When Does It Pay to Go Cheap?

[james.hendrickson]

I am seeing a lot of posts here about things that it doesn't make sense to go cheap one (e.g. really poorly made clothing that falls apart), but what is something unexpected that you did go cheap on that worked out?

[Smallsteps]

It can be trail and error to find ones that work for you, but many times store brands and or generics pay off in the long run.
I do not always agree with the theory that cheaper clothes don't last etc it is often the care of items that determine their life.

[TexasHusker]

I go cheap on a lot of healthcare.

A few examples:

1. My wife was ordered THREE diagnostic MRIs a year ago. We have a high deductible plan, so I called around here and the prices ranged from $1600 to over $3000 from different places. I then called around in a city about 120 miles from here and they quoted me a cash price of $300 per MRI including the reading fee. It was worth the drive.

2. When doctors order lab tests, we get the orders and call around to find out "cash prices". There is a HUGE difference.

3. My son's foot started hurting recently, and we did a ton of research on it and self-diagnosed it as a hairline stress fracture. It could have been something else, but worst case, that's what it was. Rather than pay $200 for a doctor to order us a $2000 MRI and fit us with a $300 boot from his office, we bought a boot on Amazon for $40 delivered. He's worn it a week and we are planning on two more, and he says the foot is no longer hurting.

Was it broken? Likely, but dunno. But keeping it immobilized for 3 weeks is likely going to set it straight, whatever it is/was.

Now, if I get cancer, I won't be going cheap on that. I'll be headed straight to M.D. Andersen Cancer Center, without a hiccup. But some of the rest of this stuff that isn't life threatening, you can use a little common sense and deductive reasoning and save a bundle.

Cheers!

[disneysteve]

I think "cheap" works for a lot of things. You need to evaluate everything on a case by case basis and decide when better quality is needed and when it's not.

Generic medication is a great example. 99% of the time, a generic works just as well as its brand name equivalent but for a fraction of the price. Many times, unknown to the consumer, the brand and generic are actually the identical product, produced by the same company in the same factory. Once the patent runs out, the original company doesn't want to lose the business so they will continue to sell the brand name but start selling the generic version too.

For some reason, paper plates come to mind. There are times when what I'm eating is not heavy or wet or greasy and a plain simple cheap white paper plate will do just fine and I don't need the heavy duty waterproof more costly plate. (FYI This is just for at work. We don't use paper plates at home.)

There are lots of other times when cheap works fine. For a basic kitchen gadget like a colander, cheap is fine. On the other hand, we trashed out cheap cookie sheets years ago and bought good quality commercial grade ones. They make a huge difference in how things bake because they heat evenly without hot spots and they're thick enough that things don't burn like they do on the cheap ones.

[disneysteve]

I go cheap on a lot of healthcare.

1. My wife was ordered THREE diagnostic MRIs a year ago.

2. When doctors order lab tests, we get the orders and call around to find out "cash prices".

3. My son's foot started hurting recently

I'm totally with you on 1 and 2.

I'd be a little less enthusiastic about 3. If my kid got hurt and I thought there might be a fracture, I'd want to know for sure. Treated improperly, that could have lifelong consequences. Even a delay of a week or two could have lasting impact so I don't think that's somewhere I'd skimp.

[TexasHusker]

I'm totally with you on 1 and 2.

I'd be a little less enthusiastic about 3. If my kid got hurt and I thought there might be a fracture, I'd want to know for sure. Treated improperly, that could have lifelong consequences. Even a delay of a week or two could have lasting impact so I don't think that's somewhere I'd skimp.

I figured you might not be so hip on item number 3.

It was a calculated risk.

[disneysteve]

It was a calculated risk.

Understood. I just don't think that's the place to be cutting corners. Getting the x-ray at the cheapest facility is fine. Skipping the x-ray all together is not.

[disneysteve]

Another thing I always go cheap on is tech accessories. Apple and other stores want stupid money for phone chargers, screen protectors, cases, etc. I get them on Amazon for pennies (literally sometimes) and they work perfectly fine. I think I paid $2.95 for my phone case. A nearly identical case was $35 in the store. I've bought extra charging cords for $4-6 each instead of 4 times that much. I've gotten screen covers for something like $3 for a 5-pack instead of $20 for a 2-pack. And those prices all include delivery.

[TexasHusker]

Another thing I always go cheap on is tech accessories. Apple and other stores want stupid money for phone chargers, screen protectors, cases, etc. I get them on Amazon for pennies (literally sometimes) and they work perfectly fine. I think I paid $2.95 for my phone case. A nearly identical case was $35 in the store. I've bought extra charging cords for $4-6 each instead of 4 times that much. I've gotten screen covers for something like $3 for a 5-pack instead of $20 for a 2-pack. And those prices all include delivery.

Funny you mention that. We've found that the non-Apple charges and cords work great for a few weeks and then they don't. Have no idea why.

Another thing that I will not go cheap on is Mac N Cheese. If you don't use Kraft, then you end up having to ADD YOUR OWN CHEESE, which sort of defeats of the purpose of saving a nickel on the generic brand.

[TexasHusker]

Understood. I just don't think that's the place to be cutting corners. Getting the x-ray at the cheapest facility is fine. Skipping the x-ray all together is not.

The problem is, everyone wants to do an MRI these days. MRI for this, MRI for that.

One problem with healthcare finance is that the doctors do not have any sense whatsoever of what these things cost. Number one, they are in the top 1% of income so cost isn't as relevant, and number two, they assume you have insurance that it will pay for everything they order, anyway.

That's no one's fault - just the circumstance.

[disneysteve]

Funny you mention that. We've found that the non-Apple charges and cords work great for a few weeks and then they don't. Have no idea why.

Haven't had a problem, especially with the Amazon Essentials brand ones, but even with other ones. They work just fine and cost a fraction of the price.

[msomnipotent]

Best Buy will price match Amazon now, as long as it is the exact same thing. Best Buy wanted an insane amount compared to Amazon for some glass screen protector. Turns out the screen protector was craptastical, so I didn't save anything. I don't buy the most expensive case, but I don't skimp either. I pay more attention to the reviews that mention that they dropped their phone, rather than the price. The last time I bought a cheapie case, my daughter dropped the phone and everything shattered. It looked like a car ran it over. I spent $12 on my current case and have dropped it about 7 times. The case is scratched but not the phone.

Don't even get me started on MRI's. My dog has back problems and they want to do an $1,800 MRI. I think I'll wait on that.


But to answer the question, I buy tee shirts from Meijer, sometimes for $2 or $3 each. They are basically the same thing Kohls sells.

[snafu]

Items that are adequate from Dollar type stores:

Brand name hair products, make-up & oral care, desk calendar[lg], disposable picnic supplies [cutlery/plates/drinkware], games/Sudoko/word puzzle books, gift bags, greeting cards, hair gizmos, office supplies, photo frames, parchment paper, plastic containers [subdivide drawers], seasonal decor, 'shop' towels, zip sandwich bags

[rennigade]

If you're doing a project and need some sort of specialized tool you're rarely ever going to use...harbor freight is a great place to pick it up. There stuff is typically priced cheap...and the quality isnt that bad. And apparently the "pittsburgh" brand they now sell is guaranteed for life. So if you break the tool it can get replaced.