What is something people to do to save money, but it actually ends up costing them

[bjl584]

Saw this on another forum.

Most common answers,
Buying really cheap things, driving across town to save on gas/groceries, buying things on sale without researching what the regular price was

[james.hendrickson]

Totally - this is an issue with half the cheap camping gear at Walmart - it falls apart after one trip. I believe the term is "false economy".

[james.hendrickson]

The Temu thread comes to mind for sure.

We all started there, buying cheap because that's all we could afford. But as we came to have some money, we started focusing more on value, not just price. Rather than buying DD a Walmart backpack for $10 and having to replace it every year, we got her an LL Bean backpack for $50 that we still have 15 years later.

Using coupons for brand name groceries when even with the coupon, it would still be cheaper to buy the store brand.

Using coupons for fast food restaurants. It's way cheaper to cook at home.

DisneySteve, on temu it often the SAME ITEM for significantly less. I don't know why everyone thinks Temu is cheap.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Temu i also find is cheaper than Amazon. But that's because amazon is full of cheap junk.

shoes - cheap shoes fall apart fast.

driving around to save $

Not maintaining your house and cars for the best efficiency and instead having to do a major repair because of it.

[kork13]

Refusing to buy insurance because the monthly bill is higher than you think it should be.

My dad's doing that with his house ... No homeowners insurance because the bill is $400/mo .... In Florida .... You know, that place that gets slammed by major hurricanes 1-5 times a year?

[myrdale]

Buying really expensive things. Specifically name brand items (I'm talking $1000 jackets, shoes, purses).

[ua_guy]

IMO one of the best visual examples is watching people sit in long lines at Costco gas pumps. Yeah, it's discounted fuel, but is it worth an extra 10-20 minutes of the weekend, just sitting there, idling the car while waiting for an open pump? ..And after buying 2 things you didn't really need at Costco, like we're all guilty of, sometimes?

[srblanco7]

I like to fill up at BJs because they are the cheapest around, but I'll only do it when we happen to be near there and more than once I've pulled into the lot, seen the line, and continued on my way. Yes it's 5-10 cents/gallon cheaper but it's not worth waiting more than a couple of minutes for.

We have memberships at BJs and Costco. BJs is close to home and Costco near the gym I’ve been going to. Been filling up at Costco because they sell gas that meets Top Tier standards. BJs gas may be a functional equivalent but the uncertainty has steered me away from purchasing there (for the most part).

[Stump1000]

Skipping regular car maintenance. You think you’re saving on oil changes, but in the long run you pay thousands when the engine goes bad.

[msomnipotent]

Starting a vegetable garden while thinking that they will grow enough to not have to shop anymore. I've spent hundreds of dollars just on dirt. Our soil has so much clay, I should just learn how to make pottery. I've spent over $1,000 on lights and a grow tent for the winter. I laugh at the version of myself that thought this was a good idea.

I do really like gardening. I just wish I was better at it.

[Fishindude77]

Building or fixing things out of your area of expertise rather than going to a professional.

[riverwed070707]

I'm going to go on a limb and say buying a house, especially in today's market, particularly because I'm annoyed by all the maintenance costs coming up on my house. People get duped into this idea that buying is cheaper than renting but I think it depends on a lot of factors. If you own your house for 20 years, you'll likely come out ahead, but for a shorter timeframe when you end up needing new siding and a new roof and the trees cost $1000 a year to trim and the snowblower cost $600 and the lawn maintenance and the property taxes skyrocket... I'm second guessing.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Fishingdude is correct about trying to fix things yourself. And Riverwed is also correct that home ownership is not cheap.

[riverwed070707]

I'd modify that to say buying a house you can't afford.

If you buy within your means, 2-3 times annual income, you should come out ahead over time due to equity growth.

The longer you're in the house, the more you're going to rack up expenses but rental costs reflect those same expenses even if you aren't paying them directly.

I didn't buy above my means. We've been in this house 6 years and purchase price was right around 3x my income (DH and I still had fully separate finances at the time even though we were living together). Since then we've started sharing expenses, incomes have gone up and our mortgage payment is right around 10% of our income. Still more expensive than a nice rental of a comp size when you factor in taxes and annual maintenance even with the rising rent costs. It's still a hard sell for me to transition to renting primarily because we have a large dog + do rover sitting, plus we have 3 vehicles which makes townhouse or apartment renting nearly impossible. But I sure am ready to be done owning.