Walking over dollars to save pennies (mortgage, loan, purchase, interest)

[RHB]

I've read this phrase a couple of times, and I'm not sure what is ment by it.

The pennies we save add up to dollars.

I understand you get greater savings by having good windows...but you need to buy the good windows. By saving on the pennies, then you save up enough to buy the windows.

It's the "snowball" effect - take one snow flake add it to another and another...and you end up a snow ball. Save a penny here, and one there....and you have the dollar.

So when the phrase "walking over dollars to save pennies" gets used. what do you mean?

[8 SNAKE]

Originally Posted by RHB

So when the phrase "walking over dollars to save pennies" what do you mean?

It means that you ignore or incur larger expenses in order to save smaller ones.

A hybrid car comes to mind, as an overly simplified example. Lets assume that there are no tax advantages, to keep this on point (even though it's not accurate). Say you go out and buy a hybrid car because of the fuel savings. You spend thousands of dollars more than a comparable, non-hybrid would cost. You've saved pennies in gas, while walking over dollars in purchase price.

[RHB]

Okay that makes sense.

It's like when I was thinking of replacing my freezer. The payback on an energy saving model would be approx 5 years. I kept the one I have, because it still works, and I wouldn't realize the savings until 5 years down the road.

So the phrase is used in reference to "big ticket" items.

[plaidmom]

Originally Posted by RHB

So when the phrase "walking over dollars to save pennies" gets used. what do you mean?

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/20/ga...prod=permalink

[plaidmom]

Originally Posted by 8 SNAKE

It means that you ignore or incur larger expenses in order to save smaller ones.
.

That's what I think of also.

Originally Posted by RHB

So the phrase is used in reference to "big ticket" items.

Not just big ticket items. Think about the person who drives from store to store, wasting gas and creating wear and tear on his vehicle, just to save a few dollars on groceries for example.

Or the people who join the "warehouse clubs" to save money, but end up buying too much stuff that they don't really need and will never use.

[hindsight2020]

Exactly. Along the lines of paying for stuff you don't need, look at NAR commercials. To put forth mortgage interest tax deductions as a "reason" to get into homeloanership is a perfect example of walking over dollars to save pennies....

[elikhom]

Originally Posted by hindsight2020

Exactly. Along the lines of paying for stuff you don't need, look at NAR commercials. To put forth mortgage interest tax deductions as a "reason" to get into homeloanership is a perfect example of walking over dollars to save pennies....

You beat me to it, this is the perfect example.

[Houston3]

My boss had a saying...

"Penny wise, dollar poor"

[RHB]

So we are talking about not totally thinking through the purchases.

[sonarrat]

Originally Posted by Houston3

My boss had a saying...

"Penny wise, dollar poor"

Also the much older "penny wise, pound foolish." Sometimes it's better to chase the pennies, but those cases are few and far between. It's much better to know the value of the pound.