Look, I'm all for being frugal. Cheap is good! If the generic meets the same demands as the name-brand, by all means, save the change and go with the no-name. Hell, some of my favorite beer is the cheap stuff. And as far as I'm concerned, Oscar Meyer bacon is simply way more satisfying than the gourmet kind (apart from that bacon appetizer at Peter Luger's in Williamsburg, which is -- put simply -- the most succulent thing you'll ever put in your mouth). But in certain circumstances with certain items, the only person you're hurting by being a penny-pinching tightwad is yourself. Herewith a list of goods and services that -- to my mind -- more than warrant the extra expenditure. You work hard for your money, dammit (well, some of you do, anyway). You're entitled. Live it up:
5. Shoes: This one the wife suggested, and it certainly rings true. Despite the fact that I wore cheap Converse Chuck Taylor high tops for the majority of my youth (such are the travails of having the Ramones act as one's fashion ideal), the cheap and shitty option when it comes to footwear is only going to come back to haunt you. For a start, think of your support (Chucks, to continue with the example, do nothing for the benefit of your arches, and if ya get'em wet, you might as well be walking around town with smelly, wet towels wrapped around your feet). It should also be noted that many people look to someone's shoes first when compiling their first impressions. Shoes say a lot about the person. So why not put your best foot forward, eh?
4. Detergent: Those of you who've met me in person might scoff at this one, but I do try to look my best whenever possible (whether or not I succeed is, of course, another matter --- and "best" is clearly a relative term, anyway). Regardless, since we've all now reached an age wherein we're able to dress ourselves and pick out our own clothes, doesn't it make sense to treat our clothes -- the garments we've personally handpicked to represent us, our tastes, our lifestyles, etc. -- to the very best? We've experimented with some cheap-o detergents in our house over the last few years that have left each and every article of clothing I own smelling either like a taxidermy lab or a neglected bowl of degrading potpourri, and there's really no reason for that. Spring for the good stuff and do your clothes and yourselves a favor.
3. Coffee: I don't know about you, but my affinity for coffee completely sails past the parameters of merely "enjoying" it and gallops deeply into the troubled realm of absolutely "requiring" it. While I never really drank the stuff until some time after my college years, I've since become hopelessly addicted to the stuff. A couple of years back when the first of my children arrived on the scene, the whole notion of a good night's sleep went permanently out the window. As such, coffee took on a role comparable to that of blood or oxygen. If I don't have it, simply put, I'll promptly expire. With all that in mind, why should the first thing I put in my mouth in the morning be something that isn't entirely excellent? If I'm doomed to be a slave to the stuff, I'm going to at least make it palatable. Drinking good coffee makes it seem like less off a vice and more of a luxury.
2. Toilet Paper: Without going into too much needless detail, cheap toilet paper can be flimsily inefficient and/or unpleasantly abrassive. Any arguments? Shouldn't those moments of your day -- the ones where you are alone with your thoughts and tending to your most sensitive of body parts in ideally the most private of circumstances -- be ones wherein you should feel the most comforable? Are you that cheap that you'd opt for saving a buck or two over having to apply sandpaper to the tenderest areas of your anatomy? Spend the extra dough and go for the downy-soft two-ply stuff. You and your butt will thank me later, especially if you've been indulging in some ill-advisedly cheap....
1. Sushi: Chances are that if you're looking to save money, you really shouldn't be entertaining the notion of eating Sushi in the first place. Sushi should be expensive. The proper preparation of Sushi is a culinary art form that dates back centuries, and one that really shouldn't be practiced on the cheap. With uncooked fish being the primary ingredient, suffice it to say, care should be taken in the extreme. That which is cheap of price often -- if not usually -- equates with that which of cheap of quality, and low quality seafood is simply not something your innards are going to take kindly to. As tempting as an "all you can eat" sushi buffet sounds, only fools rush to that table. There are precious few foodstuffs more unpredictably volatile than raw seafood (and I can tell ya some stories, if ya don't believe me). Respect the purity of the concept of Sushi with a regard for your fragile digestive system and go for the high-end fare. Trust me.
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