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Blog Swap: What brings you the most value?

by Erika Torres
16 comments

It’s a Blog Swap! Today, we’re answering the question “What do you spend money on that brings you the most value?” Make sure to hop on over to her blog to read my post on my love for this Wheaton Terrier. For more fun, go on over to Narrow Bridge Finance for a round up of all the posts in this blog swap. And be sure to comment and let us know what you spend money on that gives you the most value.

I often run the dollar/value equation when I am buying something.

Tires that are guaranteed for 70k miles are $800 while tires that are only rated for 30k miles cost $600. One is obviously a better value for your dollar. At the same time, I do not often compare my expensive tires to my expensive mattress (okay, so my mattress was not expensive as our roommate works for a company that makes memory foam mattresses, so we got the employee deal, but it would have retailed at a pretty high price) to figure out which one has the most value to me.

There are all sorts of quality items where I spend more to get better quality. But what do I spend money on that brings me the most value?

I think I am going to have to answer: shoes- specifically Dansko clogs.

In order to understand exactly how much value they bring to my life, I have to tell you a little bit about myself.

At any point in my life, if you asked me if I cared about shoes, liked buying shoes, needed a different pair of shoes for each outfit- anything like that, I would have told you No. I need a pair of flats to wear with skirts, a pair of sneakers for running around, and maybe a pair of hiking boots.

However, for years (and I mean years) if you had looked in my closet, you would have called me a liar. I had all sorts of shoes- way more than the 3 pair I would have told you I needed. In fact, I was buying new shoes every few months.

Why? Well, it starts with the fact that I have big feet- bigger than average. Not as big as my friend who turned to drag queen sites to get her dress shoes, but big enough that even now, most department stores do not carry shoes in my size, even if the manufacturer happens to make them (which they often do not). And trust me, shoes are something you want to try on before you buy.

Going in to a department store to buy shoes was a traumatic experience. I could not just look for something cute and ask a salesman to get it for me. No, I had to track a salesman down and ask if they carried any shoes in my size, and if so, which ones. I felt like a freak.

Enter my emotional savior, Payless Shoe Source. They carried shoes in my size. They had all the shoes out on display, so I could walk in and find something I liked, try it on, and buy it. No hassles, no feeling like a mutant. Life was good.

Well, except that you get what you pay for. I walk a little funny, carrying my weight more on the insides of my feet, and over the course of a few months, my shoes would deform based on weight distribution. Or the arch support would fail, or the sole would wear out, or any of the myriad things that shoes do when they wear out. And I would end up needing to go buy more shoes. But I never threw out the old shoes. (I am getting better, but I think if you were to search my basement, you would find Payless shoes that are unwearable that have been moved at least twice.)

Besides spending money every few months on shoes, I was also left with a lot of foot pain.

Finally, I got sick of it. I was working in a professional environment and needed a good every day shoe to wear with my slacks. I had good quality sneakers because I could buy those in men’s sizes, but not anything dressier, and I needed dressier. So I asked around.

I worked with a lot of nurses. They all recommended Danskos. I mentioned my big feet, and they assured me, Dansko made shoes in my size. But where could I try them on before I bought them? I did not just want to order a pair of shoes off the internet without knowing they would fit. The answer was Nordstrom’s.

This next bit is going to sound a bit like an advertisement for Nordy’s. Trust me, I do not get any money from them. But for someone like me, for whom shoe shopping had been an emotionally challenging event, this is big. Nordstrom’s website lets me search shoes by size, so I only see the styles that will fit me. In addition, it will tell me if my local store carries what I want.

This means I can walk in, find the shoe I am looking for, then flag down the sales guy and tell him what I want, as confident as anyone who wears a size 7 or 8, that they will have it in my size.

It also means that I now pay $120+ for a pair of shoes, where before I had been paying $30 or less. Of course, I also only need to buy shoes every 18 months or so, so I am actually saving money (or at least breaking even), and my feet do not hurt at the end of the day- which is worth paying extra for.

The sad part is, this has kind of turned me in to a shoe girl. Luckily, the expense is enough I can keep my desire to own something just because it’s cute, will fit, and will not hurt my feet under control.

16 comments

Lisa @ Cents To Save December 19, 2011 - 9:01 pm

I absolutely LOVE my Dansko Clogs!! They are the best thing since sliced bread.

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Penny December 19, 2011 - 2:02 pm

I’m glad you found something that works for you, and I think that’s a good answer for what brings you the most value. For a little (or a lot) more money, you’re getting something that lasts a lot longer, looks better, and makes you feel happier and stress less. That’s huge.

For those who have trouble finding clothes that fit perfectly, have you tried getting things tailored? If you buy pants that are too long but otherwise fit perfectly you can get them hemmed for $10-15, which is worth it if you would otherwise have to drive all over the place to find something. I’m sure adjusting tops would be in the same price range.

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Roshawn @ Watson Inc December 18, 2011 - 10:10 am

I don’t know if I was suppose to be laughing when I read that your friend’s feet were so big that she needed to purchase shoes at drag queen stores/sites, but that comment did take me off guard.

Shoes are definitely important, especially if you are on your feet all day. I’m fortunate that I don’t have a problem with finding shoes that work for me. Sometimes finding pants that fit “properly” has been a challenge though.

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shanendoah@the dog ate my wallet December 19, 2011 - 3:28 pm

It is funny- and she had a great sense of humor about it, but it is also very true. I wear size 11 or 12 shoes (depending on the brand). She wore women’s 13s or higher, and liked heels (a lot more than I do). Since she also knew her shoe size in men’s shoes, it actually became really easy for her to find cute shoes she could wear by shopping at the websites that catered to drag queens.
And it was always nice to see her smile when she got to show off a new pair that she really loved.

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John@MoneyPrinciple December 17, 2011 - 1:52 pm

Hmm – be careful if you are pro-nating. You may need to see a podiatrist who can measure the pressures over the soles of your feet as you walk and see immediately what is wrong and therefore what needs to be done. S/he can have an insert made for your shoes.

Or you will end up one day with pains somewhere odd because you have been walking badly without realising it. Maybe unable to walk and certainly unable to run – this is particularly important for runners.

BTW I’m not a podiatrist!

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shanendoah@the dog ate my wallet December 19, 2011 - 10:24 am

When I was young, my mother took me to see the doctor about it. We were told (granted this was the early 80s) that the only thing they could do was break both my legs and reset them so that I didn’t walk on the insides of my feet. My mother elected not to put me through that.

Most of the time, I don’t notice the way I walk. It mostly comes up with shoes of poor quality that don’t have the proper support.
The Danskos have solved the problem pretty well.

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Miss T @ Prairie EcoThrifter December 17, 2011 - 9:16 am

My clothing issue is pants. I have a really hard time finding pairs that fit me in the waist and hips and also are the right length. When I find something that works, I buy a bunch of them.

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shanendoah@the dog ate my wallet December 19, 2011 - 3:31 pm

I also have trouble finding pants the right length. (Why do men get sizes tailored to their measurements and women have to choose from petite, regular or tall??)
I am tall enough that I feel like I’m wearing highwaters when I sit if I buy regular length pants. But if I buy the tall length, the bottoms of the pants drag on the ground if I’m not wearing something with a heel- and I hate heels.
Very frustrating.
I know they think women wouldn’t want to see their actual waist measurement, and hips would have to be taken into account, but I really wish I could have even half the variety I see when I buy pants for C.

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Andrea December 16, 2011 - 8:48 pm

Eck, I have the exact same problem with bra’s. They just do not carry my size within a one hour drive of where I live. (countryliving at its finest) and it’s so hard to order from catalogues because not every companies’ size is the same! I’m glad you’ve found a solution to your problem!

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emmi December 16, 2011 - 8:31 pm

I have a similar problem but with bras. But even Macy’s and Nordstroms let me down, unless I want a mastectomy bra, which I did finally buy out of desperation and ee gads it is uncomfortable. Also have to try on 13 pairs of pants to find any that fit a pear shaped body. Someone must have the cookie cutter body that most clothes fit, but it’s not me. On the upside, shopping is just a painful lesson in demonstrating I’m freakish so I do it as infrequently as possible. I spend more on socks and underwear than clothes most years.

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Alison December 16, 2011 - 5:39 pm

Ahhh, the Dansko. They make some fine shoes, and are now coming out with a lot of cute styles beyond the basic clog.
I now have to proselytize for Zappos.com. They have as big a selection as you might expect the largest internet shoe retailer to have. In a very wide variety of sizes and widths. The thing that makes them exceptional is their customer service. They will ship your shoes for free and then the return shipping is free too! There’s no extra charge for trying them on and then sending back the rejectos. Also the refund for the return is very prompt. If you have a problem, they have the best live customer service I have ever gotten anywhere. The didn’t have the shoe I was looking for so they went to their competitor’s websites to help me find it. I was pretty impressed. I spend a large portion of my work day buying shoes for other people and I couldn’t make it without Zappos.

As to the value for money question, my answer will always be my car. I have a Subaru. It cost (and still is costing me in car payments) a pretty penny, but I love that car. It is totally worry free in all senses of the phrase: weather, maintenance, gas mileage, space, longevity. I’m a believer.

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Marissa @ Thirtsyixmonths December 16, 2011 - 1:31 pm

I used to work in an athletic shore in my teens and truly agree with value that shoes can provide, especially when you are on your feet all the time.

My soccer and running shoes are always the higher end kind after learning my lesson with lower end ones.

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Tanner December 16, 2011 - 6:10 am

I am the opposite of you. I use shoes of the smaller sizes, to the point I was often directed to the kids’ shoe section. Nothing wrong with that. They did have ‘cute’ styles. Except when you’re a boy and you’re not looking for ‘cute’ shoes with a velcro strip. Wearing shoes of a larger size seems to me the same as wearing shoes of a smaller size: uncomfortable and painful. Not to mention that the wear and tear is huge since you’re constantly stepping on them the wrong way.

Though I am luckily not into shoes, it is still a pain to look for shoes every time I’ve ran my old ones to the ground.

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Pam at MoneyTrail December 16, 2011 - 2:18 am

I read your post at http://erinshanendoah.com/dogatemywallet/ I have a wheaten terrier too and just love him to death. His name is Rascal and he lives up to his name! They are such sweet and energetic dogs and very good with kids!

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newlywedsonabudget December 16, 2011 - 10:17 am

i know!! they are fabulous, I can’t imagine having another breed!

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Pam at MoneyTrail December 17, 2011 - 12:26 pm

Just big, furry, balls of goofiness!

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