$300 for pants instead of $50: Are they worth it?
Posted
Sep 22 2008, 06:33 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
A story about a mother bargaining with her small daughter prompted "R" at Retired at 47 to think of purchases in a new way.
It goes something like this: If you have a choice between buying $300 slacks or a pair for $50 (or even less), think about whether the more expensive slacks are six times better. Or, as she says, "Is the price ratio worth it?"
R credits The Complete Tightwad Gazette for planting the seed. In it, the author's 9-year-old daughter says she wants green L.L.Bean boots like the ones all the girls at school are wearing. The mom finds a pair in plum at a local thrift store for 25 cents. Even a 9-year-old can see this logic: "Is the green pair worth 100 times more than the plum pair?"
R applies the rule to all areas of her consumer life. Is the $5.99 dessert in the restaurant worth it if she can buy a yummy treat at the grocery store on the way home for a whole lot less? Is the $100 cable TV package really five times better than basic service?
The $300 designer slacks are something one of R's friends wants for her birthday. "A whopping $300! After gasping, my first thought was: 'I'd be afraid I'd spill something on them!'" Why not go with a $50 pair or, better yet, check out the local thrift store. "Is the designer pair six times nicer or will they last six times longer?" she asks. "Probably not."
