A financially conscious person would want to save on the items they spend on and stay away from paying full price. Haggling has become an automatic tool that comes out every time expenses comes into the picture. And there is nothing wrong with that because the more you can save dollars from your expenses, the better your budget can be.
No one wants to live from paycheck to paycheck which is a frightening financial thing because of the stress that comes with it. One missed paycheck or one increase in a bill can ripple out and affect other payments. Imagine if your phone bill was higher this month, you would then have to choose between paying it if in full and cutting from your card payments. Rolling over balances will result in higher payments the next time around.
But as much as you would want to save a few dollars from your every purchase, there are some things that would benefit you if you pay a full price. For some, the thought of quantity versus quality comes into mind where it is a tough balance between having more of a sub-par item for less or having a few expensive quality items on hand.
Think of a light bulb for the house where you would definitely want to save up when you get to the store and start looking at the price tags. If you are conscious about your budget and your focus is getting out of the store with the item with least expense on your funds, you would pick out the cheapest one on the rack. Especially so that BLS.gov put the average annual household cost at about $51,000. Why would you pay more when there is a cheaper alternative right?
But as soon as you get home and put in the light bulb, you notice that it did not last as long as you would have expected. You again buy the same type of bulb and it again lasts for only a short time. But if you would have bought the more expensive type and notice that it can last longer, will you not have saved more money when buying at full price?
Things you might not want to save on
There are things that are better paid in full rather than looking for ways to lower cost. Here are some of them that are worth looking into. It might sound confusing but the more you pay full price for these items, the more you are able to save money on your budget.
- Buying quality furniture. This is a good practice when you either own the house that you are staying in or plan to stay in your rented place for a long time. One of the reasons why you want to invest in quality furniture is because you can get quality comfort. There are ways to save money on furniture but choosing the cheapest one in the store is usually a recipe for regret. Take for example a mattress for the bed and when faced with multiple options, you just go ahead and buy the cheapest one. Without comparing the quality, you might have to sleep on a mattress that does not support your back at night. You wake up with all sorts of aches and pains only because you think the lowest priced item is always the best way to go.
- Health and wellness. Buffallonews.com shares that exercising can increase your self-esteem and this is just one of the many benefits of making sure that you are looking after health. But even with this, you should not forego your routine check-ups only because you think you are healthy. Trying to save a few dollars by forgetting about your dentist might actually cost you more in the long run. Small issues can lead to expensive surgeries in the future.
- Legal needs. In this day and age of high-speed information and research with a few clicks of a button, you might think that you can be your own attorney and have no need for people who put in several years in studying the law. At times you might be able to find some templates to legal documents that you might need. But for bigger needs like buying a house, divorce or suits, you might want to pay a full price to get quality people behind you.
- Clothing and footwear. This is a need along the lines of food and a roof over your head. But there are a lot of people who are lost in the gray area of needs and wants. Once those two overlap, consumers tend to buy what they want while citing out the need. There are ways to save money on clothes when you are done with them but when you are buying, the best approach is to look at what you need and use quality rather than styling and pricing as your guide. This is to ensure that you get to take home pieces of clothing that will last you for a long time and provide the comfort that you need.
Cutting costs for your wedding can work
There are a lot of items that when you pay for them, you should not cut costs because this decision can bite you in the end. But one of the biggest events in your life is an exception. One of the major life events people go through is marriage. Finding that person you will love forever and deciding to settle down and build a family of your own is an exciting event. But paying a full price on it can easily dampen anyone’s spirit with how weddings are going these days. It can cost you an arm and a leg and then some more if you don’t manage them. Here are some ways to do just that.
- Offseason date. Once you decide to settle down, one of the things that you will both decide on is the date. One tip in trying to save and cut costs on a wedding date is to consider off-peak and weekday dates. This is because most weddings happen on usually anticipated dates and going against the tide can help bargain for a lower venue price.
- Keeping it simple. This is easier than it looks but once you pull it off, you are in for a great amount of savings. One way to do this is taking a closer look at your menu and see if you really need that 4 course meal for your guest. Buffet style of food for a wedding reception is getting popular and something you might consider to cut down costs. The location is also something you might want to carefully study because staying away from popular wedding destinations can save you a fortune. If you have access to a beautiful beach front or even a lovely garden, you have lovely venue options to consider.
- Look at your dress options. This is easier for men than on women because the wedding dress is not a negotiable territory. Traditionally, the gown would normally cost thousands of dollars but if you think about it, you only wear it for one day. There is nothing wrong with paying a full price for a lovely gown but for other financially-conscious people, looking at rentals or second hand stores or even putting on non-traditional dresses are great cost-cutting measures.
- Watch your guestlist. Realsimple.com shares that one trick in cutting down guestlists is giving your parents an early number to work with. This can reduce the number of people in your wedding and help you walk down the aisle looking at people whom you know. This is one of the hardest decisions you can make and this is just a practice run because as a married couple, you will be making harder decisions together like who will wake up in the middle of the night once your baby cries.
If you are really smart with your spending choices, you will always ]look for ways to stay away from paying full price and cut costs. One thing you need to remember though is that just as there are things that you can do this with like a wedding, there are important expenses where it would be better to pay up rather than cut costs.