Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny… Walk the Pattern!

(all you 70’s and 80’s SF/Fantasy geeks, stand up!)

Thanks for stopping by squirrel. I agree, if shoes cause injury there is no price low enough to justify. I’m not sure I’ve ever paid $150 but I’ve been pretty close. It is still a bit painful to swipe that credit card though 🙂

Sorry to sound like a sales rep, but the point is you are right in this blog. I have since found slightly less expensive places to buy the same shoe (frugal) but I no longer go cheap on my shoes! Plus they have saved me little injuries which is a huge long term cost savings Im sure.

Haha, good points. This is usually what I do, find a perfect pair at full retail then buy the same pair when they are ‘upgrading’ to the next model. Agree on not buying more than a pair or two. I’ve heard that running shoes have a ‘shelf-life’ and will lose some of the elastic and cushioning properties as they age, but this may be complete nonsense. Another reason to not buy too many is that there is generally deflation in consumer manufactured goods. In 10 years the shoes will be cheaper and better, so you are effectively locking in an inferior product at a higher price.

I might recommend that now that you know which running shoes work, buy a second pair, at full price, from the online seller that allowed you to get “unstuck” from the alligator shoes.

I will also recommend that you not purchase ten more of there pairs. Your feet, stride, weight, mechanics, etc. will change subtly over time. There is a good chance that what works great now may not work in a couple of years, and this may have been at play with the alligator shoes.

I think they will do fine. I should give them some love in the comments here though.

http://www.backcountry.com/

I’ve ordered from there several times and have yet to be disappointed.

You are right, cheap does not take value into consideration, only price. In isolation price is a very poor way to make decisions.

Hey, if the cheap shoes work then that’s the frugal power move, I’ve just never found them to be satisfactory overall. They are too hit or miss for me, I need my shoes to be awesome at all times! We would save a lot of money in my house if $40 running shoes worked for us!

I’m not sure I would make the distinction of who is affected to determine if the outcome is cheap or frugal. For instance, if I buy shitty shoes that hurt my feet it doesn’t really affect anyone else…but it is still a cheap move, best to be avoided.

To use your restaurant metaphor, being cheap is purchasing the least expensive thing on the menu per calorie, but you hate eating it and it makes you miserable. Frugal is finding that balance between price, nutrition and taste that is of maximum utility or happiness to you. Either way no one but you is affected by that decision.

Not tipping well is cheap though. Always tip well or the universe will hate you 😉

I took that picture at a church somewhere in San Fransisco, can’t remember the name but it was a beautiful place.

All I care about is now my shoes make my feet feel. My wife and I have bought some extremely ugly running shoes just to save a few dollars…but that is frugal of course, not cheap 😉

Cheap is being penny wise and pound foolish. Cheap is risking relationships by putting money first. Cheap is valuing the wrong thing for the wrong reasons. Frugal is understanding the true value of things, and spending only where the ROI makes sense. I often feel sorry for Frugal. His ugly noisy step sister is the one that people remember, and they tend to paint him with the same brush.

OTOH, there is a huge difference between being cheap and frugal. To me, cheapness affects other people, while frugality does not. An example — you go out to eat with a group of friends. To be frugal is to order the sandwich for yourself, but tip well. To be cheap is to chip in enough to pay for your sandwich, but underpaying for tax & tip. I found myself covering for others’ cheapness often as a medical student, when none of us had much money.

Cheers!
-PoF