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I consider myself pretty frugal by nature. I recently realized some items I skimp on are items I shouldn't skimp on an some items I splurge on I shouldn't splurge on.
For example unless you live in southern california nad spend a ton of time outside and hav year round sunshine its probaby dumb to buy a $300 pair of sunglasses if you live in th midwest and have summer 3 monthss out of the year.
on the flip side its stupid to be frugal on an item like a bed where your goign to send a huge percetnage of your time and thats going to have a huge effect on your life.
three examples that came to me are bedding, dress shoes, and condiments.
i just recently bought a new bed, nothing super fancy or expensive just an ikea bed but its comfortable and a step up from my 30 year old hand me down mattress i was sleepign on on the floor wtih no box spring. also went out and got some new pillows, new sheets, an eggshell mattress pad. basically for about $400 have a bed setup im really happy with. definately worth the money as at 8 hours a night i spend 56 hours out of my week there. it also affects my life because allergies better to be on a new mattress with less dust, better for my back, better sleep means better productivity at work, more energy, happier, etc. definately an item not to skimp on.
condimetns. my roomate likes to go cheap on condiments, ketchup, mustard, mayo, etc. i do buy generic products like cereal i think they taste the same, the savings are huge, and you go thru it fast. with condiments however they will last in my house weeks or even months. the savings on generic over regular isn't much and i personally cna tell the diff in a big way. for thsi reason say you save 0.60 cent on buying generic ketchup over regular. i may get a couple hundred uses out of that bottle. the savinsg on each user of that ketchup is miniscule and every food item you spent money on is not as good as it could be with better ketchup so your kind of getting less value out of other food you buy in a way. this is anothe product i dont think its worth skimping on.
last is dress shoes. some of myolder dress shoes were quality shoes and literally lasted years and years and years. i have also bought kmart dress shoes. they are uncomfortable, they fall apart, the fake or cheap leather doesn't look good. i could probably wear thru 10 pairs of kmart dress shoes ni the time a quality pair would last. this in my opinion is a good item to splurge on because dress shoes styles dont change that much for guys, you cant gain weight an not fit into shoes like u can with clothes, and the times you wear dress shoes besides work are normally special times like weddings, vacations, etc and you want to be comfortable and enjoy yourself.
these are three items i say not to skimp on. its funny i catch myself splurging on something like a video game that i get very littel use on but then skimp on thing like mattresses and other thing that i use a ton and play a huge role in my life and its dumb. what ar your things you should not splurge on
I consider myself pretty frugal by nature. I recently realized some items I skimp on are items I shouldn't skimp on an some items I splurge on I shouldn't splurge on.
For example unless you live in southern california nad spend a ton of time outside and hav year round sunshine its probaby dumb to buy a $300 pair of sunglasses if you live in th midwest and have summer 3 monthss out of the year.
Sun shines year-round... even in the midwest.
I find I need the sunglasses MORE in the winter... NO leaves on the trees to filter the sun, and snow glare on a sunny day can be blinding!
Small appliances (or big ones) I have an Oster Kitchen Center that I've had for probably 30 years and it still works like new. I have no carpet so I do have an inexpensive small vacuum but if I had carpet, it would be a Dyson or some such vacuum. I had a Kirby once for 25 years at least.
Beauty salon - a good hairdresser is worth what she/he charges because you don't look like you just played in your mom's hair dye.
Vehicle. And it's maintenance.
Pet food. Always buy the best for what ever critter you have.
One can still be frugal when buying things one shouldn't be cheap with.
To me, the dress shoes/clothes are things that, if you only wear them on special occasions are where it's better to buy at thrift stores, for instance, and get new ones when you want but those everyday shoes should be as good as you can find
Not skimp on would be bed and medical care. Oh also, to me is important AC.
I can skimp on everything else and do.
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