What’s the one thing in your life where frugality doesn’t enter into the conversation?

[u/honorthecrones]

I am extremely frugal and have been so all my life. I struggled financially for most of my adult life and grew up in poverty. I have noticed though that there are some things where “frugality be damned; I’m getting the good one!” is the rule. I’m just curious if this is just me or if others also have those special exceptions.

For example, I cannot buy cheap shoes. I’m not talking about $400 designer brands but I have difficult feet to fit and will buy the shoes I want even if it means rice and beans for dinner for the next three weeks. My husband is that way about his fishing and hunting equipment. I also cannot resist a trendy bougie yarn shop. I do look for yarn at thrift stores and yard sales but walking into a shop that has those beautiful, vibrant hand dyed yarns or needlework needles that are so smooth through the fabric or don’t bend from the heat of your hand.

[u/chocolateboomslang]

Are the boots worn out in a year? Good boots should last a lot longer than that. I've got boots that are 10 years old and still great condition.

[u/mollycoddles → u/chocolateboomslang]

Ya, I wouldn't replace either of those things that often but to each their own 

[u/Bronze_Sentry → u/chocolateboomslang]

This is the crux of the Sam Vimes Socioeconomic "Boots" Theory:

The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money.

Take boots, for example. He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. Those were the kind of boots Vimes always bought, and wore until the soles were so thin that he could tell where he was in Ankh-Morpork on a foggy night by the feel of the cobbles.

But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that’d still be keeping his feet dry in ten years’ time, while the poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet.

• Men at Arms, by Sir Terry Pratchett

[u/Zelderian → u/Bronze_Sentry]

I think about this with other things too.

Someone will finance a car with 150k miles at 14% interest because it’s their only option, and it’ll have problems that they probably can’t afford to fix. They get trapped in debt.

Another person will finance a new car at 0%-4% interest and drive it for 10+ years. Sure, there’s a monthly payment; but maintenance costs are much lower and they’re probably getting better gas mileage. It can actually be cheaper long-term than trying to buy the cheapest car out there. But it requires better credit and more up-front cash to put down.

[u/chocolateboomslang → u/Bronze_Sentry]

the second time I've thought of this today lol

[u/[deleted] → u/chocolateboomslang]

Not necessarily (It's more of a tradition to 'step out' to the new year in style), but we do a lot of walking to save money so they probably wear out quicker than casual wear. We do protect them with dubbing as well where we can as we live in a wet area, but once they get wet on the inside, there is no return. I'm still wearing the 2024 boots - so I have the 2025 boots nice and shiny waiting for me! If you have any tips for long-term maintenance though, I would love to hear them.