Cheap Shoes Spendy Shoes


This is a special post from the Yakezie Blog Swap.  The topic is “A time you splurged and were glad you did.”  You can read my post about becoming a DJ at Beating Broke.

In order to properly show you just how boring my life can truly be, I’m going to share with you the first story about splurging that popped to mind when I found out the topic for this blog swap.  I’m going to tell you about the time I bought a new pair of shoes.  See?  Boring.

For over 10 years, whenever I bought a pair of shoes, I would end up at one of those discount-y shoe stores buying a $20 pair of shoes.  I wear the shoes until the sole falls off, and then go get another one.  The last pair of shoes I had before the “splurge” pair suddenly disappeared one day after my wife was cleaning house.  When I asked her if she had seen them recently, she admitted that she had thrown them away and that I should get a new pair.

My frugal addiction won’t let me purchase anything without a good deal of pondering on the subject first.  I thought long and hard about what kind of shoe I wanted.  Did I want something more rugged like a trail/hiking shoe?  Something more sporty, like tennis shoes or running shoes?  Or, did I want something that was more everyday like a pair of regular old shoes?  In the end, I decided I wanted something a bit more sporty.  Then, came the issue of price.

There is no way that anyone can honestly tell me that a pair of shoes is worth $100.  No way.  Especially when the no-name brand shoes can pull off the same identical look for a fraction of that price.  But, with those no-name brand shoes, the quality comes into play.  In all my years of buying those cheaper shoes, the quality really wasn’t an issue.  Until recently.  Recently, it seems that the quality is getting worse and worse.  Those last pair of shoes that my wife threw away?  They only lasted about 6 months before the glue on the sole came apart and my shoes began talking back to me.  That’s no good at all.

With the quality of the cheap shoes in question, the only real answer was to give a name brand shoe a try.  But, like I said, there’s no way that I’ll be paying full price for them.  I began the vigorous research process on eBay.  I found several styles and brands that I liked and started watching auctions on ones that I thought might work.  Unfortunately, I discovered that, even on eBay, the prices were still going to be much more than I would have paid for a cheaper shoe at one of those discount stores.

As you might guess, this is where the splurge part of this story comes in.  I decided that I should splurge on a pair of shoes.  In fact, I found a very nice pair of name brand shoes.  The brand itself doesn’t matter.  What does is that I splurged.  I could have just as easily bought a pair of cheap shoes like I normally do, but I decided that I wanted to have some nice shoes.

And, you know what?  I am glad I did it.  It’s been well over a year and the shoes are still going strong.  I splurged and got a quality shoe whose durability, so far, is far exceeding that of the cheap shoes I was buying.  I might just do it again, when these shoes finally die.

Many people, I think, regard splurges as something to be avoided.  And, in fact, uncontrolled, they can be the breakers of even the simplest budget.  But, I think that if you’ve done your research and feel that your budget can handle it, splurges can be the thing that keeps you on the right track.  Certainly, splurging all the time isn’t a good idea, but the occasional splurge can help you feel like you aren’t on the debt diet of all debt diets.

What about you?  What have you splurged on that you don’t regret?  Heck, what splurges do you wish you could have back?

7 thoughts on “Cheap Shoes Spendy Shoes”

  1. I am your polar opposite! I spend a lot on shoes, but they last forever. I bought a pair of dress shoes in 1978 for $95. Would you believe they still look good, and modern. If I look at the number of years I own them, they were cheap shoes. I don't have a lot of shoes, clothes or things, but I think quality trumps price. I will do everything in the world to find the lowest price for something I want though.

    1. Eric - Narrow Bridge

      Your shoes are older than me! But I know exactly what you are talking about. My grandpa used to buy very expensive dress shoes and had some last as long as 40 years.

  2. Shoes and clothes can deliver excellent value if purchased right. For men, classic shoes and well cut wool clothes can last for years. I recently had a pair of Italian leather shoes resoled and re-heeled, for half the cost of new.
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