Looking after the pennies
Discussion
I drive myself mad researching to the n’th degree about which shower gel or even moisturiser and then spend hours trying to find the best value for money.
Same with electrical items eg hair clippers that I know I’ll use long term and again spend lots of time trying to find the best deal to save a small amount.
Lots of sub £50 purchases on Amazon are researched to death trying to find the best value and I wait for items to drop in price to save a few quid here and there.
I’ll trawl the internet to save £1 on a book I want to buy but not think twice about buying another pair of trainers that Ill rarely wear or don’t really need.
And I’ll spend quickly and freely if we go out for dinner and often leave healthy tips which will wipe out the few pounds I’ve saved on an aftershave or whatever.
Is this an aging man thing or a me thing?
Same with electrical items eg hair clippers that I know I’ll use long term and again spend lots of time trying to find the best deal to save a small amount.
Lots of sub £50 purchases on Amazon are researched to death trying to find the best value and I wait for items to drop in price to save a few quid here and there.
I’ll trawl the internet to save £1 on a book I want to buy but not think twice about buying another pair of trainers that Ill rarely wear or don’t really need.
And I’ll spend quickly and freely if we go out for dinner and often leave healthy tips which will wipe out the few pounds I’ve saved on an aftershave or whatever.
Is this an aging man thing or a me thing?
Takemeaway said:
I drive myself mad researching to the n’th degree about which shower gel or even moisturiser and then spend hours trying to find the best value for money.
Same with electrical items eg hair clippers that I know I’ll use long term and again spend lots of time trying to find the best deal to save a small amount.
Lots of sub £50 purchases on Amazon are researched to death trying to find the best value and I wait for items to drop in price to save a few quid here and there.
I’ll trawl the internet to save £1 on a book I want to buy but not think twice about buying another pair of trainers that Ill rarely wear or don’t really need.
And I’ll spend quickly and freely if we go out for dinner and often leave healthy tips which will wipe out the few pounds I’ve saved on an aftershave or whatever.
Is this an aging man thing or a me thing?
Are you by any chance from Yorkshire?........Same with electrical items eg hair clippers that I know I’ll use long term and again spend lots of time trying to find the best deal to save a small amount.
Lots of sub £50 purchases on Amazon are researched to death trying to find the best value and I wait for items to drop in price to save a few quid here and there.
I’ll trawl the internet to save £1 on a book I want to buy but not think twice about buying another pair of trainers that Ill rarely wear or don’t really need.
And I’ll spend quickly and freely if we go out for dinner and often leave healthy tips which will wipe out the few pounds I’ve saved on an aftershave or whatever.
Is this an aging man thing or a me thing?
Same here.
I like to research all sorts of purchases even when they are relatively cheap. For me, I think it’s because I’m an engineer, like maths, and good value….
Strangely, this doesn’t seem to apply to houses where I’ve made up my mind almost immediately on every house I’ve bought.
I used to joke that I spent more time choosing a book to read than which house to buy!
I like to research all sorts of purchases even when they are relatively cheap. For me, I think it’s because I’m an engineer, like maths, and good value….
Strangely, this doesn’t seem to apply to houses where I’ve made up my mind almost immediately on every house I’ve bought.
I used to joke that I spent more time choosing a book to read than which house to buy!
croyde said:
I won't buy the multi bags of Walker's Crisps in my local Tesco when they are £1.95. And it seems no one else does as the shelves are full.
Every now and then they drop to £1.65 and the shelves empty
Yes! Same here! Yet I’ll think nothing of overspending elsewhere. Every now and then they drop to £1.65 and the shelves empty
It must be because my formative years were in retail and supplier funded discounts which always came about
fat80b said:
Same here.
I like to research all sorts of purchases even when they are relatively cheap. For me, I think it’s because I’m an engineer, like maths, and good value….
Strangely, this doesn’t seem to apply to houses where I’ve made up my mind almost immediately on every house I’ve bought.
I used to joke that I spent more time choosing a book to read than which house to buy!
Applies to me word for word, was going to type out the exact same reply. Saved me the bother.I like to research all sorts of purchases even when they are relatively cheap. For me, I think it’s because I’m an engineer, like maths, and good value….
Strangely, this doesn’t seem to apply to houses where I’ve made up my mind almost immediately on every house I’ve bought.
I used to joke that I spent more time choosing a book to read than which house to buy!
I've just bought a house, saw it, knew I wanted it before I even went to view it, jumped in both feet first at the deep end, bought it.
I've got items in my 'saved for later' list on Amazon, waiting until they reduce from £23.99 to £20.99 before I'll purchase. I'll sit on those for weeks/months, reading 100's of reviews.
Strange trait to have, looks like I'm not alone.
Riley Blue said:
Takemeaway said:
Is this an aging man thing or a me thing?
The older I get, the more I realise I've less time to waste. If penny pinching is what matters to you, do it but at 74 it's not what I use my time on.Using an hour of research to save a fiver is to value my time pretty damn cheaply!
But someone might say 'oh but I would have only used it watching TV' which is fair enough, but I'd rather have used it exercising, or resting or doing a joyful hobby, doing some work to earn money or spending time with people I care about etc.
Can always get more money imo, its not in short supply and to a degree I just see it as stuff that comes in and goes out.
Can't get more time though, most valuable commodity any of us have.
Sod not doing the important stuff because I was sweating the small stuff.
It depends.
For larger purchases (£50 or more) I do tend to do a bit of research but also tend to make my mind up pretty quickly once I've decided what is the best bang for buck. Particularly when it comes to flights as that is often a case of "you snooze, you lose".
Smaller purchases like shower gel... Get the one that's on offer. If one I like is on offer I'll buy 5 bottles of it. I spend more time looking at used by dates on meat.
I do tend to get a bit of decision paralysis on really big purchases which has lead me to missing out on some things because my default position is if I can't make my mind up I really don't need it.
For larger purchases (£50 or more) I do tend to do a bit of research but also tend to make my mind up pretty quickly once I've decided what is the best bang for buck. Particularly when it comes to flights as that is often a case of "you snooze, you lose".
Smaller purchases like shower gel... Get the one that's on offer. If one I like is on offer I'll buy 5 bottles of it. I spend more time looking at used by dates on meat.
I do tend to get a bit of decision paralysis on really big purchases which has lead me to missing out on some things because my default position is if I can't make my mind up I really don't need it.
I will have a very brief shop around for best price on most purchases (excluding ordinary everyday groceries).
By brief, I mean a very quick Google of that item to see what the price is on Amazon, Ebay, Currys, Argos, John Lewis, Selfridges, or wherever else it is for sale.
If I'm buying something that I will physically have to use regularly, and it needs to perform well in some way (Electric shaver, power tool, a new laptop, a TV etc) then I will probably read a couple of reviews first, just to make sure I'm not buying something that is complete rubbish, but I won't spend a long time on it.
What I will say, is that I now prioritise speed of delivery, delivery method, and/or the reputation of the company that I'm buying from, over outright price.
With non-essentials, I barely read any reviews or worry about the cost. If I happen to see a pair of fairly expensive shoes I like, or a nice watch, or a coat, and so on, then I will just buy it. Same goes for my wife. She is pretty careful with all the every day stuff, but if we are out browsing shops she sees something nice that stops her in her tracks, she will buy it (Or rather she'll buy it after I say 'go on, treat yourself' as she sometimes needs encouragement
)
By brief, I mean a very quick Google of that item to see what the price is on Amazon, Ebay, Currys, Argos, John Lewis, Selfridges, or wherever else it is for sale.
If I'm buying something that I will physically have to use regularly, and it needs to perform well in some way (Electric shaver, power tool, a new laptop, a TV etc) then I will probably read a couple of reviews first, just to make sure I'm not buying something that is complete rubbish, but I won't spend a long time on it.
What I will say, is that I now prioritise speed of delivery, delivery method, and/or the reputation of the company that I'm buying from, over outright price.
With non-essentials, I barely read any reviews or worry about the cost. If I happen to see a pair of fairly expensive shoes I like, or a nice watch, or a coat, and so on, then I will just buy it. Same goes for my wife. She is pretty careful with all the every day stuff, but if we are out browsing shops she sees something nice that stops her in her tracks, she will buy it (Or rather she'll buy it after I say 'go on, treat yourself' as she sometimes needs encouragement
)Weekly shop I will look at offers and if it's something that we will use and either has a long shelf life or can be frozen then yes I'll probably add it to the basket.
I don't tend to spend much if any time looking at most stuff, but some things I find expensive for what they are and even today we need some new batteries (AA) so given we have the shopping delivered tomorrow I thought I'll just add them to the order, but I found myself looking on Amazon at the exact same batteries and they were a £1 cheaper so promptly ordered.
But even then, Amazon had a 20 pack and a 12 pack both with some discount, I ended up working out how much it would cost per battery for the 20 and 12 pack, and it came as no shock to see the 12 pack worked out quite a bit cheaper per battery.
I don't tend to spend much if any time looking at most stuff, but some things I find expensive for what they are and even today we need some new batteries (AA) so given we have the shopping delivered tomorrow I thought I'll just add them to the order, but I found myself looking on Amazon at the exact same batteries and they were a £1 cheaper so promptly ordered.
But even then, Amazon had a 20 pack and a 12 pack both with some discount, I ended up working out how much it would cost per battery for the 20 and 12 pack, and it came as no shock to see the 12 pack worked out quite a bit cheaper per battery.
croyde said:
I won't buy the multi bags of Walker's Crisps in my local Tesco when they are £1.95. And it seems no one else does as the shelves are full.
Every now and then they drop to £1.65 and the shelves empty
It's the same with the Japanese dumplings and bao buns in Morrisons, at £4.50 their freezer is full and when the price drops to £3.75(?) my freezer gets filled. Every now and then they drop to £1.65 and the shelves empty
People think about this is different ways.
I know someone in finance who thinks
'How long will this last and then divides the price by the years in use and the residual value, if any'
There is an expression, pennywise and pound foolish, in other words people look to save pennies on shower gel but waste hundreds on new phones.
I know someone in finance who thinks
'How long will this last and then divides the price by the years in use and the residual value, if any'
There is an expression, pennywise and pound foolish, in other words people look to save pennies on shower gel but waste hundreds on new phones.
fat80b said:
Same here.
I like to research all sorts of purchases even when they are relatively cheap. For me, I think it’s because I’m an engineer, like maths, and good value….
Strangely, this doesn’t seem to apply to houses where I’ve made up my mind almost immediately on every house I’ve bought.
I used to joke that I spent more time choosing a book to read than which house to buy!
Same here, last two houses I basically knew I was buying them as soon as I walked through the door.I like to research all sorts of purchases even when they are relatively cheap. For me, I think it’s because I’m an engineer, like maths, and good value….
Strangely, this doesn’t seem to apply to houses where I’ve made up my mind almost immediately on every house I’ve bought.
I used to joke that I spent more time choosing a book to read than which house to buy!
But if I am buying service parts for the car I will spend hours on eBay making sure I got them for the cheapest price possible to save £1.
It always costs me on Holidays though as every time I see a good deal I go away to think about it, only to find it has gone up £100 when I decide I am going to book it.
I also hate buyers remorse so I will research everything to stupid levels. My gaming laptop for instance, it took me 4 months to decide which one to get. Three years on and I haven't regretted the choice for a second.
Even shoes, if I narrow it down to two pairs I will spend twenty minutes trying them on, then trying the other pair on etc.
fat80b said:
Same here.
I like to research all sorts of purchases even when they are relatively cheap. For me, I think it’s because I’m an engineer, like maths, and good value….
Strangely, this doesn’t seem to apply to houses where I’ve made up my mind almost immediately on every house I’ve bought.
I used to joke that I spent more time choosing a book to read than which house to buy!
I’m the same however I suspect, like me, you may be doing yourself a disservice.I like to research all sorts of purchases even when they are relatively cheap. For me, I think it’s because I’m an engineer, like maths, and good value….
Strangely, this doesn’t seem to apply to houses where I’ve made up my mind almost immediately on every house I’ve bought.
I used to joke that I spent more time choosing a book to read than which house to buy!
By the time I come to the point of buying a house I pretty much know: budget, area, size, type, deal breakers, nice to haves, etc etc. so really you see something that ticks the boxes and move quickly.
My brother is the archetypal ditherer and, as a consequence, misses the opportunity fairly often. As is my father.
With houses there is so much info available on line now that if you don’t act quickly you will never get a decent, let alone good, deal.
I’m very much the same
My trick is never buy anything on impulse, wait a few days
Something like hair clippers, I look at what the prices can do and say when it drops below x buy the thing
Certain people take the piss out of my penny pinching but it does pay off long term
Ther other thing is buying stuff second hand
For example, a bike for a normal person. Wait and you will find a 700 bike from two years ago for 100
Enjoy it for a bit, then list it for 300 and wait. It will always sell.
My trick is never buy anything on impulse, wait a few days
Something like hair clippers, I look at what the prices can do and say when it drops below x buy the thing
Certain people take the piss out of my penny pinching but it does pay off long term
Ther other thing is buying stuff second hand
For example, a bike for a normal person. Wait and you will find a 700 bike from two years ago for 100
Enjoy it for a bit, then list it for 300 and wait. It will always sell.
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