Friday, May 16, 2008

Frugal Failures (for Frugal Friday)

(this is where the Frugal Friday logo would be if I could figure out how to get it here!)

The 'frugal' word gets used alot these days, especially in the blogworld. I prefer the old-fashioned word - cheap. I am cheap; a real tightwad. My husband will attest to this fact. Although he is the money manager of our home, the cash he gives me bi-weekly for groceries is made to go a long way. The 'left-over' grocery money is deposited into a savings account as my special fund.

But to be cheap without standards is foolish. I am sure that all of us have lived through a bad buy. The times when we go cheap on an item only to have the phrase "you get what you pay for" bite us in the end. Just because an item is the lowest in price does not mean it is the best return on investment (R.O.I). My standards for R.O.I. are pretty clear, but recently I had an epiphany about it.

In my grocery shopping, I do consistently look at unit pricing. It has occurred to me that unit pricing does not always give me the best R.O.I. - this is my epiphany. If a chocolate bar is $0.65, but a bulk bag of 4 chocolate bars is $1.99, I would get more for my money buying the bulk bag. However, when it comes to junk food the R.O.I. of the bulk bag of chocolate will also include the fact that I will eat all 4 bars rather than just one. Not a good plan!

So, frugal is good; cheap is better; but R.O.I. is the only way to avoid frugal failures. How's that for wisdom of the ages?

See more Frugal Friday ideas by following the Biblical Womanhood link at side bar.

5 comments:

Tara said...

lol That's how I used to reason my purchases of Ice Cream.. why buy a 1/2 gallon when I can buy a gallon for a dollar more hahaha. Of course I have learned my lesson on that one...and now working hard to shed the ice cream pounds lol. Thanks for the "frugal" I mean "cheap" wisdom lol :)

Sonshine said...

LOL! Thanks for sharing! It is a good less to learn! :)

Mom2fur said...

LOL! You're right...a bargain isn't frugal if it puts inches on your hips!
BTW, here's how to get that logo in your post. First, right-click on the logo, then left-click on 'Save Picture As.' Save it into whatever file you use, just remember where.
When you go to write a post, you'll see a line of images above the blank place where you write. There's one that says ABC with a check mark, and right next to that is something that looks like a picture. Click on the picture image. The box that pops up will say "Add Image from Computer" on one side. Click on Browse, then find the file where you put the logo. Click on that image and then click on the orange "Upload Image" button. When it tells you the image is uploaded, click 'done' and you should be taken right back to your post, where you will see your logo.
I hope this helps! There may be an easier way, but this is what works for me.

Unknown said...

Absolutely right! I like to think in terms of ROI and buy the best you can afford, as it is all an investment. If something is cheap and constantly needs repairs or replacement, then how cheap is it really?

Kim from Canada said...

Hi mom2fur!
I will try your directions and see if it works!
Thank you.