It can pay to pay more. Being thrifty isn’t always about saving money, it means spending your money wisely. Many cost-conscious shoppers tend to gravitate toward the cheapest items, but less expensive is not always better.
Let’s say you’re buying a new car. There can be very good reasons for choosing a more expensive vehicle. If you’ve done your due diligence, checking out ratings and analyses to see which model is getting top marks. Or if you know you’re getting a good deal – it’s at the end of the model year so the price has been reduced and the interest rate is extra low. Also, if you intend to keep your new vehicle for a long time, paying more up front often means shelling out less for maintenance, repairs and other costs over the years of your ownership. So, in this case, you’ve made the right, although more expensive, choice.
Sure, it’s tempting to walk away from a premium item and look for something similar at a lower price, but paying less almost always means you’ll end up with a product of lesser quality, and quality often dictates lifespan.
Take that new mattress you want: consumer rating organizations have found that a $1,200 mattress could last for 20 years or more, while you’ll likely need to replace a $200 mattress in four or five years.
The same reasoning can be applied to food, clothes, electronics and almost anything else you buy: choosing quality over quantity will almost always save you money in the long run. Of course, you shouldn’t always go for the most expensive product. The best strategy is to do your research before you buy and save up your money to get the best-quality product you can afford.
