When people are trying to save money, they tend to focus on one side only: saving money. While that works most of the time, there are things that you need to look more closely when it comes to saving money because sometimes, if not often, they may actually cost you more in the long run.
Here are 5 things you need to watch for:
1. Cheap clothing
While it’s tempting to buy a $5 shirt, this type of shirt actually shrinks or torn easily within 1 month. That means, in one year, you may have to buy it every month, which in the end, costs you $60 and all 12 shrank and torn. But a good quality shirt that costs, say, $30, may last for 2-3 years or even more. The shirt I bought in Singapore,
2. Cheap shoes
I’m not saying that all cheap shoes are bad. I got one pair of $15 shoes from a Kmart store 3 years ago and I use it to walk around the block. The shoes are still good and I’ve never had a problem with these shoes. But if you want to buy a specialised shoes, say, for running, tennis, or basketball, you need to invest in high quality shoes that may cost $60 (or more depending on the brand) as these high quality shoes are specifically engineered to help you avoid unnecessary injuries. Injuries will suck not only your money to get the right treatment for your injury but also your time and energy.
3. Cheap light bulbs
The Incandescent light bulb is the cheapest light bulb to purchase, but the most expensive to run, not only it consumes more but its life span is shorter than any latest light bulbs. The best type is LED (Light Emitting Diode) light bulb, which is more expensive to purchase than any other light bulbs, but the most cost efficient to run as not only it consumes less energy, but it lasts longer than any other types.
4. Cheap mobile phones
Depending on how you use a mobile phone, cheap mobile phones don’t necessarily mean a better option. If you use your mobile phone just to make and take calls, a cheap mobile phone is a good option. But if you use your mobile phone for your business that connects to an app where you update your business timetable, send your customers pricing quotes, email, and invoices, a cheap mobile phone is going to cost you more in the long run because its processor is slower and whatever you want to do fast becomes slower. Time is money. Do not waste money on slow processors.
5. Cheap food
Instant noodles, for example, are not only cheap but also very quick to make. And delicious too! But in the long run, if you always or often eat instant noodles, the chemical ingredients within them will only do your body harm. You can do a quick google search and read more about this so you can decide yourself why instant noodles are unhealthy. In the end, even though it’s cheap, you will end up having unnecessary diseases like diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, high blood pressure, etc that cost a lot of money to treat.
