The Practicality of Saving Money! (Part 2)
Image sourced by Alex Simpson @m_simpsan
Last week, one of the straps on my girlfriend’s bathing suit came undone.
It needed to be sewn around a stainless steel ring.
Seemed simple enough to me, but what do I know. . .
There are three dry cleaners in town that have a seamstress: Green Cleaners; Super Cleaners; and Johnny’s.
I brought the bathing suit to Green’s Cleaners who wanted $25 – yes twenty-five dollars – to sew one small strip of cloth around a little ring.
$25.
YIKES!
As my Dad, G-d rest his soul, used to say, “Good work if you can get it.”
What a joke. But I guess they weren’t kidding!
No way.
I could replace the bathing suit on Amazon for $9.99, on sale from $16.99.
Needless to say, I left the store quickly.
A few days later, I checked in with Super Cleaners. They wanted $10.
Better but still too rich for my taste.
I didn’t bother to ask Johnny. No bargains at Johnny’s; his shop is in the ‘high rent district’.
I decided to go DIY: Do It Yourself.
YouTube to the rescue:
Check out ‘Catherine Sews’ ‘How to Sew a Button like a Pro’.
Catherine showed us the way and we’re confident we can do it – DIY!
In 8 minutes and 42 seconds, we were ready to go.
We may have to buy some red thread to match the color of the bathing suit. But that would be a small price to pay.
My travel sewing kits have the needles.
Amazon offers red thread: ‘Gutermann Sew-All Thread 110 Yards-Scarlet’ would do the trick.
The price was $4.57.
Although with 110 yards, I could probably sew an entire basketball team’s uniforms.
So I guess that in the end as the late, internationally recognized economist Milton Friedman said, “There’s no free lunch.”
Again, the key is to make a solid decision regarding the tradeoff between time, money and quality.
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Looking to build outrageous wealth and live your dream life?
The Secret is to dive into your personal spending plan.
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Consider these 8 ways to save money and/or time:
Buy quality goods and services. Unless quality doesn’t matter; then buy the lowest price.
Consider the total lifetime cost of a product or service over the item’s economic useful life. While the price you pay upfront – the dollar price – may seem high, it’s important to consider the total lifetime cost of a product or service.
The lifetime cost includes the purchase price plus maintenance costs plus operating costs minus proceeds from disposing the item.
One example of this is an automobile where the purchase price for one car may be higher or lower than another car. The lifetime cost of operating the vehicle matters as well because some cars cost more to operate over the years than other cars.
The higher upfront cost item often wins, but Not always! Hence the value of some analysis.
Put a dollar value on your time. How much is an hour of your time worth? When should you make or buy?
Shop around and compare prices! Needless to say, look online.
What are the options available for a given situation or opportunity?
Set your bottom line price – where you will pass or play.
Consider DIY – Do It Yourself! Potentially, you could save bank. But DIY takes time. And by the way, DIY can be fun, a nice family activity and a refreshing change from streaming and videogames.
If you learn a new skill that’s in demand in the marketplace, for example sewing, consider starting a side hustle. You could earn some nice money. And then consider paying someone to do your ‘dirty work’ or better yet just save the money and invest the money!
Despite my quest to save time, $10 to sew one small, strip piece of cloth around a little ring is too rich for me.
And always keep in mind that rearranging things and saving money frees up cash.
Which you can direct to pay down debt; invest for retirement – beef up your retirement savings; save for a house or save for a new car; or enjoy a night on the town or maybe even visit Tuscany!
I’m sure you see the point here because I don’t want to needle you on this one [sorry].
Have a great one!
Arthur VanDam
P.S. Save More Money Every Day – click here.
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Disclaimer: OH and Please Remember, we are Not financial advisors, financial planners, attorneys or accountants and are Not providing any specific financial, tax, accounting or legal advice here. Be sure to conduct your own due diligence and consult your own professional advisors to get sound professional advice that’s specific to your financial and personal circumstances, risk tolerance, time horizon and investment goals and objectives among other key factors!
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