You go to a store because you need new socks. As a runner, you can be particular about your socks because you need them to last without causing blisters in all types of weather. The socks you have worn for years and know you love come in a pack of six for $9.99. You put a pack in your shopping cart but then realize there are socks that look similar in a pack of ten for $8.95. Less money for more socks? You put your socks back and buy the pack of ten.
The cheap socks are terrible. They slide off your heels while running and wear out in about a quarter of the time that the more expensive socks do. You end up back at the store purchasing your pack of six reliable socks for $9.99. Since the cheaper socks actually increased the frequency that you needed to buy socks, they cost you more money in the end.
This is an easy trap to fall into in a consumerist culture promoting the benefits or buying more and having the most. Shopping in bulk is great for specific items. I love buying a giant bag of rice from Costco for almost no money. However, I purchase very few perishable items Costco offers because I will not eat them before they spoil. It makes more sense to spend a bit more per item and actually eat all of them.
You Do Not Even Want That
The mind-boggling part of the push to buy more is that many folks end up buying things they do not even want. If the targeted marketing campaign wants you to buy the laundry detergent you do not want because you get more detergent for less money, do not buy it because you do not even want that laundry detergent.
Like with the socks, buying something that is below your standards to get more of it for less money is typically a path to ultimately spending more money when you eventually decide (again!) that the product does not meet your standards.
Buy the Good Beer
For me, the clearest example of this trend is beer at a baseball game. Beers at a Major League Baseball game already cost approximately $5,000 (okay, hyperbole), so why not spend a couple dollars more to have a beer you enjoy rather than one of the many terrible light beers that taste like water. At our local park, the cheap beer costs $13. The good beer costs $16. Both are outrageous, but the marginal cost to have something that tastes good is just $3. Plus, you may feel unsatisfied after that one cheap beer and buy another, spending more money than you would on the good beer. Buy a good beer, and enjoy it.
This approach can be applied to many other aspects of life. From grocery shopping to where you go out to eat each week, we have constant choices between excess and quality.
I am someone with pretty expensive taste that also finds it easy to live a frugal life. My trick is not buying stuff I do not value because it is an ad, my friend bought it, or it is a dollar cheaper but will last half the time. Instead, I make very few purchases but make sure to purchase the exact product I prefer.
Spend More on What You Love
You do not need more useless clutter, but you should have more of what you love. Figuring out what you value the most allows you to spend more appropriately for you. Here are a few examples of my picky purchases that I have learned add value to my life:
I do not care if Bud Light or Miller Light has a Happy Hour deal, I am buying a better beer. If I cannot afford the better beer, I will skip the beer altogether.
You will never find me on a Spirit or Frontier flight. You will not even find me on a Southwest flight because the lack of assigned seats and unavoidable fights that occur due to this anarchy causes me stress. No thank you. If I only find affordable tickets to a certain location with budget airlines, I will find another destination, more affordable dates on a better airline, or another way to get to that location.
My running shoes are always Nikes because I know I can order them online without trying them on and making sure they will stay snug on my narrow foot without causing blisters. I have not found another brand that consistently works for my feet, and my shopping aversion makes the ability to purchase running shoes online valuable.
Your values will be different, and mine may sound completely absurd. Either way, spend money to experience the quality you value. Find the space for that money in your spending by avoiding spending on acquiring more of the products or experiences you do not value.
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