‘Cheap is Expensive’: Great Wisdom From South African Friends

I’m going to ‘fess up and say that used to have a real prejudice against white people from South Africa. I think it stems from a childhood where apartheid was still in force.. Buying fruit and vegetables from the country was seen as an act that propped up a cruel regime. Anyway my attitude has changed over the years since I’ve become friends with quite a few lovely white South Africans. I’ve found them to be quite formal on the surface but unbelievably kind and reflective.

For instance I had an Afrikaans colleague who used to talk in his native tongue to his wife on the phone. We told him that he sounded like the Swedish Chef, He surprised us by his complete ignorance of the character as The Muppet Show wasn’t broadcast in South Africa when he was a youngster. Obviously he laughed his socks off when we showed him the doughnut making video. It’s a great excuse to include it here.

Goedkoop is Duurkoop

Anyway back to the matter in hand. One of my South African buddies used an Afrikaans saying the other day translated into English. ‘Goedkoop is duurkoop’ means ‘cheap is expensive. I get the sentiment that buying something that is a bargain bucket price could end up costing you in the long run if it’s poor quality but, thrifty person that I am, I’ve been pondering over whether that’s always the case.

Where I Agree

There’s quite a few items where I think that this saying is pretty spot on. The first thing that comes to mind is footwear. I nearly always splurge on really good quality shoes and boots that last for years and years. When I’ve veered away from doing so I’ve normally come a cropper.

I never buy decent footwear at full price but get them in the sale and sometimes with an extra discount from my Blue Light Card, a jolly useful scheme for members of the NHS, emergency services, social care workers and the Armed Forces that extends to retired staff. In fact once all savings have been applied they often drop to pretty much the same price range as shoes that have fallen apart after a few wears.

Another example is cooking paraphernalia. I’m a sucker for an expensive gadget if its robust, ergonomically wonderful and helps me make delicious food easily. Good knives, pans and other gadgets are a given. When I separated from my first husband and set up home alone I bought what my friends billed as the world’s most expensive cheese grater, a microplane box one. Thirteen years on and it’s still going strong, a beast that takes a chunk out of my finger every now and then.

I’m very happy with my lovely electrical appliances that weren’t bottom of the range: Panasonic breadmaker that’s quieter than the cheaper model that we replaced and makes better bread: the proper ice cream maker with built in cooler rather than a bowl to put in the freezer: my Magimix food processor.

The ‘cheap is expensive’ mantra doesn’t just apply to our own pocket either. We have to think of the cost to the lives of other humans, animals and the environment when we get something at a bargain basement price. This is such a sticky area and hands up I do get it wrong sometimes. The consumer market is a minefield when it comes to ethics, ecology and balancing personal budgets. However I strive to get better at this all the time.

Where I Disagree

A couple of decades ago when I was pregnant I was buying stuff in Mothercare for my soon to be born son. I noticed that non affiliated items were cheaper than those say that had recognised carton characters on them. The bedding that just had a pattern on it was so much more cheaper even though it was fundamentally the same item. I am not sure that the ‘Cheap is Expensive’ mantra applies here. Nor do I think that it applies necessarily when buying goods with a prestige brand logo on them.

But cheap can be cheap! I’m thinking of this in terms of buying secondhand, getting stuff for free and shopping around for a good deal. However maybe the Afrikaans saying isn’t necessarily talking about the actual money that you hand over for a particular product. You can get expensive cheaply. Do you get my meaning?