Sometimes, spending wisely pays off more than chasing bargains.
My wife likes to say that I’m cheap. I prefer “frugal” or “prudent,” mostly because they sound nicer.
I often find myself wasting time trying to spend less money. I can’t even estimate how many hours I’ve spent in my life searching for a good deal. I blame my immigrant family’s working-class mentality; I surely can’t take all the blame myself.
Growing up, we wanted to add a patio to our backyard. My dad, always looking to save a few bucks, decided to take on the project himself. Unlike me, he was quite handy, but just like me, he was “frugal” or “prudent.” He went to the hardware store, bought a bunch of patio blocks, and spent several days completing the task. I’d give him an A for effort but a C for execution. I would best describe our patio as uneven and lumpy. He already had a backbreaking job and could have easily afforded to hire a professional, but that was just who he was.
Last year, when I decided to dive deeper into video podcasting, I started watching YouTube videos and scrolling through social media, looking for the best lighting kits I could buy—on a budget, of course.
I reached out to my network and asked a friend who produces video what I should get. He sent me a link to a set of lights that would cost several hundred dollars. BLASPHEMY!
So, I turned to Temu. Don’t laugh. I bought a few lights from there, and they were pretty bad, but that didn’t stop me from trying again and again. Fail after fail. But hey, I wasn’t spending that much money.
Then I tried Amazon, and the result was the same.
Finally, I bought the light kit that my friend had mentioned, and bingo! A few hundred dollars later—with less aggravation—I had set up a professional-ish lighting setup in my home studio.
I burned through hours of time and money to work around a problem I didn’t even have. I’ve come to realize that the cheaper you are, the more it can ultimately cost you.
Recently, Tom Hanks appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and talked about a cheap (or frugal) decision that cost Paramount Pictures millions.
Back in the early ’90s, when Tom was preparing to make Forrest Gump, one of the studio heads told him and director Robert Zemeckis that they needed to cut the now-iconic scene of Forrest running across the USA. The reason? It would cost too much, and the scene wasn’t necessary.
So, Zemeckis came up with a plan. He and Tom would pay for the scene out of their own pockets and ask for points on the backend. “Back-end points” is a film industry term for a percentage of ownership or profit participation. Tom and Robert were so passionate about the importance of the scene that they were willing to gamble away safe money for a big swing.
Forrest Gump went on to win numerous Oscars and gross $678 million worldwide, with Tom taking home a cool $65 million thanks to those back-end points. And that was in 1994. For the math nerds, that translates to about $134 million today.
That’s a lot of money for a studio to lose out on all because a penny pincher wanted to save a few bucks.
So, the next time you’re tempted to cut corners in pursuit of a bargain, take a minute.
Consider the impact of your choices—not just on your wallet but on your time, effort, and overall satisfaction. Embrace the idea that sometimes investing in quality and the right resources can yield far greater returns than any fleeting savings.
Let the stories of those who dared to spend wisely inspire you. Remember, it’s not about being cheap; it’s about being smart with your choices. Choose quality over quantity, and don’t be afraid to take that leap of faith. Who knows? You might just create something extraordinary.
Now, go out there and make your dreams a reality—because the return on a smart investment in yourself can be immeasurable even without the back-end points.
