Waste Not, Want A Lot
When does being frugal become a waste of money?
I always try to be sensible about things. I'm not going to say I don't waste money... that would quite simply be a lie. I like to enjoy myself and I like gadgets... I like to have those treats every now and then and they aren't very frugal!
When I shop online I always check Amazon and eBay, but that's usually where my search stops for general items. I'm quite cautious about using websites that I've not heard of, if I don't know someone who's used it and it's not a mainstream site then I go with what I know. How much of my time would I spend researching it to check it's safe before I entrust my card details to it?
I work with books and my staff discount is really good, which is handy as I prefer a physical book, but shopping is more complicated now.
There are websites that let you compare prices but they aren't actually that useful because it's really hard to narrow it down to what you actually wanted in the first place. "I would like an xBox 360." "Would you like xBox 360 games?" "I would like an xBox 360 console." "Would you like an xBox 360 console and games package?"
If you're luck enough to get to the end of an online shopping spree without tearing your hair out then you've probably gone with what you know. Technology in theory should make your life easier. But sometimes I long for the days where I just went down to Woolworths to buy the latest CD instead of trying to decide if I just want a digital version from iTunes... or buy the physical CD from Amazon and get a free digital copy with it... or am I bothered about all the tracks, do I just buy them individually... or just put them on a Spotify playlist.
When I shop online I always check Amazon and eBay, but that's usually where my search stops for general items. I'm quite cautious about using websites that I've not heard of, if I don't know someone who's used it and it's not a mainstream site then I go with what I know. How much of my time would I spend researching it to check it's safe before I entrust my card details to it?
I work with books and my staff discount is really good, which is handy as I prefer a physical book, but shopping is more complicated now.
- Check it through work.
- Go to Amazon and check it there, but I have to remember that it has to be £10 for free delivery. "I hope I have enough in my basket already!"
- Check Amazon sellers if I don't want the book as a keeper, see if there are any manky copies for £2.81 all in.
- Check Kindle.
- Check iBooks.
- Check Tesco eBooks [as I discovered this morning], if it costs less than £1 more than any of the others buy it there as they give you 100 Tesco clubcard points which is a £1 voucher.
There are websites that let you compare prices but they aren't actually that useful because it's really hard to narrow it down to what you actually wanted in the first place. "I would like an xBox 360." "Would you like xBox 360 games?" "I would like an xBox 360 console." "Would you like an xBox 360 console and games package?"
If you're luck enough to get to the end of an online shopping spree without tearing your hair out then you've probably gone with what you know. Technology in theory should make your life easier. But sometimes I long for the days where I just went down to Woolworths to buy the latest CD instead of trying to decide if I just want a digital version from iTunes... or buy the physical CD from Amazon and get a free digital copy with it... or am I bothered about all the tracks, do I just buy them individually... or just put them on a Spotify playlist.
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