Frugal Fail, Cheap Bread Woes

A while back I was shopping at my local discount grocery store and I needed bread. I usually purchase bread from the bread store. They always have good deals on bread, just $1 a loaf for whole grain organic bread. It’s a great deal.

Have you ever made a purchase thinking you were getting a good deal, only later to find out it cost more in the end. That's exactly what I did recently when making a bread purchase.

Well, the discount grocery store, also had bread for just $1 a loaf. It wasn’t organic, but I thought, it will be fine. My first mistake settling for lesser quality, when I could get the higher quality bread for the same price. But the price was the same and it would save me trip to the bread store.

Mind you, the bread store is right across the street, just a few feet away. As you can see, I was being lazy and I thought cheap.

I should have know when I picked up the bread it was so light. Like almost throw in the air light, because you didn’t expect it to be so light, light.

But that didn’t deter me, I guess I was on a mission to save myself another stop, that was right across the street. I brought the bread home and as I was putting the bread into the freezer, that’s I realized what a frugal fail I had made.

The Lesser Quality Item Cost Me More

You see the weight of the bread at the discount grocery store was 10 oz lighter. I knew it was lighter, but didn’t realize by how much, until I arrived home. The whole grain organic bread is 26 oz per loaf and a wide pan loaf. The lesser quality bread was 16 oz per loaf and a long/narrow pan loaf.

I think that is where I was thrown off. I knew the bread at the discount store was a longer/narrow pan loaf, so instead of looking at the ounce, I rationalized they were really close. One was shorter and fatter, the other longer and narrower. How much difference could there really be?! Frugal Fail number two, I didn’t check my price per ounce.

Have you ever made a purchase thinking you were getting a good deal, only later to find out it cost more in the end. That's exactly what I did recently when making a bread purchase.

That difference in weight, drove up the cost of the lesser quality bread up to $.06 an ounce. I usually only pay $.04 an ounce for the organic bread. About a third more costly than the bread store, higher quality bread, that was right across the street. When I figured out the price difference I knew how much my laziness had cost me.

I share this story to let you know, you will have frugal fails. There will be times you will think you are getting a deal, and it will be more expensive.

I’m one of those people who will purchase lesser quality for a lesser price. I can be kinda cheap. But then there are those things, I will find the best deal on the higher quality item, because I know it will last. And avoid the lesser quality item, like the plaque. These items are usually higher dollar items, like appliances, computers, and other things I use and use and want them to last and last.

What Went Wrong with this Purchase

My frugal fail bread purchase was one I made out of laziness and not taking the time to really think through how much that loaf was really costing me. We will all do it, once in a while, that is have a frugal failure.

Don’t get down on yourself or feel discourage, when you make a frugal fail. Laugh it off, you know laughter is the best medicine right?! And keep it in the back of your mind so it won’t happen again.

I know we have all had frugal fails. What is one instance where you tried to save money, but it ended up costing you more in the end?

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Let me Feature a Frugal Triumph or Frugal Fail of Yours

I would love to have you share your frugal triumphs and fails. Do you have a great story to share with the other readers about a great deal you got and your bursting at the seams to tell someone?

Or maybe you have a frugal fail, like me recently and you want to share what went wrong to help others out. Either way, send it to me through my contact page and I’ll share it here on the blog. Be sure to let me know if I can include your name or not, in the email. (I’ll only share first names) Can’t wait to hear what you have to share!

10 thoughts on “Frugal Fail, Cheap Bread Woes”

  1. While I can’t think of anything right now, I know we’ve experienced many frugal fails throughout the years.

    As far as packaging, I noticed that one brand of spaghetti we buy has 12 ounces of pasta in it while most others have 16 ounces. What throws you off is that the boxes of both brands/sizes are EXACTLY the same. Tricky! But now we know… 🙂

  2. My frugal fail was a piano that we found on Craigslist for only $150. I thought that it would be a steal, since used pianos at a music store were going for over $1,000.

    When we got it home, I discovered that it needed a lot of cleaning and tuning. The piano tuner that I hired told me that people should never buy instruments from Craigslist, because they are often in bad shape, as was our piano. The tuning bill alone cost more than the piano itself, and it may need more work in the future, as the strings are brittle and may snap.

    I wish I would have investigated buying the piano a little more, but it is fine for now. Lesson learned though!

    1. Oh man, hopefully it will not need too much work in the future. We bought our piano for $200 at the local thrift store. It did need tuning and cleaning but it has been a good piano for us. Maybe yours will work out the same. 🙂

  3. Oh, I’ve had so many frugal fails – and triumphs! I’ll have to think of a good one to share. With package sizes shrinking and changing the way they have, it’s so easy to not notice the size differences! Thanks for the reminder to always double check!

    1. I think shrinking package sizes are the easiest to miss. I try to watch the price per ounce on the stickers at the store but this day I was just being lazy. If you think of a good frugal fail or triumph to share, I would love to share it Kristen.

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