What Are You Willing to Spend Money On?
October 07, 2016As I write this, I’m surfing the web looking for my next “gym” to join. I use quotation marks because I most likely won’t join a traditional gym. I have a pretty functional gym in my basement where I can do all the strength training and cardio I care to do.
I’m looking at gyms that are a bit more specialized. One is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gym, one is a MMA gym, one is an indoor rock climbing gym and one is an American Ninja Warrior obstacle course gym. I like to switch up my fitness routine periodically and take on new challenges. Worst case scenario, I try something new and either don’t like it as much as I think I will (that rarely happens) or I end up taking on a pretty tough physical challenge and end up with a battered body that requires either rest or surgery. (That happens more than I care to admit.)
I’ve noticed that with gyms, pricing is all over the place and it doesn’t make sense to me. Some of the places with longer hours and more diverse offerings are lower priced than some of the ones with more specialized offerings and fewer hours. That befuddles me. Lately though, I’ve been befuddled by more and more things as I go out and look around at ways to better spend money. Here are a few examples:
A new car: My son is driving now and not that long ago, he, my ex-wife and I all chipped in some cash for him to be able to buy his first car. Within our budget, he and I did a pretty thorough search of a few car search engines and narrowed the field down. We saw a huge disparity in the years and mileage of vehicles.
The beautiful part about shopping for cars online is that you can sort in various ways. We sorted by newest, we sorted by lowest mileage and we sorted by lowest price. Eventually, we found the right combination in a car that he absolutely loves.
Cell phone plans: Do I need to say any more than that? With several iPhones on my plan, pricing with various carriers is a complete hodgepodge of choices. Minutes, data, texts, price of new devices, contract length (or not) — there are a lot of variables that make picking the right plan a bit complex.
“Cutting the cord” television plans: I’ve been contemplating being a “cord cutter,” but as a self-avowed sports and news junkie, I’m having trouble finding a combination that gives me what I want at a price that makes giving up what I currently have feel worth it.
What’s my point in talking about these different products/services? A lot of financial blogs and articles and “experts” will talk about how to cut costs and save a few bucks on various products and services. I’m not a big believer that the lowest price is always the best thing though.
When looking for ways to save money, make sure that you aren’t doing yourself a disservice. Do you REALLY want to drive a car on a bridge built by the lowest bidder? Do you want the lowest cost heart surgeon to operate on your loved ones?
Figure out which of the many variables in the pricing decision is the most important to you. I rank the features from most important to least important and focus my search on the top two or three variables. With the TV, it’s having an ample supply of news and sports channels. It’s not just about cost. That’s how I stay current with what’s going on in the world and with my favorite teams.
For cell phones, it’s about having enough data for my kids and I to do our work, school and fun stuff without needing to worry if we are exceeding our limits. With us often being in different cities (me on the road for work, my daughter away at college, and my sons at home), our data usage is how we all connect at various times. With cars, here is my thought process.
Take a look at your monthly expenses. See which ones you want to take a look at replacing with a lower priced option. Then determine the top two or three variables and go out to make a decision that best fits your lifestyle and your budget.