Quality Versus Buying Cheap

Minimalism - Quality Versus Buying Cheap

One of the things I have had people say negatively about the minimalism movement is that they don’t want to buy the cheapest thing out there. While I believe in being frugal, there certainly is a line were buying the cheapest thing and buying something of quality.

Buying just because it is cheap is never a good idea. The Lord has commanded his children to be good stewards of their money. That means we need to not be wasteful, but it does not mean buying the cheapest thing on the shelf. I recently read where one lady said she never buys sales items. She waits until she really needs something, then buys the higher quality item.

In my years of buying, I have found to find quality and stick with that same brand again and again is normally a good idea. I do that with Dell Laptops and Vizio TVs. I have probably owned over 25 Dell laptops (the last 20 used one year old machines) and 8 or 9 Vizio flat screen TVs. Vizio and Dell may not be the cheapest, but they are certainly good quality electronics.

Even when buying groceries, we must check out the quality of the store brands. Some are excellent and just good buys. However, some just are not up to the standards of the name brands. So personally, I think we should look for ‘quality’ first, and price second.

I buy most of my clothing in inexpensive stores, but when I get ready to buy some blue jeans, I buy Wrangler Cowboy Cut jeans. Do I have to have those? Of course not, but I buy them at Walmart for under $29 a pair (at least last time I bought some), and they last and last.

This year Wrangler started producing the Walmart brand of Rustler Jeans and they are also excellent quality for only $15 or less. So I stick with what I know and like. And having the money to buy what you like is part of the reward for being good stewards of our money.

When it comes to groceries, I personally have found most store brands are good. If you must have Folgers coffee and it does not cramp your budget, I think that is fine to buy the name brand. If you watch sales at Sams Club, you can get that large can of Medium Roast Folgers coffee for under $10. Not this price all the time, but recently I bought a couple of those for the lower price.

The main thing is to think about what we buy and be sure it is needful. Just a few dollars saved each month might allow us to help a missionary obtain a new vehicle or feed some orphans in places like India or Africa.

We need to think about purchases carefully. Buying just the cheapest thing out there does not make us a minimalist. We can be minimalists and not be cheapskates. Let’s make good sensible decisions and stay the course and save a few dollars every month.

Just because something is on sale is no reason to buy it. If you buy all the sales, you fill up your house with unneeded items that may never be used.

Think things out. Go slow and steady and life will be so much better, and you can keep the dollars in your bank account until needed.

Here is a great video from my favorite minimalist Joshua Becker. This is an excellent way to get to know him as he speaks about owning less. It was Joshua that inspired me to start living more carefully and with less. Check out this YouTube video:

Owning Less is Better than Thinking About Owning Less | Becoming Minimalist on YouTube

The normal house has over 300,000 items in it. Read about how these guys deal with excess.

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