3 Frugal Tips That Seem Backward But Actually Work
This article looks at three frugal tips that might seem backward at first glance but actually work very effectively.
1. BUYING A MORE EXPENSIVE PRODUCT RATHER THAN A CHEAPER ONE
A lot of times people are focused on getting a cheap deal, when what they should perhaps be more concerned about is getting good value! See, you can buy a cheap car for instance, but that doesn’t mean it’s good value – or will even save you money in the long run. If you consider how much some ‘cheap cars’ cost to repair, or in the event it breaks down on the motorway and you need to pay for recovery – buying cheap can be a false economy.
Buying products on sale, however, is a completely different kettle of fish. Buying things on sale is great, as long as you were going to buy the product in the first place – because often times, we are motivated to purchase the sale item just because it’s on sale; irrespective of whether we need it or not.
Try to avoid buying cheap products, as you tend to get what you pay for, and the saying “buy cheap, buy twice” is often proven to be very true! However, this doesn’t tend to apply on items such as supermarket branded food items; there are likely to be the same quality item as non-generic brands; just in generic packaging.
2. LEASE RATHER THAN OWN A CAR
Depending on your age and driving history, car insurance can be extremely expensive. Along with the capital outlay of purchasing a reliable car, taxing it and keeping up with the somewhat costly requirement to service and MOT the vehicle – owning a car can be a very costly affair. If you don’t need a car all the time, then consider renting one from a reputable car rental company as and when needed; there are plenty of deals for less than £99 per week, which when you consider a week’s worth of temporary car insurance can be almost that much – is a great bargain.
In a similar vein to renting a car, you might have asked yourself the question “should I lease a car?” Some leasing companies have great deals on long term car leases, and it means that you don’t have to worry about the ‘behind the scenes’ costs of running a car. Whilst in theory, leasing can be a cost-effective way to ensure you always have a hassle-free new car parked on your driveway, it is worth considering that you are paying for the car, almost like a service rather than a product – as you never own the vehicle yourself… but as cars are depreciating assets, in many ways, this is advantageous to you.
3. INVEST IN INSULATING YOUR HOME
It can be expensive to have all the common insulations for your home like double glazing, cavity wall insulation, and decent loft insulation. Sometimes you might question whether it is worth it from a financial point of view. However, it is surprising how fast it can all add up when the heat your boiler is generating (at a significant cost) is literally escaping out the walls. The great news here is that there are lots of schemes available to help you pay for environmentally friendly energy conserving materials, so dig in online, and arrange for your home to be more energy efficient.
