What will you never buy again?
I received this from Matt:
I've found a helpful tip for making purchasing decisions, though I'm sure it is probably starting to bother my wife. Whenever I'm faced with a purchase (and I'm talking more like long-term items like housewares than groceries here), I try to remember to ask myself "Is this the last [blank] I'll ever buy?"
First off, it means I shop with durability and quality in mind, and am willing to pay a little more for those attributes if it means I won't have to re-purchase the item soon.
Next, I try to think about how well the item covers all of our requirements and whether I think I might get sick of the style eventually.
Now, admittedly, long-term purchasing is easier when you can actually afford to buy quality and when you are in a stage of your life where it makes sense. For example: when I was young and single, trying to find the perfect dinnerware was very low on my priority list and I probably couldn't have afforded it anyway. When my future wife and I first moved in together, we bought an inexpensive set of plates that we later grew tired of. We next received a very nice set of dishes as wedding gifts, but later discovered that they were very difficult to fit into our dishwasher racks and they also chipped frequently. That's when I thought, "okay, let's just find what we need already." Someone recommended Corelle to us and I'm SO glad they did.
The stuff is practically unbreakable.
The design is plain, simple and classic (all white).
They fit well in the dishwasher and our cabinets.
The set was relatively inexpensive.
I NEVER want to replace this stuff. I will concede that all the other dishes I've owned or used in my life helped me define exactly what types of dishes I was looking for and there is definitely value in that. I'm just saying that I try to think ahead now.So far, I've got a fairly short list of things that I think I'll never buy again (my cast iron skillet, wedding ring, some furniture and some tools to name a few items), so I hope that other people will post suggestions in the comments.
I think Matt makes some great points and raises an excellent question: what items would be on your list? When is it frugal to spend more and buy the best? I'm pretty sure Janel's iron would be on her list.
Which items do you (or would you) plan to never buy again?
related posts:
- Reader hacks From Mom2TwoVikings : While looking for a kool-aid popsicle recipe...
- Frugal is Not Necessarily Cheap When I was a little girl, frugal was not a...
- Buying Quality On A Dime Frugality, as readers of this blog know, isn't just about...
- Creating A Price Book – Putting it into Use So you gathered up your receipts for the past month...
- Holiday hack: save big on Christmas decorations at BB&B From Isa: To purchase free holiday decorations for the next...
8 Responses to “What will you never buy again?”
October 4th, 2007 at 11:03 am
I will never buy, nor will I let anyone living in my home, buy a “miracle product” off of a TV infomercial. They are ALWAYS too good to be true!
October 4th, 2007 at 11:09 am
I definitely use these questions when looking to make big purchases. As part of systems analysis courses, I was taught over and over again “Quality is conformance to requirements”, and I’m all about defining requirements before buying anything.
Right now, we’re in the market for a piece of furniture or two, and I’m being careful as to the style I pick- I need to have something I won’t grow out of or get tired of. When I got a new car in college, I made sure it was a color I wouldn’t get tired of, and a size that would accommodate my needs (ie Kids) for the next 10 years.
And, in the last 6 months, I’ve managed to break 2 Corelle plates. Don’t ask.
October 4th, 2007 at 11:40 am
Interesting timing for this post/question for me. We just bought our toddler his first “big boy bed” and my husband was surprised at how much I spent between the bed and the mattress. I shopped around and found a great price (especially on the bed, didn’t really shop around for the mattress) for two very high-quality items. Yes, I could have gone cheaper and just bought a basic headboard and flimsy mattress, but my philosophy was that this is not just a bed for a toddler, if we bought smart it could be the first, last and only bed we ever buy for him. So I bought a classic style iron bed for him with a high quality Serta mattress. We can change the bedding as he gets older and his tastes change (but again I didn’t go with a character or something too young looking so that he won’t outgrow it too quickly). So, with some upfront investment that might seem a little out of line for a kid who’s not even 3 yet, I’ve made it so we never have to purchase a bed again.
October 4th, 2007 at 1:05 pm
Great question!! :0) I’ll be like my favorite bear, Winnie the Pooh, and “think, think, think” about it. ;0)
October 4th, 2007 at 5:52 pm
LOL about the child’s furniture…because my husband still uses his childhood desk and chair (he was a big child
), a small bookcase, and the bedside lamp from his old room. So you never do know just how long something will end up being used.
On a different tack: I don’t usually anticipate having to replace books–I always somehow expect that whatever it is is the last copy I’ll buy–but it doesn’t always work out that way. Books have a way of falling apart most inconveniently, or of getting themselves put in a free-books box and then suddenly being wanted again. And a few of my favourite reference books–I’ve suddenly realized that most of them are 20 years old (pre-marriage), and my world atlas might be just a bit out of date now! But at the same time we have a HUGE fifty-year-old dictionary that we look things up in all the time…and if I want current I check the Internet.
October 5th, 2007 at 11:59 am
I agree about buying quality furniture and many times you can quality furniture at a low cost if its bought used. :0)
As for other items, our family has always had a problem with keeping drinking glasses. I finally went to Sams Club and bought a large pack of restaurant glasses, that really arn’t glass. They are like the Pizza Hut glass. Any way, I’m so glad I spent the money because they have outlasted any glass we ever had!! ;0)
October 5th, 2007 at 12:03 pm
I will never buy a cheap vacum cleaner again–not worth it. I will, however, buy a Honda or Toyota again any time! Quality is always worth it.
October 8th, 2007 at 7:32 pm
pots and pans…
food storage containers & kitchen cupboard organizers (Tupperware or even glass)…
garden tools… but this only works if I can catch when certain family members use them… same with general household tools.
In general, an excellent question and typically the attitude I take when purchasing items. For me the better question is, which items would I consider spending less on knowing they will break down and I’m okay with that.
Ex. toilet paper & paper towels, bed sheets for my bed wetter (so much laundering and staining, I’m okay replacing them more frequently)
Leave a Comment