You Get What You Pay For

tesuhoha

This is what my OH thinks so please dont all shoot me down in flames. He looked over my shoulder this evening and said that we are all so obsessed by moneysaving that we lose sight of common sense. I must admit that recently a couple of things we have done to try to save money have backfired and we might as well have paid full price for them. The first is a bit trivial but OH needed new socks so I went to Primark and bought 6 pairs for £3. Was very pleased with myself until OH said that they were so uncomfortable that he had thrown them all in the bin. When I protested he said you try wearing them then. I normally buy him M&S which costs £10 for a pack of 4 I think but he wears them until they are paper thin. The second thing is OHs second hand drill which he bid on ebay for. He has used it today and found that it is faulty so it is going back. The seller is refunding the money but it is costing us because he cannot earn as much money without a drill, so now hes saying he might as well have gone for the new one that cost £30 more. He says that because I was so obsessed with paying off our cc debts that I ran up the overdraft and we lost £60 in charges. I can see his point. It seems that I am not doing very well with paying off our debts and a lot of my efforts at moneysaving are actually costing us money. Wondered if any of you have made moneysaving efforts only for it to have cost you more in the long run.

dippy-dora_2

Hi I think the opposite, when people were getting themselves into heavy debts that's when they lost common sense...now they have seen the light as it were.
I've bought plenty socks 3 for a pound from pound shops and they've been fine, you need to just shop around a bit more.

Don't let him get you disheartned, you're doing the right thing by trying to pay off your debts and save money - let him buy his own socks, and it was just unfortunate about the drill, maybe going to a second hand shop for that sort of thing would be better than ebay.
You live and learn at the end of the day - debt can easily get you depressed, and cause friction between 2 people so when a purchase seems to have been a waste of time it can seem bigger than it is - shop around more and make wiser desicians. If the 10 pound socks last him ages then it's probably a good purchase as you do have to look at value for money as well as the best price comparisons like for like.

tesuhoha

Yes I now think a new drill will be a worthwhile investment but still hate paying out the money as the other one he bought new has lasted him for 6 years of heavy use.

lynzpower

There are lots of stuff which ends up being a "false economy" as my dad calls it. You know sometimes you might buy the cheapie washing up liquid and have to use the whole bottle to get bubbles I think tho its trial & error, some stuff is simply better than others, or in fact more to your taste. Personally I prefer the value sponge puddings in a tin ( not as sweet) rather than Heinz, plus have less fat :beer: but all trial & error.

I think my downfal was listing stuff on ebay that just wasnt selling, & I probably spent about 20 quid more than I should have on that.

Anastacia

Its true, I have been bitten on the bum a couple of times myself. Paid £15 for a printer on ebay & OH bought one from Netto for £30. I was a bit cross with him for wasting money (lucky he didnt get it from PCworld or he'd still be hearing about it now) The Netto printer is still in daily use & on its second computer, the ebay one never arrived (seller did a runner leaving 10 printers undelivered). Cheap washing up & cheap loo roll are also a waste of money.

But the big thing here is how many time you get it right not the odd occasion you get it wrong, especially if you learn when you do get it wrong. Could he do it any better ? We have discussed this in other reads already & we all know he cant even if he doesnt remember it. I think he is just having a bit of a problem adjusting to the new ways.

By the way highly recommend LIDL for power tools. OH only buys Bosch or Lidl (which look remarkably as though they might be one and the same). Very heavy duty, reliable & good value for money.

Panda

nelly_2

Dippy is correct.

Life isnt an exact science, you can buy two things from the same shop one will be fine the other crap.

nearlyrich

Keep your chin up you are doing a great job, you get some wins and some losses but at least you are trying and that's the most important thing.

jackieb

Did your OH know that you had bought them from Primark? Some people have pre-conceived ideas of what they will like and what they won't. My OH says he only likes a certain type of coffee. When he saw i'd bought the equivelant Tesco's brand he said he didn't like it. Now, when I buy it I just decant it into a Douwe Egbert jar and he doesn't complain. :rolleyes:

Chortle_2

I'd agree with what the others have said - some things are a false economy, but others are fine cheaper. And surely socks are socks? If I were you, I'd buy more from primark, and tell him they are from M&S, bet he couldn't really tell the difference

The bank charges for overpaying your CCs - well, you can claim these back, but really you should be budgeting properly, so you know how much you have left to be able to overpay, without incurring more debt with the OD. Do you know what the AER on your OD is? It could well be as high (if not higher) than the APR on your CCs anyway, so overpaying is pointless if it means you'll go overdrawn!

It does take a while to get into though, so don't give up yet!

Ordinary_Joe

Sorry but I think OH is being bit unfair.

So the drill didn't work. It happens. You'll get the refund. But what would he (assumption here) do. Would he go straight to the DIY store and get one or would he spend time hunting a great deal down.

My point is it's easy to be a critic but you're the one doing something not the one saying this way won't work. If he's got a better way, get him to show you (or better still do it himself).

I also suspect the £60 o/d charge would pale into insignifcance against the CC interest charges over time.

comping_cat

What you need to tell OH is that moneysaving isnt about going without/buying the cheapest thing, but if you need something, and have to buy it, you want the best value that you can get. If you need a drill, sometimes its better economy to buy a more expensive one as it will last longer and maybe do a better job. However, you want to shop around and get it for the best price you can, rather than just getting the first one you see. Must admit, think he is maybe being a bit snobby about the socks, did he try washing them before binning them, a wash sometimes softens them up!!!!! Sometimes, if you are in debt, you do have to sacrifice some things, but if you sacrifice everything, it can make you disheartened and probably more prone to big relapses, which can set you back hundreds of pounds!!!!