Thrifty Spending Vs Expensive Brands
Chris Collins • 7 March 2017
Two green street signs that say expensive and cheap

"Started from the bottom, now we’re here"

If you’re like me, a thrifty spender but fussy when it comes to cleaning.

I’m a firm believer and practitioner of the theory of bottom up. With cleaning products when comparing the cheaper alternatives from the more prominent brands, often there could be a price difference of sometimes $5.00 which over a year could save you 60 odd dollars. Multiply that by a several different products such as dish washing liquid, washing powder, multipurpose sprays, degreasers etc, you could be spending an extra $200 a year on the bigger brands.

Now for some, you might be perfectly happy with your Mr Clean spray. But what’s not to say you can achieve the same result with a cheaper alternative.

“Don’t knock it until you try it”

Being a single male, I've had to take the back reigns of the fortnightly shopping. Using the bottom up analogy I start off purchasing the cheapest products and work my up every fortnight until my standard has been met.

On some occasions I have had to move up brands multiple times. But on a whole the cheaper brands have more than exceeded my cleaning requirements.

Now for you females, I'm sure you're reading this thinking “Well he’s a male, so of course his expectations would be met quite easily”. Nonetheless the theory still applies and it may just mean you need to go up an extra dollar or 3 to get the product that meets your needs. But on a whole savings will be made.

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