You may not love the song ("The Gambler" - Kenny Rogers) but there's a nugget of good advice in there. He's basically telling a newbie that he needs to discern what's important from what isn't, concentrate on that, and leverage it as much as he can. Well, I can easily say the same for money. Ya gotta know when to spend it and know when it's not worth it.
Which brings me to today's nugget - when/where do we spend the money and where do we skimp? Some people are slave to brands when they could be saving tons of cash while others are buying store-brand mac & cheese and hating life when coughing up the extra dollar would have been worth it.
After pondering, polling some coworkers and others, I've compiled a somewhat comprehensive list of On-Brand/Off-Brand items (with justifications). You may agree, you may not, but I'm just trying to help you hit that financial sweet spot. Onward...
ON-BRAND
1. Food - This is the fuel you're putting into your most prized possession - YOU. I am not by any means stating that you need to go out and buy Velveeta Shells & Cheese, but buying Organic and Local fruit, vegetables and meat products can make a HUGE difference in how you feel - which impacts your decisions, which impacts your money, which impacts your life. This is definitely more expensive, and you may need to take the less-is-more approach - shop more often in smaller increments, wasting nothing. This takes effort, but it's worth it. You can afford to treat your body well.
2. Hair Products - This is my personal thing. Everybody has one, so you can insert your ONE vanity/vice here if you'd like, as long as it's not scratch-offs, cocaine or other expensive things that leave you with nothing to show for them. Using good shampoo and conditioner actually shows. Believe me, I have tried to get around this so many ways and it just doesn't work. Hair is essentially dead cells - so if you put low-grade chemicals on them, it's going to reflect that. If you put high-quality proteins and extracts on them, it's going to reflect that. This is especially important for those of us with color-treated hair. Don't spend money to color your hair only to put shitty chemicals on it every day. [Editor's note - if you don't wash your hair every day and only condition your ends, good product will last you a long time.} If you have virgin hair (i.e., never been permed/straightened/colored), you MAY be able to get away with a mid-level product but make sure you trim frequently.
3. Shoes - READ THIS THROUGH BEFORE YOU GO BUY THOSE LABOUTINS. Okay - I learned the hard way that your feet are really, really important. After 12 hours of waiting tables one weekend, I realized how vital a well-constructed, comfortable shoe really is. I don't mean impractical, hurt your feet expensive shoes - I mean a nice pair of fairly expensive, durable, versatile shoes that you can wear for years and re-heel if needed. You may not have a ton of shoes, but the ones you have won't hurt, make your feet stink, or need to be replaced every two months because the fake leather ripped/plastic heel broke.
4. Sporting Equipment - This only applies if you are fairly avid. If you're not going to take your bike out/go running/play a sport/etc. more than once a year or you tend to go from fad to fad, skip this one and keep reading. If you're still here - if you're dedicated to a certain sport, having quality equipment is pretty essential. Please don't ever skimp when it comes to safety or quality, especially in protective gear. Well-made equipment and clothing is going to be the most comfortable, durable and reliable. You don't want to be in yoga class when your cheapo shorts split at the seams or on the slopes with your fingers going numb because you decided to knit your own gloves. You'll end up spending more money on going through a bunch of cheap shit and paying doctor bills than you ever would on that good-quality helmet.
5. Facial products - Your face shows. Investing in some good facial cream is going to pay off in the long run. Not using good facial products is penny wise and pound foolish. I'm not saying you need La Mer, but getting a decent facial lotion is worth the extra expense. Men, this can apply to you as well, especially with shaving products (razors in particular).
Now for the cheapskate's fun part.....
OFF-BRAND
1. OTC medicines, band-aids, etc. - Tyle-what?? Hell no. When it comes to ibuprofen, acetaminophen (Tylenol), cough syrups, sinus medications, band-aids, baby oil, contact solution, tampons, or any other OTC thing available at the drugstore, off-brand is where it's at. Medicines are medicines - compare doses and ingredients and you'll see that there is essentially no difference. You may not be able to have "rapid release", but the off-brand ibuprofen is going to do the exact same job as Advil. Same goes for tampons and contact solutions - it's all the same stuff. Unless you go way organic with your tampons (which I respect), just get the pharmacy brand. These are essentially items with the exact same makeup, just a brand name/packaging separating them, and you paying an extra $1-2. Save that for your organic food or nice shoes.
2. Cereal - This has come a LONG way. Back in the day, I would have never advocated this, but now every store brand seems to have a duplicate of your favorite cereal, even the healthy ones! Stunning. Anyway, give the store brand a shot. You may be very surprised. Even the bag cereal has stepped up its game. I'd advocate getting the healthier cereals, but that's your decision.
3. Nail Polish - Ladies and Trannies, Wet & Wild works. All polish chips. You may as well spend $1 on your polish instead of $3 if we all know what's going to happen. This is especially true if you are purchasing clear polish. Anything but W&W in that situation is just dumb.
4. Hair Color - This is only for the adventurous and those who are willing to experiment a bit. There are a few box color brands (cough, Feria, cough) that can get the job done without spending a ton of cash. That being said, you need to be willing to color your hair all one shade, and not be looking for something really drastic. Follow all of the instructions to the T - this is NOT a time for freelancing. Do not attempt this if you're looking for highlights. Do not attempt this if your hair is in bad shape. Do attempt this if your hair is in fairly good condition and you want a bit of a change. It's never going to come out as light as the box shows, but it can make an impact. DO NOT DO THIS IF YOU'RE GOING RED. Unless you are purposely going for a Magenta look, leave Red to a pro. It's a really tricky color to achieve, let alone have it look semi-natural.
5. TP/PT - This one seems to divide people, but more often than not I hear people say they skimp on toilet paper and paper towels. Makes sense as you're only going to be using them once. Personally, I don't use paper towels and it saves me a lot of money. You'd be surprised how accustomed you can get to wiping up spills with a cloth. As far as TP, as long as it's not one-ply, I will roll with whatever comes down the pike. I know some people can be very particular about this subject, so I shall leave you to your own decisions on this delicate matter.
6. Soap/Body Wash - This is another case of it all being pretty much the same thing. Unless you have very sensitive/delicate skin, go for the Suave body wash and the fake dove beauty bars. PS - soap is 10x cheaper than body wash and it's really convenient.
So, no one can have it all, right? Well, there is a place I like to call the BRAND LOOPHOLE, or TJ MAXX (and the like)! Go there on the right day and you can find on-brand items for off-brand prices. This is especially true for housewares, bedding, towels, and beauty products. Just make sure to look everything over to make sure it hasn't been handled too much, and wash prior to using. This takes a little time and patience, but you can find some serious deals.
Before I go - things that are a tiny bit off-topic but deserve mention - doing your own eyebrow waxes (be careful), bartering for services, clothing swaps with friends, going to the library and packing your lunch can all help you save some cash.
Well, there you have it. My list of off/on brands to maximize your money. I hope you've found this helpful and if you have any more, please don't hesitate to comment. Next post will be clothing and covetable, per usual.
Lots of bank-breaking love,
Kasey
