Pause before spending to be sure it is something you really want
Travel on a Budget
Avoid add-ons with a high markup
Similarly, if I go to the movies, I try to eat beforehand, so I am not temped to buy overpriced snacks and drinks at the cinema. Like service stations, cinemas make most of their profits from the snack bar, since they pass most of the ticket price on to the movie studios. That $7 bag of popcorn may be good for their bottom line, but it is bad for mine.
And I have stopped buying hair products at the hair salon. Hairdressers promote products each time I sit in their chairs, but they are often overpriced, and I am frequently so disappointed after I buy them that I may end up using them only once or twice. Turns out many conditioners are loaded with chemicals like resins, plastics, waxes and silicones that make hair look good in the short term, but build up over time to ruin hair. I have found simple things work best. What has worked well for me, for example, is to replace hair conditioner with a leave-in mix of aloe-vera with a few drops of oil from The Body Shop. An old folk remedy that works well to close the cuticles and increase shine is an occasional apple cider vinegar hair rinse. My hair looks better now than it did when I used expensive salon products. Everyone's hair is different, but with some experimentation, you may also find alternatives to high priced salon products.
Buying in bulk is not always best
More ways to save on food
When I was in college, I worked as a cashier in a grocery store. It didn't take long for me to notice that the people who spent the most on groceries usually bought a lot of beer, soft-drinks, cigarettes, chips and other processed snacks. These were often the lower-income groups as well. The seemingly wealthier people often had a very modest grocery bill. They would buy more fresh produce and a small amount of quality meat.
After a long hard day at work, many times we just want to get takeout for dinner. But that can quickly drain your wallet. One woman I worked with explained how she and her husband found cooking dinner so easy they rarely eat out. They simply saute, grill or bake some fish, chicken breasts, beef, or pork, and steam some vegetables. That is both healthy and economical. There are lots of recipes available for quick and easy to make meals. Americans spend on average $151 dollars a week on food, which makes it a easy target for eliminating wasteful spending.
Paying more for quality can be cheaper in the long run
Conversely, one year I bought a designer coat on sale from a department store that was white with a dark lining. When I washed it according to the instructions, the dark linking bled and made the white coat a very uneven grey. I washed it over and over with all kinds of dye removal products and eventually threw the coat away. Buying that coat was a waste of money, even though it was on sale and I got it at a great discount.
Paying more for a quality item can sometimes be cheaper in the long run. Hence the saying "the poor man pays twice". However, I don't think it always makes sense to pay more for quality. If you don't plan on keeping something for a long time, do you care how long it lasts?
Many years ago I read the book "Dress For Success", and it suggested spending time comparison shopping in higher priced or higher quality stores. Even if you can't actually afford to buy anything there, go ahead and try things on and carefully check out the fit and fabrics. That way you will be able to identify bargains available in lower priced stores.
