Today I am bringing up the connection between poverty and the quality of a persons/families purchases.
The reason why I am bringing it up is because my research for this article kept showing a pattern of people thinking being frugal means just saving money- in reality, this looks like spending your money wisely.
This also includes spending your money on a cheaply made product/item now, that will end up costing you more later on.
Or, sometimes needing to invest more money upfront for a longer-lasting product/item later on.
This is the final part in the series of why poverty is expensive as f---!
Being frugal with your purchases isn’t just about your thrifting abilities and saving tons of money. It’s actually about spending your money wisely on sound purchases that will leave you with money for the things that are important to you.
Remember though when one is in poverty it’s nearly impossible to easily save towards your goals or emergency savings. It’s even harder to buy smarter which leaves you at a disadvantage later down the road.
Buying cheap though usually ends up costing you more in the long run. This is because you may get caught up in buying the cheapest version of what you need as long as you’re “saving money "...
…right?
Nope.
Unfortunately, if you buy cheap now… down the line you’ll end up paying more for physical replacement of said cheap products, maintenance or upkeep.
Especially when living in poverty it is important to spend a bit more upfront so that you avoid those potential reoccurring costs.
When you decide to buy something, you make a conscious decision that considers price and quality.
This is true whether you’re purchasing groceries, clothes or cleaning supplies and just look at the price. Or use all of your resources to purchase rarer items like a vehicle or a house.
Rarer purchases are usually just a dream for those living in generational or circumstantial poverty.
Most people are focusing on consumable purchases like groceries, medication and toiletries on a regular basis. Those who experience poverty are less likely to focus on quality and more likely to focus on the total purchasing price of needed items because of their tight budgets.
Most people fall in-between the two extreme shopping styles.
Personally,
I usually go cheap on things I could care less about like store brand toilet paper/paper towel (2 ply only) or when it's an item of comparative quality regardless of how much it costs.
When it comes down to items that vary greatly in quality (i.e.: headphones), I will always choose the quality items instead because being frugal means not wasting your money on repetitive purchases due to a quality factor.
If a cheaper item wears out before its usual lifetime then you'll end up spending more money replacing it and people in poverty literally cannot afford to do this.
Another example is cleaning supplies which are usually a safe bet to go cheap on, but, if you end up buying more product to do the same job as a product that costs a few bucks more then you are wasting your money and not being frugal whatsoever.
Here are a few more examples of things you should buy quality over price...
- Modes of transportation, cars, e-bikes, e-scooter, thenetc.
- Property/homes
- Luggage, bags, purses, wallets, and everyday carry items
- Furniture
- Appliances
This is definitely not an exhaustive list but it covers the most common purchases that are better suited for quality over price any day.
Although generational poverty is considered after 3 generational cycles, anyone can fall into temporary poverty which 60% will experience for a year or less.
Conclusion
This article is to bring attention to the real issue of companies targeting low-income individuals/families who cannot afford any better.
I want to say that overcoming poverty when purchasing items is a mindset that means learning when to buy quality items for less money and focusing on spending resources towards energy efficiency, longevity, low ownership costs in total instead of supporting just a brand name or label.
This is made possible by using a yearly shopping guide (like this one here) to see which months in the year are the best times to purchase items in Canada. You can also google " best time of year to buy __________ in (insert country).
I hope this article was able to help you understand why
to save you time, money and energy in the long run.
- Thank you for reading this post and I hope you were able to take away some tips like shopping smart and using your resources skillfully.
- Articulate Tee
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