Spend a little more to save a lot in the end?

[AFWife]

Are we the only ones that have done things like this?

For example: We bought a shower filter for $80something. It filters out chlorine and all the other crap in our hard-ish city water. I've noticed that, since the switch, I don't have to wash my hair as often. Like, I can get away with once a week. AND I use less shampoo and conditioner when I do wash it. I think the chlorine was drying out my scalp and making it produce more oil...so my hair would get gross after a few days and I'd start the cycle over again. I don't know how much this will save us in the long run...but the filter lasts for a year.

[ChetMC]

Absolutely

The start up cost on cloth diapers is high compared to disposables, but we've saved literally thousands of dollars in the long run. I estimate that we will ultimately diaper four children from birth to age three for roughly $1500 (that includes the cost of washing two loads a week for eight years).

We spent $1000 on a stroller. However, we have four kids, no car, and it is the only stroller we own. It's six and a half years old, looks nearly new, and we're confident that we'll get the next three years we need out of it. Most people we know bought a whole fleet of crappy strollers one at a time and spent way more than $1000 in the long run.

We bought a very expensive washer and dryer. However, the models that we purchased are known to last twenty five years even. These days the typical washer and dryer is built to last just ten years.

When we owned a car it was a VW Golf TDI. The diesel engine was extra, but the car went 1000km on one tank, required lass maintenance than the gasoline model, and it was super easy to sell when we went car free. I calculated it out at one point, and that car cost us about $320 a month amortized over the period of time that we owned it (fuel, upkeep, insurance, payments, everything). It was so cheap to run.

[AnnaNova]

Yeah! We bought a new washer and dryer and they were expensive and we got our electricity bill, and it's half (!!!) of what it was last year ago, I think it's worth it

[bobandjess99]

we got a new furnace and A/C unit (we had to the iold ones died) and omg! our utility bills are 1/3 what they were before! It will take only a few years to completely recoup the cost.

[surrogate]

I only buy my kids quality name brand clothes. They are 20 mos apart, so each shirt I buy gets used 2 years in a row..etc. I save money by buying good clothes.

Cloth diapers. I paid 0 oop for my cloth stash by opening a small diaper co-op and using my profit to buy my own diapers wholesale. I saved at least $500 or more by not buying sposies, and I can still sell what is left and profit..but i can't seem to part with them lol

[mommariffic]

I'll second quality clothes - I used to go crazy buying the cheap stuff and I'd realize that it never lasted. I've got a few items I've had for YEARS that are in amazing new condition, and that I wear all the time that were a little more than I'd normally spend on something.

[smokeylo]

Sometimes kid's activities can work out this way. For example, a family membership to our local children's museum is $60/year. That's the same cost as about 4 visits for all of us. If we buy the membership and go more than 4 times, it's paid for itself... and if we go once a week then it turns into only a few dollars per visit. Punch cards for the tot lot are similar. Done wisely, this is a great way to save.

[crunchy_mama]

We do spend more on some things for sure. Especially mechanical things and such. However, for some things I don't feel it pays off- like clothes. I can buy a used shirt for the kids- especially young ones for $1 or less used and buy name brand. I think for some things though it is a matter of preference to buy quality. For some things it pays off and for some things you can buy lots of cheap replacements and it is still cheaper than the expensive one.

[HeatherAtHome]

Insulation for our house. We're paying enough now for DIY spray foam kits but after how cold we were last winter while still spending a pile of money on heating, it will be worth it.

The cost in getting my garden set up with preparing the soil and putting up a tall deer fence was sort of high but will pay off fairly quickly. Plus we have lovely home grown organic veggies in our backyard!

[AFWife]

I didn't even think about cloth diapers! We do that too. It's really funny because when I tell someone the cost of a single diaper they get shocked that I would pay that much...but then I remind them that the diapers last several children several years. I got lucky and got most of DS's from a friend...but he's the 3rd child they've been used on and the only issue I have is the velcro is wearing out.

[blessedmama59]

I definitely think you get what you pay for with almost everything. Clothes and shoes are a biggie (with a few exceptions of course). Food is another! Yeah, you may be able to get boxes and boxes of processed foods for cheap, but it will back-fire on your health in the end, resulting in medical costs, etc. Diapers!

[luv-my-boys]

Certainly do, although I have to admit sometimes even I balk at the upfront costs of things even though I know in the long run its still worth it.

for example I only buy name brand quality childrens clothing/boutique names. At first my DH literally flipped when he knew how much I was spending on clothes especially if the babies clothes were more than his or mine but I save everything and now yrs later we have passed them down to all the boys and even still with this next baby being a girl im still setting aside a good amt of unisex items. So yeah although those jeans were $40 they have last for YEARS and look great and after the last baby I could still sell them for a good price due to name/quality.

[akichan]

What about those gift cards that you can buy for half price (ie. restaurants.com) or at Sam's Club where you can get $100 for $74 or something? I bought a couple to my favorite restaurant and to Jamba Juice (I only buy when they have 2-for-1 promos, but I definitely do patronize both businesses), however, that means my money was tied up for a year or so while I slowly used up the cards. What do you think?

[SeekingJoy]

Originally Posted by AFWife

Are we the only ones that have done things like this?

For example: We bought a shower filter for $80something. It filters out chlorine and all the other crap in our hard-ish city water.

Slightly OT, but can you share more info about the shower filter? I have been looking for something like this.

I am willing to spend money on warm bedding so the furnace can be used less in the winter. We spent money to install fans in each bedroom and the LR in our house (DH installed) in order to save money on AC.

With clothing, I am more in the camp of buying name brands used for <$1, but my kids are also really young and different genders. For myself, I used to spend more money on fewer high-quality work pieces. Now, I go the route of cheap. My kids are just too hard on clothing.

[FireWithin]

I do with health related expenses.

My 7 year old clearly will need to have braces in the future. Instead of putting money away for that, we are paying money to have him see a cranial sacral therapist, a very good one. He will be able to adjust him so that his mouth will widen enough for all of his adult teeth to fit comfortably.
We are currently paying $40 a visit, twice a week for four more weeks and it will lessen in the future. This is a lot of money for us, but it will end up being much cheaper and MUCH less painful than braces in the future.
Plus he is addressing other issues that my son has.

We just started having my 4 year old see him also. He too is showing signs of space issues in his mouth. We expect by investing the money so much sooner for him, we will see results much faster and it see other benefits.

I've invested quite a bit of time and money into learning and acquiring homeopathic and nutritional knowledge/materials. If we didn't have awesome insurance, we would have seen a much greater savings - since we haven't had to see our regular doctor in over a year, despite regular flu, swine flu, croup and food allergies.
This financial invest will help us save more down the road but also help continue to improve our health.

It is really hard though to spend the money on all of this. I need to constantly remind myself that these are all really important investments.

[SumnerRain]

My Dyson animal. I was burning through $100-200 vacuums every 6 months. My dyson is 4 years old and still going strong. Plus, I got a factory reconditioned one on amazon.com for about $120 under retail.

We also cloth diaper, and get good quality applainces, I love my front loader.

[sanguine_speed]

Originally Posted by Mammo2Sammo

I do with health related expenses.

My 7 year old clearly will need to have braces in the future. Instead of putting money away for that, we are paying money to have him see a cranial sacral therapist, a very good one. He will be able to adjust him so that his mouth will widen enough for all of his adult teeth to fit comfortably.
We are currently paying $40 a visit, twice a week for four more weeks and it will lessen in the future. This is a lot of money for us, but it will end up being much cheaper and MUCH less painful than braces in the future.
Plus he is addressing other issues that my son has.

We just started having my 4 year old see him also. He too is showing signs of space issues in his mouth. We expect by investing the money so much sooner for him, we will see results much faster and it see other benefits.

Is there empirical data on the effectiveness of cranial sacral therapy in widening jaws?
I saw a cranial sacral therapist for my infant a few years ago, and found it really ineffective for its intended purpose. It wasn't a good investment in our case.

[Om Girl]

spending money to save money? we definitely do this...

new roof + added insulation = lower energy bills
new ac/heat pump = lower energy bills and tax credit
energy efficient WD = lower energy bills

brand new custom BabyHawk carrier = 2 kids, 4 years and it still looks brand new & I still love it like the day I ordered it
expensive "stroller" = bike/walk/run 2 kid cargo "carrier" with a resale equal to its purchased price
cloth diapers = 4 years later they're still being used as diapers

[Fuamami]

Yes, we do this with some things too.

But I have to disagree with buying name brand clothes. We have been given some really nice, expensive brands, and we also have a ton of hand-me-down WalMart and Target clothes, and I have noticed no difference in how quickly they wear out. It seems to be more of an individual difference between items rather than brands. Even the jeans I used to think of as high-quality construction, like Carhart, Wrangler, Levis wear out as fast as the Faded Glory and Cherokee ones. So now I just buy whatever's cheap at the thrift store.

[Amys1st]

Cloth diapers, enough said on the subject, but yes paid for itself bigtime.

Energy efficiant heater, more money upfront like 1K, starting seeing a $20 price difference the next month in gas bills and then more the following month Same with electric bill. We also had a sub freezing winter that year. We almost, 24 mos later are seeing the recoup value, more than half way there.

Sides and fulls of beef and pork. If you're a cook and a meat eater, this is the way to go. People brag about how its costing less than $2 a pound for their meat, but that is off of hanging weight. Its actually closer to $4-5 a lb. Last year, after picking up our beef, DH weighed the beef as we put it in the freezer. Our hanging weight was 380. We took home more like 220 so we factored that into how much per lb for local grass fed beef that is amazing. So expensive ground beef, but amazing roasts, steaks etc. Oh and the hamburger is also amazing so yes a bit more but who cares, still cheaper and better than going to the grocery.

Going grocery shopping less and buying more. This can work against you too. But buying a bit more or lot more of an item you will use and not waste can be a savings. Such as for example, chicken goes on a very good sale in my area every 5-6 weeks. If you eat it, buy large amounts, cut up when you get home and freeze. Eat and wait until the next sale...

Diva cup. Bought off frontier for a better price, but it paid for itself within 4 mos. I bought it 4 years ago.

I have tons of examples, but these are the more fun ones.