Are you an UNDERbuyer?

[Jen and Ashwin]

I sometimes wish I was an underbuyer. I have a couple of bottles of everything! At the time I buy them they re on sale and I figure if i run out I do not have to go run out and buy them. That is a good idea right? Well not if you have enough that can last you for years!

As long as they are things that won't go bad, then no worries. We buy lots of personal care products when they are on sale and always have enough to last a year or more.

 

[BCV2003]

I have no problem buying things that will make my life easier. I have a duplicate set of make-up in my travel bag because I travel for work. I also have a bag with chargers for my husband and I when we travel for work or pleasure. No scrambling for chargers to bring with us.

For the house, I also try to buy things that make our living a little more efficient like a Laundry cart that has bins for sorting laundry and it also doubles as an ironing board. Reusable ice cubes that we use in our large outdoor cooler for when we have people over (which is every weekend in the summer). We were spending about $10 on ice every weekend. I made an initial investment of about $20-$25 on the reusable ice cubes at Dollar Tree that will ultimately save us money and time from running to the store to buy ice every weekend.

 

[Granfan]

I think I'm probably an under buyer- or just plain cheap, can't decide. My couch is 18 years old, becoming threadbare in spots, has a sponge egg-crate folded up under the cushions for extra support, and is really showing its age. I can't think of replacing it, though; it still is comfortable and seems wasteful to get rid of it. Ditto the sofa bed in the front room, and it's 30 years old! We don't own smart phones or have a cell phone with a plan. Because of where we live, we have to have a landline in the house (cell reception is spotty, unreliable in our town) and I can't bring myself to pay for cell phones just for the convenience. DH and I each have a bottom of the line tracfone to keep in our cars, for emergencies. Then there is the TV, which is a 36" NOT flat screen TV. It is probably 12" deep and weighs a ton, but it works, so why would I replace it with a flat screen? Appliances? We REALLY need a new stove, dishwasher, and fridge. Our fridge was manufactured by RCA, if that gives you any idea of how old it is. It's a side by side, and the 2 veggie drawers don't really stay on the railings- they slide unevenly and try to fall off. The stove and dishwasher are equally old, each with its own problems. Here's MY problem, though: They all work! It seems incredibly wasteful to get rid of them "because" they look a bit shabby or have issues... they all still function reliably, so I can't bring myself to spend the money to replace them. I wear shirts that are 20 years old and have 3 nightgowns that I bought when I was pregnant... and DD turned 23 last fall! Anyhow... you get my drift; I just can't bring myself to discard functioning items or replace them just because I want something newer.

And you are one smart cookie. I am that way but only about the appliances. In the last year we had to buy 3 new appliances because they finally broke. I really dislike the new ones!!!The washer was recalled due to a major fault where the lid could fly off when spinning. The refrigerator spits out ice on the floor for no reason, and the dishwasher is much harder to load than my old one. New is certainly not always better in my case. But if any part is failing and aggravating I say go ahead and get a new one. Maybe you'll get lucky and it will be better.

 

[neatokimmo]

No, I am an over buyer. I am constantly buying things I already have.

This is me. I lose stuff, rebuy it, find lost items a week later.

 

[katie111]

This is a great thread....I am getting lots of great ideas.

I am an over buyer of things like clothes & sneakers. But I am under buyer when it comes to things that will make my life easier. Things like phone chargers & dog leashes, we are always misplacing & I should just buy a couple back-ups. I have these Nike socks that I wear almost every day. I have about 4 pairs that I am always scrounging for, why don't I just buy some more? I have tons of other socks that I hate. I need a new knife set. Our suitcases are falling apart. I have the $$ but I just never get them.

We have a ski house & I am always buying things that we need for up there. I love going there because it has no clutter but yet it has every kitchen gadget, electronics, phone chargers, etc that we need & nothing is ever lost like it is at home. I also stock up on lots of dry foods, paper products, cleaning supplies, etc so we never run out like we constantly do at home.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

I am horrified ny the amount of bags I have. I am no underbuyer. But some things just don't occur to me. Like I had one pair of reading glasses. Then I would get annoyed I didn't have them in the store. Hello.. McFly get a spare pair and put them in your purse..

 

[OrangeBirdGirl]

Cleaning supplies. Sometimes I have to remind myself to keep every bathroom in the house stocked with duplicate cleaning supplies so I'm not carrying them around upstairs and down.

Never dawned on me either. Especially since I buy some things like toilet bowl cleaner in bulk at Costco. Instead of the extras just sitting in the storage area of the basement it could go in the other bathroom.

I'm only an under buyer if I have to go to the actual store. If it's available on amazon the minute I think my life would be easier - it shows up 2 days later. But my under buying is totally out of laziness and hating to go to the store. I need peanut oil for a recipe and have to stop at a specialty grocery store that I pass every day on the way home from work, I'm too lazy to run in so I juts use sesame oil and hope for the best....

 

[adisneyaunt]

I'm def NOT an underbuyer. I'm not an Overbuyer ( like those coupon people that buy 15 of each item and have rooms of food stacked to the ceiling)

I do enjoy shopping and I can be just about Anywhere and "find" something to buy ( per the hubby). Yup, he's right....I can, I do and probably always will.

 

[Tygerlilly]

I also want to do cloth diapers, but you usually need to have newborn size and then infant size. I plan to sew enough newborn size diapers to get me through the first month and then just put the infant size diapers on my baby registry, since those last a lot longer and I will need more of them. Also I signed up for a Friends to Friends sale in May, thinking that maybe I can find some great items gently used to save some money. DH thought that sounds like a great idea and said he would go with me to the sale.

We do part time cloth here (I use them, hubby thinks they're gross and won't touch them *eyeroll*). We didn't start until she could fit in one size and just used pampers that we got from the shower until she could fit them. Right now, we use cheap Alva pockets with various inserts for day/night. I loved all in ones to start out with though, but now they don't work as great. I order all of mine pretty exclusively from one site for about $5/diaper and $2/insert. Plus her Facebook group has special pricing pre-buys for even cheaper. I'd be happy to pm you the website if you're interested.

 

[eeyoresmom]

Op here. So I set up my new charger with extension cord by my bed last night and I have to say it really did make me a little happier. Just not to be dealing with that frustration of carrying the one charger everywhere and having one right where it makes sense was so worth the money.

 

[Julylady]

My parents were under-buyers of services. When we traveled we never used porters or called Bell Services to assist us with bags. I guess they hated the idea of tipping for help when you could do it yourself. So we all dragged our luggage from the parking lot to the lobby, then from the lobby to the room. As an adult I continued that practice for a short time. Then it dawned on me that for $1 a bag, I could get someone to help me with all my stuff! It is well, well worth the money!

I guess I am an over-buyer with things like soap, detergent, toiletries, lotions, etc. I have shelving units dedicated to extra supplies. I buy stuff on sale, and if I open the last bottle, I will immediately replace it. I normally have 2-3 extras of most items. I rarely run out of anything and could probably go for 6 months without visiting a store if I had to. I travel a lot for work and keep a duplicate set of makeup and toiletries already packed. I have one set of phone/ipad chargers in the bedroom and another complete set in the kitchen. I use them both depending on where I am when my devices need re-charging. I also carry an extra charger in my work bag.

I guess I'm an over-buyer, but nothing ever goes to waste.

 

[Judique]

I think I'm probably an under buyer- or just plain cheap, can't decide. My couch is 18 years old, becoming threadbare in spots, has a sponge egg-crate folded up under the cushions for extra support, and is really showing its age. I can't think of replacing it, though; it still is comfortable and seems wasteful to get rid of it. Ditto the sofa bed in the front room, and it's 30 years old! We don't own smart phones or have a cell phone with a plan. Because of where we live, we have to have a landline in the house (cell reception is spotty, unreliable in our town) and I can't bring myself to pay for cell phones just for the convenience. DH and I each have a bottom of the line tracfone to keep in our cars, for emergencies. Then there is the TV, which is a 36" NOT flat screen TV. It is probably 12" deep and weighs a ton, but it works, so why would I replace it with a flat screen? Appliances? We REALLY need a new stove, dishwasher, and fridge. Our fridge was manufactured by RCA, if that gives you any idea of how old it is. It's a side by side, and the 2 veggie drawers don't really stay on the railings- they slide unevenly and try to fall off. The stove and dishwasher are equally old, each with its own problems. Here's MY problem, though: They all work! It seems incredibly wasteful to get rid of them "because" they look a bit shabby or have issues... they all still function reliably, so I can't bring myself to spend the money to replace them. I wear shirts that are 20 years old and have 3 nightgowns that I bought when I was pregnant... and DD turned 23 last fall! Anyhow... you get my drift; I just can't bring myself to discard functioning items or replace them just because I want something newer.

If you can afford to replace some of these Dinosaur aged pieces you have, you should consider doing it. You are not getting any younger and eventually the thing(s) is going to die anyway.

Get yourself some replacements and enjoy them while you can. My daughter got one of those heavy old flat screens about ten years ago for free. She kept it for a minute and got rid of it because it collected dust, and was too heavy to move easily. It took two men to get it out of her house!

Every so often I like to change things up. Even if it costs money and things are still functional. I can afford to donate my castoffs. I see no need to remain stagnant as I get older, so long as my income supports my lifestyle.

 

[powellrj]

Things I use everyday I try to overbuy. I know I have a pair of reading glasses in every room. I also have a charger in every room. I now keep Puffs in every room so I never have to look for them and I always keep a packed toiletry bag for travel.

One thing I did, instead of buying cheap clothes when they were on sale just because they were on sale, I now limit myself to black or blue pants and shorts and only buy shirts that go with black and blue. I can't believe how easy life is. I also have outfits for different things. I have a few nice outfits for funerals and weddings and some casual dressy things for going out to dinner. I have several jackets that go with black and blue and coats for the seasons.

 

[FairestOfThemAll37]

I'm not an underbuyer by any means and I'm usually ok to pay a premium for convenience, but there are some things I have a hard time purchasing. I guess I have some weird hang ups where it really bothers me to spend on certain things.

My issue is I'm a purger, I get a bee in my bonnet and clear out entire rooms with Mach speed. I don't like clutter and I am the exact type of person who shouldn't subscribe to the Konmari method of decluttering lol. The running joke when looking for a particular tool or utensil is "Oh we probably have to buy a new one; Fairest donated it because she wasn't using it at that particular moment"

 

[MinnieSweetheart]

I think I'm an under buyer in the kitchen. We hosted friends for thanksgiving and realized we didn't even have cutting boards!! We always just chop stuff on our super old hand me down plates that were gifted to me 8 years ago!

In other facets of our life, we overbuy, but in this one we underbuy. I think it has something to do with the fact that my mom never cooked and usually only served box meals so she just needed pots, pans and basic utensils.

 

[eeyoresmom]

I think I'm an under buyer in the kitchen. We hosted friends for thanksgiving and realized we didn't even have cutting boards!! We always just chop stuff on our super old hand me down plates that were gifted to me 8 years ago!

In other facets of our life, we overbuy, but in this one we underbuy. I think it has something to do with the fact that my mom never cooked and usually only served box meals so she just needed pots, pans and basic utensils.

Even though I am a gadget UNDERbuyer I have to say spending money to get what you need for the kitchen is really life changing! My dad bought me a really good set of knives that make meal prep a breeze. Just having the right tool for the job makes cooking so much nicer for me.

 

[mom2t]

Even though I am a gadget UNDERbuyer I have to say spending money to get what you need for the kitchen is really life changing! My dad bought me a really good set of knives that make meal prep a breeze. Just having the right tool for the job makes cooking so much nicer for me.

I know what you mean. I got a great deal on a Kitchen-aide stand mixer in December. I should bought one years ago. It has made my life so much easier. I do overbuy on clothes, especially purses, coats, and jackets. I am an under buyer on other things.