Last year I purchased a pair of $5 water/swim shoes from Big 5. A couple of weeks ago while searching for these shoes, my wife informed me that she threw them away because I left them outside and the sun melted and warped the shoes. Now I find myself having to buy another pair of water shoes a year later because I did not follow my own advice. I’m too broke to be cheap.

I was in grad school when I first heard this phrase, and it came from my mentor when discussing remodeling a housing complex on campus. The remodel would be expensive during a time when funds were tight, but it was something that needed to be done and done well. A colleague asked about the furniture and other amenities in the building, and that’s when my mentor dropped this gem that I would live by ever since. “We are too broke to be cheap,” my mentor decided to spend the money that was necessary to produce a quality project that would not require the department to dump money into repairs years down the road.

This statement made perfect sense to me, I thought about all of the cheap laptops I bought throughout the years because they were cheap. I remember when Acer dropped these $200 laptops, and I was hype because of how cheap they were. I went through 3 of those things because they didn’t last, needless to say, I got what I paid for. Once I adopted the too broke to be cheap philosophy, I started purchasing quality products at a higher price point, which in the long run saved me money. Quality does not always mean brand names by the way. Back to the laptop example, from 2004-2010 I went through two PCs and four laptops. Currently, I’m going almost eight years strong with my MacBook. Now my MacBook is showing signs of needing to be put in a retirement home in a year or so, but I would say I got my money’s worth. I haven’t had to spend any money to keep it going or purchase another one. If I kept up my trend of buying cheaper laptops, I would be out of thousands of dollars. I’m too broke to keep throwing money away.

Contrary to popular belief, I don’t have disposable income like that. I mean I can go out to eat and order an appetizer on top of my meal, but I can’t walk into a Mercedes dealership and pick up a G-Wagon. Since I do not have disposable income, I am not a fan of buying something to get by in the meantime. Inevitably it will cost more money, in the long run, to maintain or replace. Although the initial price point is more than I would like to pay, I understand the life cycle of that product which is where saving money comes into play. Taking the cheapest route is not always the smartest and financially responsible route.

I know its hard to grasp when you broke and you need that thing right at that moment. But I urge you to play the long game. I often see and hear people fall into the trap of thinking they will purchase a cheaper version now and later will spring for the more costly version at a later date. This also never works, and you want to know why? If you don’t have the money now or the disposable income to make that purchase today when you need it, what makes you think you will have that money in the future? This rarely the case If you don’t have it today, you probably won’t have tomorrow unless you save.

Saving by far is the biggest key to be able to live by this code. Didn’t see me leading you down the path to my philosophy on saving money, did you? Well here are two things about saving. When I know, I want to or need to purchase a particular item I immediately make a plan to save the money for that purchase. If I know what I want to buy cost $200, I immediately put money aside out of my checks until I reach that plateau. Depending on how aggressive I am that could be two paychecks or four. So when I do make that purchase, it doesn’t hurt because it was well planned out and calculated.

This example is excellent for planned purchases, but what about those lovely curveball purchases life likes to throw at you. What happens when your car won’t start, or you get a mysterious toothache. Saving once again is critical. I know saving is a scary word for broke people like myself because if you broke what do you have to save? Financial advisors recommend you save at least 20% of your income, so if your check is a $1,000, $200 should be put away. 20% might be a high number for you if you are already operating at a deficit each month but pick a comfortable figure, even if it’s only $20, put it away immediately. I treat savings just like a bill that is due every month. I don’t ever factor this money into my income. The only thing constant about life is that its unpredictable, so I try to have a plan for when that unpredictably comes thru like a tornado to wreck everything. This can only be accomplished by making an effort to save because, unfortunately, not saving any money is not an option I am afforded, I am also too broke not save.