Why am I such a cheapo sometimes?... (1 Viewer)

[todd s]

Not talking about tipping or giving gifts. I am generous with both. I am talking about when I buy dvds and video games. I will wait to find the best price on both even if it means I wait a week to get it. But, I am only talking a few dollars. For example. I just got an Xbox 360. And I am dying (no pun intended) to get Dead Rising. I could easily go to the store and pick it up and pay $58. But, I was able to find a used near mint copy on half.com for $48 delivered. Now, 10 bucks is a decent amount. But, I will sometimes do the same when the amount is only 2 or 3 dollars. My reasoning is that it all adds up. But, I sometimes feel like its only a couple of bucks and I should just get it when I want it. Just wondering if anyone else is like this?

 

[Greg_S_H]

I think most people are like that. We aren't made of money, money doesn't grow on trees, insert any other true cliche. I figure the dollar or two I save here can either go towards another DVD, or maybe food and shelter or something.

 

[Jay H]

For your specific example of tipping others versus buying items (DVDs, etc) for yourself, well we are all cheap but don't want to appear to be cheap to others. Since tipping using involvings giving money to others, naturally, you don't want to come off as a cheapskate, however, on items where nobody will know the difference (except for you or perhaps whoever controls the credit card ), we tend to skimp and try to find myriad ways to save $4. It's just human nature, nobody wants to overspend. I bet there are a lot of multimillionares out there who will go to great measure to save $10 off a game even though they can certainly afford to pay retail.

Jay

 

[Mike Frezon]

A penny saved is a penny earned...



Todd, buddy, it's what the Weekly RoundUp is ALL about! If you buy enough of anything over the course of time and can save a little bit each time...you've done some REAL savings!

How about this old chestnut from Bill Proxmire (paraphrased):

"A billion here, a billion there and pretty soon that adds up to real money."

 

[Jason Seaver]

I find it makes me feel much better to use the word "thrifty" wherever I would use the word "cheap".

 

[Mike~Sileck]

I dunno if its still going on, but BUY.com has dead rising for 40 dollars shipped, brand new, if you use Google Checkout.

I'm right there with you btw. Delayed Gratification and saving cash = more happiness in the long run. Heck, I was offered a PS3 for 700 dollars shipped about 2 weeks after it came out, and I was like nah forget it, I'ma wait and pay $655 for it from a store. I mean was the $45 that serious? No, but I knew I could get a better deal, so I just waited...

 

[RobertR]

Actually, the remark is attributed to Everett Dirksen, not Proxmire, although this says he probably never said it.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Robert: thanks for that info! This should be easy to figure out. Don't know why I thought of Proxmire. The last 'graph on that page about Dirksen saying he never said but was misquoted and thought it sounded good!

Guess I should stick with quoting Jefferson!

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

"General Patton, did you say that if you found yourself between the Germans and the Russians you would attack in both directions?"

"I never said any such thing...but I wish I had."

 

[Shane Martin]

Time is money. What's your time worth? That determines when I make a purchase like that. There are people I know that drive 3 or 4 miles out of their way to save 2 cents a gallon on gas.

 

[Bob Turnbull]

Of course that all depends...How much time are you investing in finding those better deals and how much is that time worth to you? How much additional gratification would you get if you had that item earlier? Extreme examples would be how cheap many of the DVDs I bought a few years ago are now - but I wouldn't have had the pleasure of watching them the last couple of years, so I figure that's worth the additional $$. In the end, it all gets down to "what's it worth to ya?".

My first thought when I read Todd's initial post was of Barry Schwartz's book The Paradox Of Choice. One of its theories is that people tend to either be maximizers (always trying to get the very best product or the best deal) or satisficers (those who set their requirements and are happy with anything that meets them - usually only looking or comparing maybe 2 or 3 choices that meet the requirements). The thought is that satisficers are "generally" less stressed and happier with their end purchases.

YMMV...I find that if a price seems reasonable to me and I'm willing to pay it (and with maybe just a bit of double checking to ensure it's inline with other going prices if I'm not familiar with the product), then I'm willing to buy it. Of course, if I'm being honest, part of it is a "get it now" mentality sometimes. However, as a general rule I tend towards simply meeting my requirements and being happy with getting it when I want it.

It's understood of course that finding the best deal sometimes is part of the requirement if you are tight for cash...

 

[Jeff Gatie]

I quote a friend of mine from New York City:

"I spent the entire day plus $60 in cab rides running all over the city to find the best price on this camera. Check it out - I saved 26 bucks!!"

 

[todd s]

I love going to a Suncoast (When my wife is shopping in the mall) and you see people buying dvd's from them at almost full retail. When they can go to a store across the street and save not just a couple of dollars...but, sometimes up to $8-10. I understand the instant gratification...But, geez its across the street.

 

[Mike~Sileck]

It amazes me that places like Suncoast, and Virgin Records stores are still in business. I mean seriously amazes me. Not only are they around, but everytime I go in one, its busy. I mean it's not like Target and Best Buy advertise people...c'mon now..

 

[MarkHastings]

I was talking to my family about this over Christmas...the gas station near me is more expensive than most and my family thought I was crazy to spend 5 cents more than the other places. But as I explained, I don't like to go out of my way to save a buck. And besides, my little math equation shut them up...

Here's the example I gave - Let's say your car averages 25 MPG....now let's say that the average price of gas is around $2.50/gallon. That would mean that for every $2.50 you spend, you can drive 25 miles. That equates to 10 cents a mile.

Now let's say that the average fill up is about 10 gallons of gas. If you sek out a gas station that is selling gas for 1 cent cheaper per gallon, that means you are saving a total of 10 cents to get gas at that gas station...

10 CENTS!!! That's it!!!!

Since I already said that you are spending 10 cents per mile...if you have to drive more than 1 mile extra to get to this gas station, you've just blown your savings!!!!

And the topper: if you have to drive more than an extra mile to save 1 cent per gallon, you're actually losing money now.


I mean, think about it...one more mile per fillup...that's all you're getting for every penny/gallon you save!!! Kinda makes you feel stupid for going out of your way. I bet people spend more money trying to find cheap gas than they realize.


So whenever I see that my gas station is 5 cents more than the other places, instead of trying to find it cheaper somewhere else, I'd rather think about how I can save myself from driving 5 miles before my next fill up That's probably easier to do than worrying about cheap gas.

 

[Lynda-Marie]

I like to bargain hunt, plain and simple. Of course, as Mark wisely pointed out with the gasoline story above, there are times when a "bargain" just isn't worth your time.

For myself, I like to get SOME sort of idea how much a DVD will cost during its first week of release. Since the studios know that people will go nuts in the opening week, trying to get the best deal, it makes me wonder why the price goes up again AFTER that magical first week.

I check the DVD out on a number of sites, usually of brick and mortar stores, before deciding where I will make the purchase. Will I buy it from a strictly online company, such as amazon.com and wait for a week to get it, PLUS pay shipping/handling fees, or will I spend the extra buck or so to get it from a brick and mortar? What about buying it used on amazon or eBay?

I don't mind buying a used book, CD or DVD because I can save a lot of money that way, and someone else gets to clean out his or her collection. A win-win situation that many people don't take into consideration.

 

[Mike Frezon]

I should check my collection sometime and do the math. But I bet I buy nearly half my DVDs used.

 

[Shane Martin]

That's why I like to use the roundup and such to find out where I'm going before I go.

 

[Eric Samonte]

I think we should be called not cheap or thrifty but just plain smarter. It is always nice to save a few bucks for a rainy day.

 

[todd s]

Thats understandable.

But, I am more talking about the "Suncoast" people. Where on one side of the street is a gas station selling gas for 10 cents more a gallon than the one across the street and its still busy.