Part I: No Crap!

This is part one of a three-parter. This first part is about my approach to maximize value/quality in my life, mostly in terms of the acquisition of goods and services. The second part will be a more philosophical look (i hope) at the repercussions/utility of that approach. Part three is a bigger picture look at the culture of consumerism.

Part I

In making the transition a couple of years ago from someone without money to someone with (thanks Joanne!), I adopted a "no crap" philosophy. It's pretty simple, really. There's a lot of crap in the world ("like this blog" you're saying to yourself), and i want no part of it.

So does that mean when given the choice between something cheap and something expensive, i go the expensive route? No. After all, I am still a frugal miser.

What it does mean is that I'm willing to spend hours in researching a simple purchase like a chef's knife, or an SD memory card, or my lamest example, actually being concerned about the quality of a silicone case for our iPod (in the end, i went with a $1 offer i heard about on fatwallet)

Let's use knifes as an example. You can get something cheap and then work forever to actually cut something. Sharp knives are actually safer than dull/unsharp knives since you don't have to work as hard to do the cutting. But you can also spend gobs of money on a good knife--$90 for a good Wustof, or more for even fancier knives. Or, you do some research a find out that a Victorinox whomps ass and costs $22. Quality and value. You just have to give up some heft and the fancy, bolstered handle, but it you get a blade that cuts with the best.

But something like knives is easy--plenty of web reviews and expert reviews.

Any number of other items, though, are harder to discern quality--furniture, water heaters, or a mechanic for your car. You're left with word of mouth, or hoping price=quality. And I struggle with the lack of information issues a lot, but I do make every effort to avoid as much crap as possible.

The virtues of this "no crap" philosophy are (or supposed to be) better quality stuff, which means easier to use, more pleasing to use, more reliable and less of a bother. It's also environmentally-sound, since you escape from the cycle of manufactured obsolescence by having longer lasting items. And if you make the investment in something, whether that investment is money, time or personal interest, shouldn't it be something more than just satisfactory?

Of course the difficulty here is where is the line of what demands the time and attention to find that quality? Does having an interest in gardening require having the best tools, or is it enough to know the proper methods? For investing, should one take the vested interest in knowing what their money is doing and understanding what your strategy is, or is there value in having someone else take care of it, and let you focus on other things? And does it really matter how good your blender is? The stuff will get blended eventually.

My feeling is that yes, it is worthwhile to find that quality/value in as many things as possible. But is that necessarily a positive?

continued...