For all the self-proclaimed frugalistas out there, saving more is the name of the game. The more money you save, the better. A frugal lifestyle is centered on the fact that you should spend less, but is that always the right thing to do? Not necessarily.
It’s worth the money to spend a little more for quality over quantity sometimes. Think of the expense as a long-term investment. While you’re spending a little more upfront initially, you can reap the benefits for much longer. Let’s take a look at five things you should always spend more on:
Clothing & Shoes
Clothing and shoes are two things we always seem to be shopping for since we need to find something to wear whether it’s an event we have to go to or due to the changing seasons. It’s very tempting to go ahead and buy the cheapest you can find, but if you think about it, the less expensive item isn’t going to last you very long. Have you ever bought a cheap t-shirt only to have it shrink during your first wash? If you spent more on a high-quality shirt, it probably would’ve lasted you longer. This is especially true for shoes where spending more will save you from foot pain later on.
Home Appliances
Many choose to skimp on home appliances, especially if they don’t intend to live in that home long-term. However, it’s worth it to buy top-of-the-line in certain cases. The biggest reason is energy efficiency. Many cheaper home appliances STILL don’t have that energy star logo, meaning you’ll be paying more in utility bills. Also, keep in mind the costs of maintenance. Lower-end products might be more prone to breaking down, which means more repair fees. On the other hand, higher-end products may not always save you repair fees. I have a friend who bought this European brand dishwasher thinking paying more for something he uses every day is the way to go, but the menus and features were so difficult to use for the average American household that he ended up breaking one of the parts while he was frustrated trying to operate the thing. Now, this may sound a little extreme, but many of us can relate to feeling frustrated and thus being a little rough operating what’s in front of us. Even if we don’t outright break the parts, I’m sure we wear things out a little more when we don’t treat our appliances with care.
Health Insurance
Many people choose to go without health insurance, but it’s always a good idea to get health insurance even if you’re young and healthy. You really can never know what will happen. A simple accident can erase your emergency fund or any savings you have.
Editor’s Note: I can speak from first hand experience here. My wife had a skiing accident earlier in the year and we already paid over $10,000 out of pocket on health care expenses but we should be hitting our maximum yearly limit soon. If we didn’t have insurance, we would be looking at over $30,000 in bills with no end in sight. Health insurance can save your bacon even if you are otherwise extremely healthy. Don’t skimp here.
Pet Food
We love our pets. They’re almost like family members and we want the best for them. Even if your dog or cat seems to eat almost anything, spending more on their food is worth the extra cost. Not only will this make them happier and healthier, but it’ll also save you money in the long run. Yes, you’re spending more now, but investing in good food is also an investment in their health. This means less expensive trips to the vet and a longer lifespan for your furry friend.
Furniture
You can get away with buying furniture from IKEA most of the time, but splurge a little for things you use frequently and often. For instance, you probably spend a lot of time sitting at your desk in an office chair if you work from home. A cheap chair will give you back aches and make it much more difficult to be productive. Spend a little more and make your life easier.
What is one item you are always willing to spend more on?
Editor's Note: Did you know about the service called $5 meal plans? For $5 a month, they send you recipes of delicious, healthy, yet cheap food that costs just $5 a meal.
Several of my friends signed up and they are able to eat at home more because the instructions are easy to follow, making everything convenient. The deal also comes with grocery shopping lists, which saves them so much time. Check it out yourself by clicking here and you too may be able to save more and become healthier at the same time.
{ read the comments below or add one }
I have found that spending more on dress shoes is a must. For someone who wears dress shoes daily, I can run through them fairly quickly. When I was younger, I would spending $40-60 dollars on a pair of loafers and learned that after about of month of wear and tear, they were no longer acceptable to where with a nice tailored suit (everything looked great…until you got to my shoes). The soles of the shoe would deteriorate due to being rubber and the creases would become unbearable. It made no sense to spend to spend $40-60 dollars every other month to keep replacing shoes.
That is is when I learned that it was best to invest in a good pair of dress shoes. Some of my favorites are Cole Haan or Allen Edmonds (Life time repair of soles when they become worn out). The price tag of $150-250 was daunting at first, but I have found that I have had to replace dress shoes every 2-3 years instead of every few months, ultimately saving me hundreds of dollars. Plus, they look much nicer when they are worn.
Good example Trenton. I too find that apparel is one area where higher quality can pay off in the long run. And like you said, you get to enjoy the higher end look the whole time as well!
I don’t care about efficiency; I want a dishwasher that actually gets the dishes clean and dry. I want the builders’ grade dishwasher that was in my house 25 years ago. I’ve been four or five since then and have never been as happy.
I hear you. And it’s not just the performance either, because older appliances never use to break!
and when I consider how much hot water I run down the drain cleaning the filter on this water/energy efficient dishwasher, the hot water I use cleaning the dishes that didn’t get clean and the money I spend on rinse agents (never used to need those) I doubt I’m saving much energy or any money.
Dish washers are definitely not a money saving tool. Nowadays, we have to rinse the dishes with soup first before we put them in the machine. It does save a bit of time but that’s about it.
Check your manual; you may be doing extra work and making the dishwasher do a worse job. New ones are set to sense how much crud is in the water, and once there isn’t much (like if you rinsed your dishes first) it quits washing and moves to rinsing; so by cleaning the dishes first you are making the dishwasher work less well.
Interesting!
I’ll have to test this out and see if it makes any differences.
Thank you for the alert!