One Anonymous poster said this: “You spend $30-$80 on a nice purse? Geeeeezzzzz that isn’t thrifty at all!”
So it would seem…. but my response: “Actually it is. Cost per use is in effect, my friend“.
I assumed the Anonymous poster was a man, but correct me if I’m wrong! I just find that most men don’t understand the appeal of having a beautiful purse, yet they can wax poetic about how they need to have a set of matching, custom-made chrome bumpers, spinning rims, stylish sound systems with good bass for their car, beautiful interior babysoft leather for their seats, and that $800 for a single gallon of the most perfect shade of car paint for their car.
The basic idea of cost per use or wear, is if you are to spend $30 or $80 on a nice purse, you are planning on using that purse day in, day out.
Case in point. I bought a soft, faux leather, bronze metallic purse for $30 about 4 years ago. That is now the purse I bring with me on all of my travelling trips because it is elegant enough to be a work purse, soft enough to squish into my suitcase and not worry about it being damaged, and big (but not too much bag) enough to hold my items when I go sightseeing. Plus, I paid only $30 for it.
After 4 years, that purse has cost about $12.50/year so far. That’s 0.034 cents a day. And every year I take care of it, and use it, the cost per use goes down until it approaches zero.
This is the same principle that can be used for shirts and pants. I bought a cheap shirt for $5 on sale a month ago, took care of it, and now just looks dull, faded, frayed and ugly. In contrast, I purchased a $50 shirt about a year ago, took the same care with it, but it still looks sharp, and it has kept its dye and colour well over the years. The quality was just simply better.
I am not saying that EVERYTHING that costs more money is worth it, I’m just saying pick and choose what you want to pay more for, and what you won’t.
The only time I ever spent $80 on a purse, was 2 years ago for this Friis & Co. gorgeous black-lace gathered overlay on a faux white leather purse, with a silk black lining. I love it, and I carry it whenever I’m out on the town. Sure, the cost per use is a lot higher for that purse, but I plan on keeping that purse well into the future, and by that time, that purse will still be worth every penny I had paid for it.
But I can guarantee you would NEVER have seen that purse in a thrift store, and if I had waited and missed out on my chance to buy it on the cheap for $80 CAD and still be able to love it after all this time.
In short, I’d much rather have ONE $30-$80 purse I love and like to carry, than buying $4-$10, or a $20 purse and end up throwing the purses away, donating it, or shoving it into the back of my closet, untouched and unused, saved for the firs day I bought it. That cost per use for that “thrifty” bag that I never really loved in the first place was $4-$20, instead of $7.50-$12.50.
Sure, I could just use my laptop bag, or maybe a free plastic grocery bag to carry around my items, but as most women can attest to, it just isn’t the same. And besides, how cheap are you going to get? There has to be a limit somewhere. I’d treat this free plastic grocery bag cheapness akin to stealing ketchup packets from McDonald’s and squeezing it into your ketchup jar to save $3 per in addition to spending 6 hours of your time squeezing each packet in.
One thing’s for sure, I’d never cross the threshold of $100 for a bag, because it’s just a bag. But some people will buy $400 – $2000 It Bags for the season, use it for a season (about 4 months, maybe 6 months), and discard the former It Bag into the back of their closet, or sell it at a fraction (albeit still over $100) of its original retail cost.
Now, which one seems more economical to you?
You can even apply this to buying cars, or really, buying anything in general. If you’re going to buy a new car because buying a used one just doesn’t appeal to you, that’s fine. But if you buy a new car once every 3 years to upgrade, that’s not being as economical as if you bought that new car, took super good care of it, and made it last 15 – 20 years. The cost per use goes down, and in the end, you are still thrilled with your purchase.
Just a girl trying to find a balance between being a Shopaholic and a Saver.
I cleared $60,000 in 18 months earning $65,000 gross/year.
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On an impulse, I spent $270 on a leather Tano handbag in Nov 2007. Along with it, I bought a $100 Hobo International wallet. I have used and abused these two items every single day for the past 3.5 years – using the wallet as a clutch/purse when I go out and doubling the handbag as a shopping bag for small purchases. I have probably bought 5-10 "cheap" purses since then and have either returned or donated all of them because they lose their appeal after the first day. My cost per use is below 30 cents a day and both items are still in perfect condition. Cost per use is an excellent argument for INVESTING in the quality of things you use every day!
I’ll bet your leather bags are even more beautiful today than the first day you bought them š I LOVE it when leather ages.
I met someone at the department store where I work who buys a Coach bag every year. She waits for the Big Coupon weekend that includes Coach. She sells her previous Coach for $150-$200. She takes that amount and applies it to her new bag and uses the coupon. She LOVES her Coach bag. She uses it as her every day bag. She keeps in in great condition so she can resell it. She enjoys having a new bag every year.
I think that is a totally reasonable way to splurge on one luxury item.
Old post I know, but my husband shells out 2hundred for my purses, I use them every day for 15 years. I hate switching out. Working on number two now. Wonder what that cranks out to cost per day. (Heart my Dooney, the first one was 50 in a pawn shop) #2 was retail, anniversary gift. Not cheap, but Very sturdy.
$200 for 15 years? Wow that’s $0.0365 cents per day š
That purse is $0.034 DOLLARS/day. Check your math before posting.
Goodness that was an old post.
Please don’t be rude — I type these things with just a quick once-over instead of poring over every word, and occasionally, as a human, I make mistakes.
I’ve been reading through several of your posts (after seeing you around Rae’s page for ages!) and I’m loving your blog!
I think one of the things that’s great about bags or whatever it is is that once you find what works, you can forgo (sp?) all others. For example, I used to love bags, but they were all really impractical. I switched to one I thought was “ugly” because I got a job at a makeup lab that would send me home totally dirty every night, but it is one that is made to be better for your back. It really has saved my back. Now every time I see a bag that I think is cute, I think “nope, because it’ll kill my back.” Plus it was approx $50. I can’t imagine how much I have kept myself from spending! š
I know that wasn’t totally your point, but it made me think of that. š Now I just need to set up a shop on my blog to get rid of things I don’t or won’t use!
I’m with you on the cost per use theory. I used to buy everything on sale and bought a lot of things i hated and never used/wore. Nowadays, I spent a lot on things I really want. It feels more fulfilling to buy one nice big ticket item and call that my splurge for the month.
I’d spend $200 on a purse. I haven’t yet, but one day, I will. And I will use that purse every single day until it has holes in it.
I do spend $200 on my jeans. I buy ones that fit, that I love, and I wear them at least twice a week.
Men will neve grasp the concept of cost per wear… their brains were just not wired up in that way!
Mm.. I used to do that too, but it got to the point (in my head) when A) I had to start saving money, and B) I realized I was only rotating and using only about 3-4 bags on a regular basis, and not any more than that!!!
I would DEFINITELY pay more for technology. (watch for my next post). The brand name really matters when you’re paying $500-$1000 for something that you will be using day in, day out, or something you rely on to WORK.
After my cellphone dies, I’d look at the price of iPhones (which I hope will be cheaper or at least have more MP3 storage space), as well as the plan for it. I also have a Tungsten E2 PDA, so that would have to die as well, before I switch over to an iPhone to take over all 3 of my gadgets (cellphone, MP3, PDA)… But I’m hearing a bit of dissatisfaction with iPhones, and I hope by the time I get around to getting one (5 years? :P) they’ll be worth it.
I also have a small digital camera, and it WOULD be awesome to have that in an iPhone too. Oh my.. I’d have ONE phone to rule it all and one phone to control the functions.. š Just like the ring in Lord of the Rings š
I typically pay under $20 for my bags, but I have sooo many of them. (And I would easily pay more for a really awesome bag.) I still get plenty of use out of most of them, but yours undoubtedly have a lower cost per use than mine.
I was happy to pay big bucks for my laptop, seeing how I use it for work, school, and play – and am pretty much on it all the time. My phone wasn’t super cheap either because I wanted something thin to fit into my bags better.
Eventually, I do see myself getting something like an IPhone when my IPod and PDA are both shot and truly replaceable by a phone. It would be nice if I could get one to truly replace my small digital camera as well, though I want to get a really nice, large camera someday.
Especially cellphones…
I cannot fathom paying $500 for an iPhone (and paying for pride of new ownership) when I had JUST bought my cellphone off ebay (after my other one smashed to the floor in a suicide attempt), for $60..
Great post! Cost per wear is a wonderful concept. As well as the less-easily measurable degree to which you believe the item improves your life (or your look)–I’m not sure how to describe that idea, but it’s worth acknowledging that some items help more than others, which can increase their value even if their cost per use is higher. Cell phones and laptops come to mind.