Huh??? Here I am writing day in and day out about earning and saving your way to financial stability, and I am telling you that I sometimes pass on opportunities to save money??? That seems counterintuitive doesn’t it. If you take a closer look though, you will see why passing up savings can make sense.
1.Pass Up the Savings if On an Inferior Product That Will Not Hold Up to Repeated Use. If it comes down to a choice between a product that is significantly less expensive but poorly made and one that is of better quality but will set you back more cash, I say choose the better made product. When you look at items that you are purchasing to use over the long term, having to replace a shabbily made product after only a few uses will cost you more than having purchased the better one in the first place.
2. Pass up the Saving if the Generic Not as Good. On many products, I am quick to buy the generic over the brand name because I find the taste comparable and the price pleasing. There are some products though where the taste or texture is substantially different enough for me to choose to pay the extra for the brand name. One that immediately comes to mind for me in particular is mayonnaise.
3.Pass up the Saving if “Time Costs” Outweighs the Monetary Value of the Savings. Will snagging $5 in savings require you to travel to 3 different stores and eat up an hour and half of your time. In this case, what else could you have been doing with your time that might outweigh that savings. Example, say you are a freelance writer. Could you have written an article during that time that a publication would pay you $20 for?
Or could you have spent that hour and a half in the backyard with the kiddos having a picnic and some laughs. Can’t even put a price on that on.
4.Pass up the Savings if the Item is a Bargain, But Not Something You Really Need. Yes, that t-shirt may look like a great bargain at $2.50, but if you already have 15 other t-shirts that you rarely wear, is it really a bargain or just a drain on your wallet. Resisting the urge to make impulse buys can really add up to big savings.
Sometimes not jumping on advertised savings can actually help you come out ahead in the long run.
For more Savings Tips:
9 Ways to Save Money on Food On Vacation
These are all very valid and useful points.
Appreciate you stopping by very much. Looking at the quilts on your site takes me back. My great-grandmother was a talented quilter. I used to crawl under her loom when I was a little girl to check out all sides of her work.
Spot on Sarah!
Thanks so very much! You are one of my top 5 bloggers in this whole wide world whose blogs I love most.
It took me a long time to learn number 4. I used to get so caught up in the “deal” that I wouldn’t realize that it wasn’t actually something I needed so I pretty much wasted money!
I know all the deal signs are so tempting. Especially when an item is pennies on the dollar. Boy did I learn though it costs me more to store the stuff than it was worth in the first place.
Hi Sarah,
Nice to meet you. Jasmine here from SITS!
Great tips! I love that you are very real about passing up savings. Too often we try to find a “deal” and it ends up being more of a headache than what it is worth! There’s been plenty of times where I tried to scrimp on something or cut corners in order to save some moolah and in the end it ended up costing more than I wanted to spend :). I personally believe that being cheap can you make you poor, I explain more here 🙂 : http://ruffledblend.wordpress.com/2013/12/10/how-being-cheap-is-making-you-poor/
Have a great evening!
Jasmine
Thanks for hoping over from SITS. Liked your post about How Being Cheap is Making You Poor. So true!
Totally agree with generic food. One of our local shops generic kidney beans are large, dry and old tasting. No amount of saving makes eating them enjoyable. Another shop has really nice generic ones so to avoid extra trips we buy a few extra when getting them.
That is a great point! Stock up with what you will use for a while when at the store that carries the generics you like. Thanks for sharing.
#3 really rings true. there was time when I would buy anything that was a good deal with coupons – regardless of whether we needed it or not. Then one day I came to realization that all of the stuff we wouldn’t even use I had paid for (even if it was cheap). That day I gave everything we didn’t use away, and have never gone back! Great tips!
Yes, I keep reminding myself that a deal is not a deal when you are given up precious space to store something that will rarely get used.
So thankful for all the clicks and inclusion in the Top 10 this week with 4 Reasons I Turn Down Chances to Save Money.