Today we have a post from Shannon, a regular contributor.
So, I started thinking about writing this post a few months ago after a conversation with a client where I pretty much had a money saving solution for everything she was struggling with.
As I got in my car and drove home, I started to wonder if there was ever a need to pay full price for anything.
During the time I spent in the car on the drive home, I couldn’t think of a single answer to this question.
Challenged Myself to Figure it Out
I have found that over the last few years as I have adjusted my spending behaviors that I have become spending averse but more than that I have become full price spending averse. I honestly can’t remember the last time that I purchased something that wasn’t on sale, sold at a discount store, or I had a coupon for it. Sure, I have paid full price for mushrooms or something like that when I am grocery shopping and need them for a particular recipe that I am making; however, I have also been known to cancel recipes based on paying full price for something like mushrooms.
In response to my somewhat crazy newfound frugalness, I thought it would be a great idea to explore when it actually makes sense to pay full price, in an effort to sell myself on the idea. And I have to be honest with you, I thought about this for hours and days. I talked to my hubby and friends about it and no matter what ideas were thrown out to me I had a difficult time coming up with a full list of when you should pay full price for anything. So please excuse my sorry list, but I could only come up with two times where it makes sense to pay full price.
1) Health and Well-Being
Your health and the health of your family, and that may include pets, is the number one priority we have in life. And I don’t think that anyone should sacrifice personal health in the name of frugality. I can’t imagine not taking my son to the nearest doctor because I could find one cheaper. Or telling my hubby that he should not get his blood work checked annually because we would save money if he did not go one year.
With all of the areas we have in life where we can save, I urge you to never try to save a buck where your health and well-being are concerned. In fact, this sometimes not only means paying full price, but paying extra. My hubby was in a funky state last year, and I suggested that he speak with a psychologist, and his response was that he didn’t want to waste the money.
I was not concerned about the money, I was concerned about the depressed guy I shared a bed with every night. After a lot of coaxing, he finally started seeing someone, and it changed his life. He was able to process a number of his issues and he is mentally in a better place, which makes him not only better physically but a better hubby and a better daddy. It was full price money that was well spent.
2) Emergencies
These situations unfortunately dictate to us that we have to pay full price whether we like it or not. Where our health and well-being is a spending choice, emergencies are usually a spending command. Some emergencies that may arise and force you into full price spending could include a car incident like a blown tire or a household incident like a plumbing disaster (just ask Cat about that).
There are times when you can actually look for deals on emergency issues, but if they are going to impact the health and well-being of your family, then you need to bite the bullet and pay full price. The tire light in my hubby’s car recently turned on, and after putting air in it the tire light turned on again. He didn’t want to risk taking the time and energy to find the best deal, he was more concerned about a blown tire that could cause an accident. So he immediately headed to get it fixed, sans coupon, but thankfully only paid $26 for a patch thanks to a nail in his tire.
When does it make sense to you to pay full price?
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For me, as a full-time working mom of two, sometimes I need to pay for convenience things. Like an oil change at the closest place to work (no coupon perhaps) or gas at the place where I don’t have a discount card – because this one time it happens to be on my way, versus making my nursing baby wait the extra 10 minutes for her next meal. When I can, I try to be smart, but with kids, I’ve come to appreciate that time is money.
I would have to disagree with these two as well. Take health for example. Whilst I agree that you should never take lower quality options for less money, there are always alternatives where you can avoid paying top price.
For example, a couple of year ago I needed to have root canal and a crown fitted. The prices were extortionate. Instead, I went to the local university dentistry college. Here, you can volunteer to have your surgery performed by a final year student the last part of their 7 year degree course.
Whilst I initially had some concern that they may be beginners in this task, I knew that they would be supervised and supported step-by-step by the most experienced and talented dentists in the region as their professors/tutors.
In the end, the surgery took a little longer than usual (one extra session), but cost next to nothing and the quality was perfect. I’d certainly recommend this to anyone!
More widely, there is always a way to find better VALUE! Not necessarily just a better price, but a better value.
I think it can also make sense to pay full price when you are in a situation that time is more important than money. For example, I used to live in a town where the cheapest gas station was two miles outside of town, but it was routinely 5-10 cents per gallon cheaper than the places in town. Sometimes I made the trip out there to get gas, but when time was a premium I chose to just pay a few cents more per gallon in town.
I don’t like paying full price for anything, either. Moneystepper brought up a good point with health. I definitely think you should prioritize health and spend money when needed, but I have shopped around when it comes to dentists. Thankfully I’m under my parents insurance so I don’t need to worry about anything other than a co-pay with regular doctor visits. Hmm, can’t think of much else!
I don’t like to pay full price at all, but it happens sometimes. Usually it’s when I’m in a hurry or the kids need something and there is no time to shop around.
It’s really all about need – if you don’t need something you can take the time to search for a discount or sale to come along. If you need something right now….OR having it now brings you more value than any potential discount then I would pay full price. Also, there are some things (like apple products) that *never* go on sale….
I hate paying full price, but sometimes it can’t be avoided. If I’m in a rush, I’ll sometimes opt for convenience, even when I know I could save if I shopped around.
I don’t like to pay full price for anything! I try to get everything at a reduced rate, with cash back, or at the very least pay with a cash back credit card.
I completely agree with you- healthcare and emergencies are two places I spare no expense.
I pay full price when the time needed to research a deal could be better spent doing something else. The effort needed to find a bargain sometimes isn’t worth it to me.
I read Travis’s comment and I’m kind of with him on that. So if Im concerned about something medically right now then I’ll pay full price, but lets say when it comes to the dentist and general cleaning, sometimes you can find a groupon and save a ton of money if you don’t have dental insurance. I happen to love my dentist and tried the groupon thing a couple times, and eventually said f it I really like my dentist, so I gave up on that one. lol! But I was also more “broke” at the time I used it. I also pay full price on some groceries. Gasp, I know right?!? Let’s say the sugar filled yogurt was super cheap, but my favorite low sugar greek yogurt wasn’t…well I’ll pick the low sugar one.
indebtedmom I am a working mom too and I definitely made a number of convenience money decisions over the last 8 years that I convinced myself were convenience decisions, but I really could have thought them through more.
moneystepper Great point about value and as long as you have the same level of service for your health, then that is great. I would never think to go to a training college for medical attention, but as long as the students are well supervised than it would be a great value.
colormefrugal Driving those extra miles, though, probably added on 5-10 cents of gas so it probably made sense from time and value to stay local.
JourneytoSaving Dentists are definitely a challenge when it comes to costs and like I just commented, I had no idea you could even go to a dental school. I think as long as the quality of care is the same as paying full price for medical attention, then it is a great deal.
Holly at ClubThrifty Kids definitely have a way of putting us in situations where full price is unavoidable.
DebtChronicles It’s true need definitely drives the spending choices and I think sometimes we have a habit of convincing ourselves that we “need” something when maybe it is just a want, like an apple product. :-)
TheWriteBudget Time restrictions can definitely force us to pay full price and I have definitely been guilty of this and then kicked myself afterwards.
makemoneywithoutajob Great point about using the cash back credit card so that even when you are “forced” to pay full price you can get something back later.
BudgetforMore Yup, it’s really hard to “cut costs” in these areas.
Brian @ Luke1428 It’s true Brian, sometimes it’s a cost benefit analysis equation you have to run in your head.
Beachbudget I have a good friend who used the Groupon dentist thing and had rough results. And I am always a little concerned with Groupon dentist offers because it makes me think they are “not good enough” to support their own business with having to advertise via Groupon so maybe I don’t want them in my mouth. That being said, I think if you can be assured of the same level of service or better, than you should absolutely take the value choice.
blonde_finance Beachbudget I could totally see that. The reason I stopped the groupon thing for a dentist was I kept getting an upsell, which I thought was weird. I kept thinking that maybe they were telling me things were wrong when they really weren’t. In the end I trust my old dentist so it’s worth paying the extra money for comfort and peace of mind.
I will pay full price if the cheaper option takes too much time. Since we live in the boonies, there is usually more choice and better prices if we take a day to drive somewhere bigger, but I don’t always want to spend my free time doing that. I will also support local business whenever possible if the service is good and the price isn’t way above the average. Our mechanic charges a little more for oil changes but when we had a crack in some part I can’t pronounce, he agreed to try and weld it for $300, and it worked great. A new part was over $1000, and I know a garage that didn’t know me would have probably just said we had to get a new one. I think loyalty can pay off over time in situations like that, so an extra $10 here and there doesn’t bother me.
I always negotiate the price of healthcare. It doesn’t diminish the care I receive, but most places have a very wild pricing policy. You would be surprised how often I can lower the price just by asking why they charged this amount. Most have no problem taking off some money.
Eyesonthedollar I think that loyalty does pay in areas you least expect it so that even though you are paying full price now, down the road you will appreciate a discount later.
DebtRoundUp I have honestly never thought about negotiating healthcare but my mom recently went to a doctor’s office and said that she would pay cash and they charged her MUCH less than they would have if she went through insurance because they said that she was saving them the “hassle” of filing. So good point!
Beachbudget blonde_finance So funny! My friend was getting the upsell through the Groupon thing as well. I guess that’s there plan when they put those in there and not just because they are crappy dentists. :-)
I’ve become spending adverse as well the last couple of years and like you I’m always looking for ways to not have to pay full price. But during an emergency it’s hard to look for bargains or a sale. You just want the problem to be fixed like when my water heater broke last year. So I would pay full price during an emergency.
I completely agree on the health and pet thing. There can be times to save money on your health, in the sense that you can buy generic brand prescriptions and headache relievers, things like that, but for the most part… just spend the money to see a specialist if you’re concerned about something!
I’ve learned my lesson the hard way to spend full price on your pets, too. My pets are my kids, and like my kids health and well-being, I would pay full price for them!
Hey thanks for the link! Also I totally agree about healthcare, Shannon. We had a choice to actually spend far less or nothing for the twins’ birth but the way it worked was we had to go to a different doctor/clinic and the babies wouldn’t be born at the hospital with the certain level NICU that we needed. Babies are sent there from all over the state to stay in the NICU and so we decided we’d pay more to have the right care. It turned out they did have to go there and although it cost a lot and we’re just sorting out the bills now, I’m glad we did it the way we did. Also I’m glad Mr. Fin. Blonde is feeling better! He’s a pretty awesome guy and he’s lucky to have you!
Practical Cents I know emergencies definitely make it a challenge to save money.
sunburntsaver Pets are definitely part of the family and their health is just as important as everyone else’s.
BudgetBlonde I definitely would not want to risk anything when it came to my child’s birth and you had 2 babies to worry about! And Mr. Fin Blonde is definitely awesome and we are lucky to have each other. :-)
I try to make recipes with the stuff that’s on sale. Not that I cook a lot, but when I do. I’m putting off buying a bottle of tyenol because I’ve run out and am waiting for a sale. Hope one comes before my next headache!