Tip #17 - A stitch in time saves... money?

This is a rather targeted blog post. Targeted to one person (you know who you are ;P) but applicable to many, many people, myself included!

A few weeks ago, I wrote about how brand names in food and cleaning products didn't necessarily result in an improvement in quality, but definitely an increase in price.

The same can be said for clothing, where the glut of high street "brands" has led to lowering prices and an increased emphasis on style (what will be the new black in 2013?). But that has also come with a staggering decrease in overall quality.

I have a rant about linings and how terrible they are these days, but it's not worth putting here. Suffice it to say, too many of the clothes that I've bought from standard high-street stores have fallen apart in some irreparable way (and I can mend clothes!) before what I feel is their time.

Recently, I started looking at things a bit differently. If clothes now-a-days are cheap in price and quality, what happens when we go up the price ladder. Will we go up the quality ladder, too? The answer is usually yes, but to a point. Here's a rough paint-graph of how this works, with cost in blue and quality in red. Ok, ok, it's not scientific and is based on experience rather than fact, but I find that, while costs can increase exponentially, quality kind of plateau's at a certain point. Beyond that point, you're paying for the name or the style.

So here's the thing. When considering new items, if you buy too far down the cost line, the quality will be poor and you will have to replace the item soon. If you buy too far up, then you're adding cost with no beneficial return. The trick is to try and even out the two - to buy an item that will last a long enough time to balance out the increased cost and then some.

I have several examples from my own life:

First, my purse. My purse (handbag to avoid confusion) is a mid-range designer brand. It cost ₤148, which is REALLY EXPENSIVE. But it has now lasted me for a year and a half, which is longer than my previous four purses put together. In fact, if I had continued with the cheaper quality purses, I would have spent more in that year and a half on purses than on my designer one. And I plan on keeping it until it falls apart, hopefully another year and a half.

Second, my coat. In fact, my coats, since I have had good luck with coats. One coat cost me $220 and lasted me 10 years. A lot of money on a coat, but averaged out to $22/year, it's incredibly affordable. My current coat cost ₤127 on sale, and is a very formal wool cashmere blend. This is it's second winter in action, but the lining is still in one piece and it still looks fantastic despite some heavy use. It's vastly better than the ₤98 coat that I bought the year before, which looked old after just one year's use; and it had a hole in one pocket!

Finally, my computer. Going into my final year of university, I managed to kill my third laptop in a year and a half. I'm abusive to computers. I type fast, I eat and drink while I'm on them, I drop them off sofas. Essentially, I put them through a lot, and the cheapy-cheap ones just couldn't put up with me. So, despite protestations by my step-father, I shelled out on a $1500 laptop, which included a $300 warranty. THAT'S A LOT OF MONEY HOLY CRAP! But here's the thing: it has a shock-proof hard drive, so it's sofa-drop proof. It has a spill-proof keyboard so it won't fry. And it's got steel hinges, so I can open and close it as often as I like. Basically, it's me-proof. And it's lasted over 3 years. That's now less than $500/year. Which is incredibly affordable for a computer. The only problems are: the fan is going slightly, I had to replace the battery and the new one isn't always recognized but it works, and one of my sofa drops recently knocked out the microphone. But otherwise it's as fast as it has always been, and that's what matters.

I suppose my point here is that brand names or increased prices don't always mean increased quality. You have to search for the balance, and, when you find it, keep the products going so they are cheaper over time. Do the research, have a good feel of fabrics, check the seams, and know yourself - if I was more careful with electronics, I wouldn't have spent so much on my computer, but I knew I couldn't do that.

Happy New Year's everyone! I hope your resolution includes spending less money!

P.S. If you're yelling at your computer that I forgot about second hand or vintage clothing, don't worry. That's on my list for a future post ;)