Research

We're voracious researchers.  It's a habit that Wade has instilled in me from day one, and I'm finally catching on. 

We don't make a major purchase without first researching it.  Ever.  We research it to great lengths.  Sometimes to the point that I want to tie someone up to the chair and put duct tape over his mouth just buy the stupid thing and get it over and done with.

However, it has come to our attention that people may think that we do all this research and then buy the cheapest thing.

Which would defeat the purpose of the research, now wouldn't it? 

But, to those not into researching or who do their researching incorrectly, the cheapest ($$$) thing isn't necessarily the cheapest thing.

Allow me to explain.

Take for example the road bike Wade gave me for our anniversary. 

It's cheap ($$$).  I knew that it was when I picked it out.  But here's the thing.  I don't have the time to invest right now into heavy duty biking.  I wanted a road bike to do two or three triathlons on a year.  It fits me better than Wade's brother's old mountain bike and it fits my needs.  I live in a climate where outdoor biking is not feasible six months out of the year.

In short, I'm not going to shell out $$$ for something I don't anticipate using all that often right now in my life.

I did, however, look at A LOT of reviews for A LOT of bikes roughly in this price range.  And this is the one I chose based on what I saw and what I read.  Was it the cheapest ($$$)?  No.  Was it the cheapest?  No.  Is it my dream bike?  No.  Will I be riding it on the Tour de France?  No.  But it gets me from Point A to Point B on the triathlon course and that's all that matters right now.

Now there is the argument that if you're going to pay $200 for something that later on you're going to upgrade to a better model by paying $1000, wouldn't it be better to just fork over the $1000 now and not waste the $200.

And there's some merit to that argument.  However, if I would've gone with a $1000 model now and then decided that riding wasn't really for me, I'm out $1000 and not $200.  Also, it's hard to justify $1000 for two or three triathlons a year when you have a basement you're paying for and car payments.

Because we're also responsible adults too.  And we can't always go out and get the best thing because it's not in our best interest.

Sidenote: Did you know that 60% of millionaires use coupons?  Hello, they're not rich because of some luck of the draw.

So, in short, there's a formula (we're geeks.  Would you expect anything less?) we employ when making a major purchase, by which I mean, something that is pretty expensive and you wouldn't buy on impulse.

We weigh how much we're going to use said item versus how much it costs.  We NEVER buy top of the line. You're just throwing your money away if you do.  We buy mid-line.  If it's an item that isn't going to (realistically) be used a lot (our tent, for example), we buy lower on the scale.  If it's something that we plan on using a lot, (our projector) we'll buy higher on the scale.

And then we wait.

Which is the hardest part for a lot of people.  And may be why we give off the impression that we're buying the cheapest stuff.  Because, in some people's eyes, there's no difference between cheap ($$$) and cheap.  But I can tell you that there is a lot of cheap stuff out there that cost $$$.  So don't get caught in the trap that a price tag indicates how good something is.  A $185 pair of jeans still has two legs, a zipper and a snap.  Just like my $7 jeans.

But we wait until we find said item at a price that we can live with.  Occasionally, we will see it for a better price later on, but rarely do we ever feel guilty because we bought it at a price that fit our budget. 

The final thing is that once we've done our research, picked our item, waited for the good price, and bought it, we STOP researching it.  Or we do, theoretically.  Because I've seen Wade researching things after we've bought them.  You will ALWAYS find something better or cheaper if you keep looking.

Be happy with what you choose.  That is unless you didn't do your research and just went with what the price tag said.  In which case, you're a sucker.