Why You Should Buy Good Things: The Case for Spending a Little More Sometimes

On ManMade, we’ve always made the argument to buy high-quality goods made with reliable materials, even if it means you ultimately end up being able to afford less. This applies to men’s clothing and style items, which will last longer and be more versatile, and all kinds of quality goods created by skilled workers and artists. 

But beyond the ethical and aesthetic reasons, spending a little mre also makes financial sense as well, and will most often end up saving you money in the long run.

Financial planner Carl Richards argues,

Here is the issue: when we settle for stuff that we don’t really want, and instead buy stuff that will be fine for a while, it often costs more in the long run. How many shirts do you have in the closet that you never wear because you bought them on sale, despite feeling that they weren’t quite right? Those shirts you saved so much money on are now costing you in more ways than just money…

He suggests thinking of most purchases with the goal of owning that item for a long time, perhaps your whole life. This changes the way you think about both money and goods, because you’re forced to think harder about what you’re buying.

Richards says,

When we start treating everything around us as disposable, it’s hard to not think of money as disposable, too. And it’s this line of thinking that gets us into trouble…Taking this puts a new spin on how we spend our money. Maybe it makes us think a little harder about what we’re buying. Maybe it makes us wait a little longer so we can afford exactly what we want. Maybe it makes us a little happier about what we have because we’re buying things we want around for a long time.

Read the full article at The New York Times Bucks blog: The Case for Spending a Little More Sometimes