Value for Money (VfM), a most useful concept

It seems a simple enough concept to master: is whatever it is we are purchasing (a good or a service, it matters not) worth the amount of money we are being asked to part with? If it is then it represents VfM, even good/great VfM, if not then we must decide whether we want it sufficiently to ignore this or if we should just walk away.

Yet so many of us are confused about VfM because we are conditioned to think cheap or expensive, forgetting that these are comparative terms and not simple labels - something is cheap or expensive relative to another comparable item and this should not be considered in isolation. Cheap/expensive relative to what? Are the items compared sufficiently similar? Do they both offer what we need from them? Are the circumstances of their availability sufficiently similar? Unless they are, the terms cheap or expensive are invalid, unrealistic and very poor guides indeed to purchasing.

Everything we decide to acquire should be judged for VfM irrespective of whether it is an everyday item or a luxury, whether a kebab or a fillet steak; there are differences in quality in everything which may justify a higher price for a seemingly similar object, if only considered carefully enough. Look carefully, think, then decide with your eyes open and do not be ignorant - weigh up your alternatives and make decisions according to what is most important to you.

Of course there are bargains to be found in this world if you look carefully and are prepared to wait, prepared to shop around but also to be disappointed occasionally should you miss out. Bargains are an extreme manifestation of VfM and do not occur every day or in every field of activity or line of goods. They should be snapped up when found if they fulfil our criteria, but should not form the basis for other comparisons as they are, after all, bargains and by definition fleeting.

Boys and girls wake up, look at things around you, consider them, realise that they are not all the same, not all equal, not all worth the same - please! Not all pieces of meat are the same, not all jars of honey are the same, not all bottle of wines are the same - judge them for what they are, what they give you and not what the seller wants for them or what they want you to believe about them; ascribe to everything a value for money (VfM), even if it is personal to you and not universally applicable.

And let us not forget the other important factors that should govern our purchasing decisions and form part of the VfM equation, even if they are not part of the specific value calculation:

1. Have we any real need/use for the item/service in question or are we simply considering a purchase based on how attractive its VfM seems?

2. Can we really afford the item/service in question irrespective of how attractive a proposition it may be?

Once we have evaluated, cogitated and considered carefully the above, with Value for Money as our guide we can never go too far wrong - VfM will never fail you! Try it...