It has been my observation that many people will avoid buying something because it is cheaper somewhere else. Their choices are not always logical.

For example driving 5 extra miles to save $0.02/gal on gasoline.

I do not buy movie theater drinks/snacks. I’m cheap there!

Anyone else have things they are “cheap” on?

I was really broke as a young adult and my time was not important. My time is more important now and I am less frugal. I grew up with Depression era parents so I am naturally more frugal than most.

clothes.

I wear a lot of shit you find at Costco.

Not shoes tho, I like my kicks sharp.

I’ve got great water on tap. I don’t buy bottled. Fill and take water with me.

Many many hundreds of Illinois residents drive five miles to save $1.00-$1.15 per gallon of gas.

There is nothing iowan love more than when Illinois raises the gas tax.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
I was really broke as a young adult and my time was not important. My time is more important now and I am less frugal. I grew up with Depression era parents so I am naturally more frugal than most.

This describes me and my wife.

Anything consumable. I will use a razor blade long past its time. When I’m working, my clothes look so worn out that homeless people hand me quarters. I use leather gloves until nearly all my fingers stick out. I run vehicles into the ground, fix them myself, and do it again. My main computer is a 2010 iMac.

Tools, OTOH, are a different story. I don’t have time for crap in my toolbox. I like pro grade stuff in the box. If it’s German made, even better. And gas cans. Lativian made Wavians for long term storage, and Type II JustRite for short term dispensing.

We rarely eat out. No restaurants close anyways. Wife is a great cook and meal planner. Going over to families tonight for homemade stuffed green peppers

This also saves a ton of $. Better food as well.

I’m cheap on everything except guns. I buy way too many of that stuff. But clothes, cars, furnishings, eating out and all that, I’m a cheap bastard.

I buy good quality stuff and take care of it, but I only buy what I need and nothing more. I own four pairs of shoes, and two of those are work boots that I rotate. I own about a dozen identical black or dark blue dickies work shirts, 6 or so pairs of identical jeans in black and 6 blue, then several pairs of almost identical t-shirts, socks and underwear and 2 identical baseball hats. I own nice furniture but most of it is older, at least 15 years or so, and don’t have anything on my walls or much in the way of any decoration.

I try not to be cheap on anything personally. I'll spoil myself because it's just me that I'm taking care of.

Clothes, I hate having to shop for clothes. I am a jeans and t shirt person, luckily don’t have to buy dress clothes anymore since being able to work from home. Depending on the item, I might not go cheap, but I will weigh quality, options, and price before deciding which to get.

Yeah, gasoline. The cheaper the better.

quote:

Originally posted by Vanwall:
It has been my observation that many people will avoid buying something because it is cheaper somewhere else. Their choices are not always logical.

For example driving 5 extra miles to save $0.02/gal on gasoline.

I do not buy movie theater drinks/snacks. I’m cheap there!

Anyone else have things they are “cheap” on?

Are you Dutch...?

quote:

Originally posted by sse:

quote:

Originally posted by Vanwall:
It has been my observation that many people will avoid buying something because it is cheaper somewhere else. Their choices are not always logical.

For example driving 5 extra miles to save $0.02/gal on gasoline.

I do not buy movie theater drinks/snacks. I’m cheap there!

Anyone else have things they are “cheap” on?

Are you Dutch...?

Hey! I resemble that statement.
We'll get around to being offended and such later.

quote:

Originally posted by Vanwall:
I do not buy movie theater drinks/snacks. I’m cheap there!

I remember when we were kids mom used to make popcorn at home and we'd take it with us to the movies. That was back when movies were $1.50 for adults and 75 cents for kids. I doubt they allow that these days.

$12 jeans from rural king. Used to wear Levis then Dickies carpenter jeans now Rural King carpenters. Buy them 8 or 10 at a time when on sale. I usually ruin them before they wear out. I absolutely will not cheap on batteries, brakes or tires for any of the vehicles.

When I have been extra cheap, and cut corners, it has cost me. Now I try to not spend more than necessary, but when it is important I do not skimp, such as in firearms.

Someone stole my high end mountain bike once. I had lots of money in the bank, but decided to cut corners and for a while ride a used cheap, cheap bike I bought. Handled good, but brakes were terrible. About a month later, I went on a ride on a beautiful sunny day, but at the top of the mountain there was fog. Apparently fog got on the brakes, as on my way down I came across a turn and rangers had dug a drainage ditch across the trail.

I hit the brakes, but nothing happened. Probably the fog left too much moisture on the rims. I woke up 20 minutes later, and some hikers had found me. Broke L1 vertebrae in 53 pieces, but fortunately no nerve damage. Spent 3 weeks in the hospital inc. a 5 hour surgery, plus many months recovering.

So, no more cutting corners or being cheap for me.

I like to think I am frugal and not cheap.

I buy the best quality products for the money. And I dont buy cheap Chinese shit if I can help it. I look around my house and find many high quality items, Zwilling Knives, Sig Guns, Gibson Guitars, Brittish Marshall Amps, Porsche 911... none of this is cheap. All of it will last a long long time and serve me well thus frugal.

There is nothing more expensive than a cheap item you have to frequently replace or costs you a lot of time because it is not as efficient.

All that said, I will go to the ends of the internet to find the one that costs the least. And I usually get the one without all the bells and whistles, those add cost, are generally unnecessary, and break more often - IMHO.

Sorry to disagree but I'm not cheap on anything these days. I've learned over the years that cheaper is rarely better. Perfect example is gas grille. I use to buy the cheap $150-$200 units at the big box store and they would last 2-3 years max. Well about 9 years ago I splurged on a Weber which was a great choice as it still looks and works great.

Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to get a good/great deal on something but for the most part my stuff or services I pay for is middle of the road or better.

Auto and motorcycle parts.

OEM car and motorcycle parts, I have a sixty to a hundred mile trip to get OEM parts at a good price due to having worked at or with the managers at these stores. And if aftermarket parts are equal or better again I can get a better price by driving 60 miles or so to a NAPA store that I know the owners and have dealt with them going back to the 70’s.