Sometimes It’s Worth It to Buy Two

by mzumtaylor on November 4, 2010

I have this amazing pair of shoes, which I bought three years ago at TJ Maxx for $26. They are fun, funky, and comfortable. I am in love with them.

My favorite shoes from the front.
My favorite shoes from the side.
My favorite shoes from the bottom.
(Here they are after three years.)

They are Børn shoes, which normally cost $80 – $120, so I was thrilled to see them both a) on sale, and b) in my size. I wear size 11 women’s shoes. It’s not impossible to find shoes that fit me (like it used to be), but it is harder than I’d like, especially since I prefer to buy my shoes on sale, for $30 or less.

I love my shoes, they fit my personality and my sense of style and I wear them all the time.

And I’ve been wearing them all the time since I bought them three years ago, which means that they are worn out and about to die. Every time I put them on I wish I had another pair, and what kills me is that there was at least one other pair, in my size, at TJMaxx when I bought the pair I’ve worn to pieces. The other pair was magenta, which is why I didn’t buy them at the time (I am decidedly anti-pink, in general). But the thing is, magenta is totally a color I wear (now), and I kick myself for not buying them.

It would have strained my budget a little to buy them, but even then I could have afforded another $26 if I cut back on something I cared less about.

They’re arguably non-essential, these shoes that I love. I could wear any other pair and they would serve the purpose that shoes are intended to serve, but over the three years that I’ve worn and loved them, the original $26 price tag averages out to $8.67. If I had two pairs, it would have been $17.34, which not a bad price at all for a pair of incredibly well-made, totally awesome, comfortable shoes.

The point of this lament is that being frugal and having a budget doesn’t always mean limiting your spending. Sometimes it means buying two of something rare you find that you absolutely love because when the first one wears out you’ll be totally glad you have another.

This is especially true of items that change seasonally, like purses, shoes, jeans, and other clothing items that we tend to fall in love with and lament when they’re gone.

In the end, my shoes will die. Having searched high and low for another pair, to no avail, I will have to let them rest in peace, and find another pair to love and wear into the ground. Maybe I’ll have learned my lesson and I’ll buy two of whatever shoe it is I find next. One can only hope.

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