Scrimp or Splurge - What Is A False Economy?

pollypenny

Re quality carpets - our hall carpet is 28 years old and came up beautifully again after summer clean.

And I'm totally fed up with it! :cool:

moneyistooshorttomention

pollypenny wrote: »

Re quality carpets - our hall carpet is 28 years old and came up beautifully again after summer clean.

And I'm totally fed up with it! :cool:

I hope you didn't buy it in the "patterned" era Polly:rotfl:. That could get "old" very fast iyswim...

I've been buying a variant on plain biscuity/oatmealy carpet for about the last 30 years (ie through rented flat to starter house to current house). In current house - yep...it's same again and this time I've bought rather decent-quality ones (as this is a SSMO house - barring that lottery win of course:rotfl:).

I took my courage in my hands and I'm in process of buying the sofa I've always wanted now I'm in that SSMO house - and it's a coloured one (not a neutral). Fingers crossed I'm not looking at it in 10 years time thinking "I wish I had got a neutral one after all":rotfl:. But I felt I just had to add some "colour" somehow - as this area has "colder" light and fewer sunny days than I'm used to.

NoGoodNamesLeft

There isn't much I splurge on, but a few things spring to mind.

I'm a biologist and spend a lot of time outside in some pretty extreme conditions so good gear is a must. I only use high quality waterproofs, shoes, sunscreen, GPS, etc.

I will pay more for ethical or eco-friendly products. I also look for free-range, etc.

Pet food/care is one of my biggest costs. My hamsters have huge cages (in their own room - spoiled little horrors!) and my cat gets good food. I think this probably saves on vet bills though, so maybe cheaper in the long run?

Makeup. I hardly ever use it and I'm usually fine with the cheap stuff but there are a couple of products I will pay more for - Benefit mascara and Beauty Blender/Real Techniques sponge.

Tomatoes! They are my favourite food so I like to splash out on those little vine tomatoes that taste so much nicer than the big, watery ones.

Experiences. I will almost always choose to use my money to DO something rather than BUY something. My last big spend was taking part in an international scavenger hunt to raise money for charity in August. I probably spent over £150 on it, but it was one of the best experiences of my life so it was well worth the cost.

Maybe I splurge on more than I thought!

paddy's_mum

For me, with a thick and strong mop of silver hair, it's a really good haircut. Even at £30 every 5 or 6 weeks, I still pay far less per year on hairdressing than my mother or sister who have colouring, perms etc.

Top quality neutral carpets - a year or two ago, I saw the estate agent details of a house I left in 1999, and the same carpets were down and still looking pretty good.

Clothes made, always, with at least some natural fibre in the mix. Socks or shirts etc made entirely of acrylic, polyester etc are itchy from the static, less absorbent, less comfortable and inclined to make people sweaty...delightful.

Fresh milk in drinks - can't bear that masquerading mix of vegetable oil and chemicals that passes as 'creamer' in some places.

Books, books and more books.

My woodburner. There's is little to compare with plopping down in front of the fire at the end of a long, cold and busy day with a captivating book in your lap and a cuppa to hand.

I contend that you can't cuddle up in front of a radiator...

paddy's_mum

NoGoodNamesLeft wrote: »

Pet food/care is one of my biggest costs. My hamsters....


my cat gets good food

Oh, good grief! :eek:

Not the odd hamster going to the cat, I hope

[Deleted User]

Good quality shoes and bed as if your not in one your in the other I also prefer best ground coffee that I can find and best sausages

moneyistooshorttomention

A friend of mine only feeds her cats and dogs "raw" food - ie raw meat etc. She says that she swears that's one of the reasons she rarely lands up with vet bills (ie as they stay healthier than pets fed tinned food). I've read the articles about this - and agree with her.

RockersWAG

As I've got older, my scrimp vs splurge list had definitely changed. Back in the day it was all about cheap clothes that I'd wear twice at most and the cheapest tea-bags, coffee etc. in the shop.
Now I definitely buy clothes less often but spend more on them so they last and if it's not Yorkshire tea then it doesn't make it into my trolley.
Make-up is something I won't scrimp on anymore. Rather than three dozen different lipsticks from Collection 2000, instead I've got seven or eight Clinique and Mac ones that actually last and don't irritate my skin.
Expensive nail polish isn't my thing though. Whether you spend £2 on a bottle or £12, it still lasts the same amount of time before it chips!

culpepper

re the haircuts.. I almost always do my own and the hubs does his.
About 5 years ago, I had a voucher for a free haircut and went along thinking oh I will look so smash afterwards..However my daughter who never minces her words, took one look and said 'it looks just the same as when you do it at home'....
Fashion can be a false economy too..
My son after searching high and low for a suit that didn't have something annoying in its design, went to a tailor and they made him one He said he would rather pay and have something that will last him years and be useful for anything, than buy an off the peg suit that is going to get one wear and then never see the light of day again.
The hubs has a quite nice suit too, he inherited it from his father and had the trousers shortened as LFIL was taller. Its a plain design,no 'fashionable' placing of pockets or lapels or anything and always looks right.

tessie_bear

interesting point op if you read a lot of the ahem frugal blogs anything the authors heart desires is a sensible money saving purchase where as any purchase anyone else makes is a vile waste of money and shame on you

iona being the exception..i love her realness I take the opinion i will try anything once but dont go back if its grim