provide better value.  But time and again, when I invest more money than I want to in a purchase that I know will provide great value, I do not regret that decision.

When faced with a purchase decision it’s always a good idea to think about the value you will receive from the item you are purchasing.  It’s hard not to love a bargain.  But a value is your better bet.

What Does a Car REALLY Cost?

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I’m a pretty “green” kind of person.  I make the effort to recycle (even the plastics that won’t be picked up at curbside and I have to make a special trip to a recycling station at my local fire station).  I compost in my backyard.  I like to reuse and repurpose things in order to keep them out of the landfill.  I’m working toward making the switch to all LED light bulbs.  And I drive a Toyota Prius hybrid.  But my reason for driving the Prius is much less about the fact that I’m green and much more about the fact that I’m frugal (or maybe even “cheap”).

Prius

At the end of 2013, Consumer Reports declared the Prius to be the best overall value in vehicles, for the second year in a row.  The way they determine this is by factoring in not only the cost of purchasing the car, but also the costs of ownership (maintenance, fuel, repairs, etc.).  The fuel advantages are clear with a hybrid.  I regularly get between 40 and 50 miles per gallon with my Prius.  But other expenses can really add up as well.  How often do things go wrong with the car?  Are they major expenses to repair?  How much does regular maintenance cost?  How much do tires cost?  Is labor particularly expensive for this make/model?  These are all things that everyone needs to consider when making a major purchase like an automobile.  The car with the cheapest price tag is not necessarily the best value.

Nearly all of you will at some point in life purchase a new (or at least new to you) vehicle.  When you get to that point, don’t forget that you’re not just buying a pretty car that meets your transportation and hauling needs and that has nice options.  Consider the price.  Consider reliability.  Consider maintenance expenses.  Consider the cost of driving and owning it, not just the cost of buying it.  I’m not saying that everyone should drive a Prius.  But I am saying that everyone should think about all of these factors when making this very large financial decision.

Bargain vs. Value (a classic tip from 3/15/2010)

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Value—(noun) relative worth, merit, or importance

Bargain—(noun) an advantageous purchase, esp. one acquired at less than the usual cost.

When you make a purchase, it’s easy to get excited about finding a great bargain.  You find something at a cut-rate price and it’s hard not to be enticed.  But a great bargain is not the same thing as a great value.  If something is valuable, it is important and worth something to you.  A great value is infinitely better for your financial well-being than a great bargain.  For example, think about two pairs of jeans.  One pair was purchased on sale for only $8.  They don’t fit quite perfectly, but the price was right, so you bought them anyway.  You wear them a few times (let’s say four times), but they’re not terribly comfortable, so they find their way to the back of the closet, where they stay until your next trip to Goodwill.  The second pair of jeans was purchased at full price for $80.  It was a splurge, but they look and feel great on you.  You wear them twice a week for two years until they finally are so battered you know you shouldn’t wear them in public any more (and then you continue to wear them at home anyway).  Which pair of jeans was the better deal?  The first pair of jeans was a great bargain, but the second pair of jeans was a great value.  The bargain jeans ended up costing you $2 per wear.  The value jeans ended up costing less than 40 cents per wear, even though they were quite pricey to start.  It’s easy to see which was really the better deal.

So, when you are making a purchase, be careful not to consider only price.  Think about value.  Something that will ultimately provide great value to you may in fact be worth a higher purchase price.