Sunday, May 3, 2009

Spending to Save

Great article on the Simple, Green, Frugal Co-op on Spending to Save, sums up my thoughts in many ways. 

I often buy 'more expensive' clothing or items for my home, but to be honest, if I like something and it works well, I would rather it lasted for many many years, rather than having to replace it. Quality items don't always mean more expensive either, but they do usually take some searching just because of the sheer volume of "stuff" out there right now. The amount of cheap crap around annoys me a lot, yes it might be cheap and so seem like a 'good buy' at the time, but if it doesn't last was it worth it? Not to mention the ecological impact of buying things for just a season of use. This isn't to say I don't buy cheap crap sometimes, and I do weigh up prices and try to find the same item cheaper, but as an example (and I cleaned out my closet yesterday (ahhh, that felt good), I still have some shirts from 15 years ago, underwear from 9 years ago and shorts from 8 years ago that I wear on a regular basis. Not only were they made very well, in styles that last but I look after them too. Thinking of the underwear in particular, I even remember at the time (grad school....not a flush time) weighing up if I really could afford that bra/knickers set, as it was not cheap. I'm glad I did. 

Quality not quantity, you'll enjoy the fewer, better items more in the long run!

The Simple, Green, Frugal Co-op is a pretty good blog i've discovered this morning, lots of gardening tips on there too!

4 comments:

PleaseRecycle said...

I can relate completely. And with kids, the temptation to buy cheap crap is so much worse! I find that limiting the amount of advertising I'm exposed to (TV, magazines, and window shopping) goes a long way in helping me resist the cheap crap. Wish I had learned that lesson a long time ago...

Nicola said...

ditto everything you said. and i love that blog! you only just found it? i have linked through to it a few times. it is a collective of writers, all with lifestyles much like i strive for ours to be.

bsa said...

I also totaly agree.

Now i have just logged onto the simple green blog that you recommended--very nice. The article on emegency preparedness is very good--many thang that those of us in earthquake country are familiar with, so are good reminders now.

DDdd said...

While I totally agree in theory, I have issues because I can't see into the future. I've bought cheap stuff that has lasted years and years. I've also bought expensive stuff that has fallen apart within a year. Sometimes it feels like a crap shoot... which way will the dice fall?