Frugal Living Doesn’t Mean Sacrificing Quality (GP)
By Pinyo • Jun 27th, 2008 • Category: Frugal LivingFirst of all, I want to thank Pinyo for giving me the opportunity to do a ‘online coupon’ guest feature on his terrific blog. I hope I can bring a unique perspective, along with some online coupons that can save you some money. I am a firm believer that there are certain products that should be considered frugal investments. Stuff that typically is quite expensive, but well worth the money, and in the long run will actually end up saving you money. People often confuse frugal with cheap. Where in all actuality, being frugal just means you consider value and quality and don’t just opt for the least expensive item.
Here are a few examples of my frugal investments, followed by some online coupons that can hopefully save you money on these items and many more.
Bread Maker
My wife and I bought a bread maker a few years ago and we use it constantly, at least twice a week. We paid around $110 for it and use it to make not only bread, but also cinnamon rolls, dinner rolls, pretzels, and pizza. By making, and not buying these things we save money every time we use it. Not to mention the fact that homemade just tastes so doggone good. Especially when served warm! It is a major time saver as well, just throw in the ingredients and hit ‘Start’.
Britax Infant Car Seat
When it comes to the safety of my children, I make sure and do my research. When we had out first child 7 years ago, all reviews pointed to the Britax Roundabout Carseat as the safest on the market. Well guess what, it was also the most expensive! But we bit the bullet and bought it for around $200.
I think they are somewhat cheaper now. It turned out to be one of the best investments we ever made. It is very easy to install and it is so well built that all three of our kids were able to used it. As a Dad, I loved the safety features and the kids were all very comfortable riding in it. A couple of times we used other brand car seats on vacation and it made me really appreciate our Britax. A great frugal investment for our family.
Power Tools
I am going to get a little ‘Tim the ToolMan’ with you on this one. “HOU-HOU-HOU”. If you have any aptitude when it comes to fixing things around the house, you don’t want to skimp and go cheap when buying tools. I learned this the hard way. I use to buy the cheapest tool on the shelf, only to have a cussing and throwing fit with them later when I tried to get them to work the correct way.
This doesn’t mean that I only buy professional grade tools, but it does mean that I do my research before I buy and make sure I am getting something that will last and not drive me crazy. Definitely worth the extra money. Quality tools will lower costs by allowing you to do your own home repairs and improvement projects. I hope to get handy enough that someday I can make cabinets and furniture for our home and really save some money.
What are things in your life that once you got past the initial investment, ended up saving you a lot of money in the long run? Looking forward to your comments!
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Here are some online coupons that can hopefully help you save some money. If the retailer you are looking for is not listed, please contact me and I will do my best to find you a coupon.
Baby Universe.com
- Get 15% taken off Britax order and Free Shipping through this Link
- Coupon Code: None Needed
- Expires: 7/02/08
- See All: Baby Universe Coupons
JCPenney.com
- Get 20% taken off your $75+ order of window coverings, bedding, bath, decorative accessories, rugs, and apparel
- Coupon Code: WKIT842
- Expires: 6/30/08
- See All: JCpenney Coupons
Tool King.com
- Get 15% off any Delta, DeWalt, and Porter Cable tool accessory
- Coupon Code: TKDPD15
- Expires: 7/31/08
- See All: Tool King Coupons
Home Depot.com
- Summer coupon, get 40% Off Lighting and Ceiling Fans through this Link
- Coupon Code: None Needed
- Expires: 7/09/08
- See All: Home Depot Coupons
Smart Bargains.com
- New customers, get 12% Off your Online Purchase through this Link
- Coupon Code: None Needed
- Expires: 7/01/08
- See All: Smart Bargains Coupons
American Eagle.com
- Get Free Shipping on your $50 or more Online Purchase
- Coupon Code: 78997291
- Expires: 7/08/08
- See All: American Eagle Coupons
Nike Store.com
- Get $10 taken off your $75 or more Online Purchase
- Coupon Code: SUMSALE
- Expires: 7/06/08
- See All: Nike Coupons
Eddie Bauer.com
- Get 20% taken off your Online Purchase
- Coupon Code: SUMCRQ8
- Expires: 6/30/08
- See All: Eddie Bauer Coupons
About The Author
Kyle James lives in northern California with his wife (a stay-at-home mom) and their 3 young children. He owns and operates a website called Rather-Be-Shopping.com which specializes in online coupons for over 500 stores, organized in 23 shopping categories. He also has a personal finance blog, where he writes about frugal living, tips on saving money, and musings about family life. Some of his most popular posts include:
Great post. I agree about buying quality. It always costs less.
Sometimes that quality can be cheaper up front. Take cooking. If you are a good cook, you can prepare a gourmet meal for pennies on the dollar.
As for tools I take it a bit further. I actually buy professional tools when appropriate. One Milwaukee cordless drill will outlast 10 Ryobi drills.
My wife and I are pretty frugal, but we also went all out on the car seat and got one of the higher end Britax car seats. That is not where you want to save a $100.
I never got into using my bread maker for making homemade bread, but I did convert it into a coffee roaster. You can save tons of money by roasting your own coffee and end up with a much cheaper and fresher cup of coffee than Starbucks or pretty much any coffee shop. I spend about $2-3 per pound on premium unroasted coffee beans and can roast about a pound of coffee in about a half hour with very little effort. A warning though, once you have coffee a day after its been freshly roasted everything else will start to taste like charcoal.
B Smith, good point on the cooking aspect. And I had to laugh as I actually own a Ryobi drill! So far so good, got it on sale at Home Depot the day after Thanksgiving a couple years ago. I only use it a couple times a month though…
Michael, I am sitting here drinking my Kirkland brand coffee from Costco, which I actually enjoy, but the thoughts of the aroma and taste of freshly roasted beans has got me itching to give it a try in my bread maker!
-Thanks again Pinyo for the guest post opportunity.
#1 The point of frugality is that you then have the $ for those things you need to spend $ on! #2 You can also get a lot of quality products USED at thrift shops/yard sales and so on! Our best clothing has all come from those sources and no one is the wiser.