Buy One Quality Item vs. a Hundred Disposable Ones

A tip from Philby of Philby's Finance: Spend a little bit more cash on a well-made product, rather than repeatedly shelling out for its cheap, short-lived counterpart-this goes for everything from electronics to clothing. "Part of the problem is that the cost of disposable items has decreased so much that it's often cheaper to buy a disposable item dozens of times than it is to buy a quality item that will last one time," he writes in his blog.

By valuing quality over quantity, as well as longevity and versatility over novelty, we can stock our homes with judicious selections that are not only better constructed, but will also last longer and have less of an impact on our environment. ::Philby's Finance

Difficulty level: Easy