How to Save Money by Buying Expensive Things - Printable Version
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How to Save Money by Buying Expensive Things - dispenser - 03-22-2015
The question is this: how can you cut your costs without losing quality?
Usually, the answer is: get the right equipment, and take a do-it-yourself approach.
- Steel Flasks
If you find yourself buying bottled water on a regular basis, consider a steel flask. You can filter tapwater, add ice, and have a cold Bisphenol-free drink at any time of the day. You could add a small pinch of baking soda to make it more alkaline, and perhaps a crushed grain of himalayan salt to add some trace minerals. They'll also retain heat, and so could be used for coffee or tea.
- Goodyear Welted Shoes
Goodyear welting greatly extends the lifespan of a pair of shoes, as it allows them to be easily resoled. The price is high, but you're effectively getting three or four lifespans for the price of one. It's not just for dress shoes - sturdy outdoor boots can also feature it. It tends to be a sign of good quality in general - if the shoemakers used goodyear welting, they probably used decent leather, have something resembling arch support, and have a variety of 'last' shapes instead of one-size-fits-none. Since resoling doesn't occur to most people, you can thrift a pair of welted shoes, get them resoled, and have them good as new at a fraction of the cost.
- Safety Razors
Straight razors are the cheapest way to shave, but they're not a method for a man in a hurry. Safety razors are the next best thing. Unlike a Gillette Turbo Truck Gun Powerblast 3000, they're not flimsy pieces of plastic packed with useless blades. With a sufficiently sharp blade (singular), all a safety razor needs is a pass or two. Seven blades? A gimmick. Buy a good one, and it'll last forever. The only outlay is on blades, which are far cheaper than the high-octane torture devices the mainstream use.
- Buy in Bulk
Buy the sources of your usual supplements in bulk, even if the price makes you wince. Liquid fish oil gives you more bang for your buck than softgels. Actual liver is cheaper than desiccated liver. Fat, healthy heads of garlic are cheaper than garlic capsules. Maca powder is cheaper than maca capsules per gram. For herbs like gingko and ashwagandha, the powder is cheaper per gram than the capsules. I don't need to say that coconut oil softgels are a rip. And so on.
- Loose Leaf Tea & Teapots
Similarly, loose leaf tea tends to work out as being cheaper than bagged tea of a similar quality. Loose leaf teapots save on electricity if you're a regular drinker. With three teabags, you boil water three times, but with a loose leaf teapot, you tend to drink three cups from the heat-retaining pot. That adds up, especially if you make two or three pots a day, like myself.
- Stovetop Espresso Pots
If you find yourself buying coffee-to-go every other day, consider a stovetop espresso pot. Fill the bottom with water, the middle with ground coffee, and then set it on a stove till the coffee wells up to the upper pot. No need for some enormous espresso machine or the services of a barista.
- Cast Iron Cookware
Cast iron cookware lasts long enough to save your grandchildren money, and the heat retention is excellent for stews. The Japanese traditionally used iron kettles called tetsubin to boil water - they have enthusiasm for the resultant iron content of the water, and this mineralising effect extends to traditional Western ironware. You should be able to thrift an old Western style stove kettle easily enough.
- Thrifted Fountain Pens
I wish I could recommend a new fountain pen over cheap ballpoints, but the most cost effective ones are either A. from darkest China, or B. take cartridges that cost almost as much a ballpoint, instead of sucking up ink from a bottle. I'd recommend thrifting an old fashioned one if you can.
How to Save Money by Buying Expensive Things - tarquin - 03-22-2015
Funny you should mention Cast Iron cookware. I use the Cast Iron frying pan of my grandmother. The stuff lasts.
How to Save Money by Buying Expensive Things - Atlantic - 03-22-2015
Leather jackets, leather boots, RayBans, Mac laptops (as hipster as they are they work amazing), high end jeans and white tshirts.
How to Save Money by Buying Expensive Things - Basil Ransom - 03-22-2015
Great idea. If you look hard enough, you can almost always find quality goods that are actually the cheapest, once you take everything into consideration. Beyond that point, the benefits are often small, and the province of enthusiasts.
Raw Denim: Uniqlo ($50), Unbranded ($80). Durable, stylish and versatile.
Superfine Merino Wool (17.5-18.5 microns): naturally wicks away moisture and repels germs and moisture, reducing the need for laundering it, while being soft. Typically 2-3 times the price of comparable quality cotton or synthetic goods.
Bicycles: There's a huge selection of course, but the cheapest bikes are garbage - you have to spend around $500 at a store to get quality, less if you're getting used or online.
Electric Pressure Cooker: Fastest, most convenient way to cook foods with wet heat. Great for your starches, your vegetables, stews, roasts, and especially bone broths. Much quicker than competing options, and because it's programmable and electric, you can walk away from it. I use mine at almost every meal, along with my cast iron skillet. See the Instant Pot IP-DUO60.
Highly recommend this site: http://thesweethome.com/ . They do rigorous comparison reviews of common consumer goods. If you want to know what the best say, anal toys are, it's your site. Reviews of a single item are almost pointless, because whenever you're buying something, you're always comparing it against the alternatives. The Sweet Home does that. Although sometimes they skew towards the pricey option that's only marginally better than a cheaper option.
How to Save Money by Buying Expensive Things - Agreddor - 03-22-2015
Calvin Klein underwear. My oldest pair had lasted me 6 years.
How to Save Money by Buying Expensive Things - WesternCancer - 03-22-2015
Great thread, one of the best things a man can learn is the difference between cheap and frugal.
a couple points I'd like to add
1. Buy for your needs: sometimes the best of the best isn't what you need for the amount you'd use it.
An example would be tools. If you use them for a trade or extremely frequently by all means get the best available, but if your use of the tools is infrequent or not too intense there is no point in spending a ton more money for the best. I just bought a 200 pc socket set on sale for pretty cheap, good brand etc the set comes with a lifetime warranty so when I break a piece I can go back to the store and exchange it. my livelyhood isn't dependent on the tools so putting off a project for a day is nothing compared to paying hundreds more for a set that will break much less frequently.
2. Wait for sales and accumulate (within reason).
In the example above I knew I needed basic tools, but I didn't need them right away so I waited until they came on sale and over the course of a couple months spent 200 on hand tools that would have been more than 500 full price.
I do this with groceries/frequently used items too. I spend 5 minutes reading over flyers for all the grocery stores once a week and then go snag the best deals. chicken beasts were 6 bucks a pound last week this week they're 3 bucks so I pick up a few packs. For the most part there's no point in paying for anything full price at the grocery store because within the month it's going to be on sale. Once you shop by the sales for a month you'll have tons of variety in your house and won't have to go to the store unless it's something you really want.
How to Save Money by Buying Expensive Things - CactusCat589 - 03-23-2015
Waiting for sales is a big one. Sometimes I've unintentionally walked into a deal because I'm so indecisive I end up waiting long enough that a sudden sale shaves $84 off a $200 jacket, then I decide to buy it. With clothing, there will ALWAYS be a sale a month or so down the line. Everytime I've deviated from that, I see the sale happen.
I'll admit that I used to really like Starbucks (not their coffee, but their Iced Tea Lemonade), and also the milkshakes at local burger joints. I realized they literally took tea and lemonade - already 80% water - and added yet even more water to make overprized drinks. So I buy SimplyLemonade (with the transparent plastic, green cap) lemonade and black tea for myself. Tilamook ice cream plus milk with dashes of butterscotch and caramel is far superior to the milkshakes anywhere I've eaten at, including the frappes in New England.
I'm interested in the safety razor. Thanks for the good ideas. A lot of it comes down to optimizing how you physically handle things. I for one used to be very clumsy and forgetful. I buy a cheap back of ballpoint pens - I don't lose one here or there. Sunglasses - take care of them, never forget they're in my pocket so I avoid crushing them - not losing one sock out of a pair. Or being stupid and knocking over the mouthwash. Saves you the time of having to go out there and replace your stock.