Things you choose to buy in Quantity while sacrificing Quality? (sell, sale)
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Most frugal people tend to value Quality and Longevity while keeping price reasonable in the things they purchase.. I'm that way too for most things with a few exceptions.
The biggest exception is pens..
I've lost countless pens in the $3 - $10 range that I've stopped buying them altogether. Since I'm notorious for losing pens, I just go to Target and buy the $20 pack of cheap pens for $2-3 every few months (since that's how long they're gonna last before I lose them all.) Even at work, I don't bother to ask my boss or coworkers for a replacement pen every few weeks when I lose mine.. I just whip out another one of those generic Target pens..
I buy the cheap Bic-type pens, too. Because that is all I need a pen for and it does the job just fine. I buy the 10 or 20 pack when the back-to-school sales are on.
When a decent pen mattered, I did have a lovely and expensive pen that I kept for over a decade, buying replacement cartridges and replacement nibs for it. I probably still have it packed away in a box somewhere.
Buying lower quality to save money is not something I do. I prefer quality that will last and not have to be replaced. However, I will buy what does a good job for me. There is no reason to buy something that isn't functional. I don't have a use for a gold fountain pen, so there is no reason to buy one.
Power tools, on the other hand, I do have a use for and good tools are worth the purchase price. I buy what will last and do the best job. I don't buy cheap tools that will break or not do the job in an easy and efficient fashion. That's not the place to save money
My family prefers good food, so I never buy cheap food to save money. It is actually wasting money if my family doesn't like it. I save money by getting the quality food at the best price available (careful shopping).
I also save a lot of money by never buying anything that the family doesn't need or won't use.
We don't sacrifice quality on anything but we do not over spend either.
If we find something we want we save for it so we can pay cash and then wait until it goes on sale then we purchase however, we purchase items that will last the rest of our lifetimes.
shoes or trendy clothes that I know I will only wear a few times or bought for some special occasion.
gifts for people that I know will lose the item within minutes of entering their messy house (seen it, folks)
copy paper for everyday projects
I never buy pens. I just look on the floorboards, under the couch cushions, in drawers.. somehow they always seem to appear.
TP... yes, we've all got our opinions on such a personal, intimate subject. I buy the least packaged paper that Target sells and it happens to be a decent product. Surprisingly not the cheapest in quality.
Honestly, I buy so little new materials that I can't say what I buy cheap. Oh, I know something... used clothes from Goodwill. I go so often that I can can quickly weed through the racks to find the highest quality at the lowest price. I have a running list in my head of what my kids will soon be in need of and I simply look for that product. If it's "50% off red tag" day then I'm only going to choose ones with the red tag. I've gotten GAP jeans for $2-5. I guess I kinda end up with quantity and quality. Win-win!
Wine. I have no problem with box wine. I just bought a box of the Black Box Moscato for $6.00 at Grocery Outlet yesterday. It contains the equivalent of 4 bottles of wine. The time I bought wine before that was also at Grocery Outlet. I got a box of Almaden White Zinfandel for $4.99. Contains 5 bottles of wine. And both are decent wine, IMO.
Paper products. I don't see the need to pay more for premium quality paper products that are just going to get used and tossed. Toilet paper needs to be two-ply, for ease of use, but beyond that, I don't care about brand, in terms of wiping my nethers.
Plants and seeds. I'd rather by four smaller/less healthy $5 plants than one large and healthy $20 plant. Old seeds from the dollar store or Big Lots are no problem for me either. They supposedly have lower germination rates, but I don't usually need as many plants as there are seeds in a packet anyway.
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