Financial advice from a tightwad

Now that I've lived on my own for almost ten years, I'm quickly learning that there are certain times when you absolutely cannot be a cheapskate.

Cheap use to be my motto. Wal-mart (and similar stores) was my BFF. They pretty much sell everything that you need at bargain prices. It was great for someone fresh out on his own. But after spending hundreds, if not thousands, buying some things over and over (and over and over and over) I'm realizing there are certain times when you must insist on quality. Anything that you plan on using often, especially on a daily basis, must be of a higher caliber. This also applies to things that must be relied upon to work, even if used only rarely.

Here are some examples:

Tools

I was in need of a phillips-head screwdriver one day. I didn't have much money, and they all looked the same, so I bought the cheapest one I could find. Well, after using it only a few times, the tip of the screwdriver started to be stripped by the screw head! When I went back for another one, I paid a few bucks more, but I still have it years later.

Appliances

I like fans. I fall asleep to one pretty much every night of the year. I used to buy the Wal-Mart special every time. Almost 100% plastic. These fans would work well for awhile, but inevitably, the wear-and-tear of moving, being knocked over, just every day use, takes its toll. Eventually the thing fails to the point of being unusable, and I find myself back at Wally World buying it again. So, I finally bought a nice all metal fan. It worked great for two years until I lost it in the shuffle of my life. I probably spent $50+ buying a new fan year after year. I paid $40 for the good one, and I'm sure whichever ex-roommate I left it with is still enjoying it to this day, years later.

Camping Equipment

The year before my wife and I got married we were camping a lot. After sitting on rocks, logs, and the ground for the better part of a year, we decided to get a couple of folding chairs. Off to Cheap-Mart we go. I think we paid $10 bucks each for them. Again, they worked well the first couple of weekends we used them. But during my bachelor party camping trip, one of my friends (who was pretty small) was just sitting in it by the fire and it totally collapsed on him! This was literally the third time we had used this chair. We came to find out the cheap plastic joints disintegrated under him while he tried to eat his smore.

So, after my wife and I got married, we used some REI gift cards and got two new chairs at $40 bucks each. They have yet to fail, and I don't expect they will for quite some time.

Toys

I know, somewhat trivial. But hear me out.
As a kid, I had so many broken toys I think I ran out of tears crying about them. Sure, some were my fault for breaking them, but most were due to being made out of cheap plastic. I quickly learned that if it said "Made in China" on it I had to play nice with it.

I remember I loved going to my grandparents house for their toys. I think they were the toys my parents had as kids, or even my grandparents. Either way, the main thing I remember is that they were mostly made of metal. Ah, the good ol' days. I don't have any memories of breaking those metal dump trucks and tractors that they had. I'm sure they are still floating around somewhere with my aunts and uncles.
Moral of the story: If you want your kids to be able to pass on their toys and childhood memories to their kids, that cheap plastic dump truck probably isn't going to cut it.

Groceries

This is the only place where buying cheap usually makes sense. For the vast majority of stuff in the store, name brand provides no benefit over the store brand equivalent. I buy canned tuna fish pretty often. I used to always get the name brand, till one day there wasn't any on sale, so I got the store brand. I've never looked back. I now save 20 to 50 cents per can by buying the store brand.
Like I said, this usually works. You have to watch out though, because sometimes the cheapest stuff can be horribly processed. Hence, making it cheaper. For me, paying a little more for a healthier diet is priceless.

Anyways...I could go on, but I won't. I've found that buying nice applies to electronics, clothes, office supplies (cheap stuff looks unprofessional), websites, furniture, and more. Again, anything that will be used on a daily basis must be quality, or you will surely end up buying it again sooner than later.

In the long run you will waste countless dollars by buying cheap. Pretty much the only exception to this rule is when you buy groceries. Hopefully, by sharing this, other people will see the light and buy quality when appropriate. In closing, here are a couple of cliches, however cheesy, that I find are good to live by:

"Buy it nice, or buy it twice."

"Buy the best, cry once."