Buying For A Cheap Bargain

Several years ago, I bought a lovely blouse for a surprisingly low price at the nearby bargain store. It was such a great buy because it was exactly the top I was looking for to complete a certain outfit. After its first visit to the laundry, I was in shock to see that the blouse was about to perfectly fit my two-year old cousin. A total bummer, indeed.

I believe I'm not the only person who experienced this kind of dilemma. I also know someone who bought a much cheaper version of Nike Presto that didn't last that long. It's a common notion for most of us to opt for less expensive goods given the difficulty of earning money. But what we fail to see is that sometimes, we also sacrifice good quality. The result? We spend even more. It really does pay to look beyond the sales rack. "It has to do with longevity," says Candace Bahr, co-founder of the Women's Institute for Financial Education (WIFE.org) and co-author of It's More Than Money — It's Your Life! The New Money Club for Women. "If it's something that you'd like to keep for a long time, a quality product will last longer."
Take the case of a cheap suit that seems like a great deal — until you've worn it a couple of times and it has developed permanent wrinkles and a sagging lining. According to Alan Rouleau, owner of Alan Rouleau Couture in Boston, trim and stitching differ by price, from carefully crafted bespoke pieces to mass-produced clothing that's run off on machines by the thousands. Fabric quality also increases with price. In cotton, for example, higher thread counts are
more expensive. Finer cotton holds dye and color longer and hold up better in the laundry, which can translate to big savings, too.
So, when do you ignore low-priced goodies and drop more money for quality clothing? It makes sense to spend on classics that you know won't go out of style — a great blazer, a black sheath dress or a great pair of pants. But if there's an oriental fad going on and you're looking for trendy clothes that will likely go out of fashion in months, then there's no need to hurt your savings.