When I was in high school, when I had a minimum wage job, at least for a little while, money was tight. As a high schooler, most of my money went toward music, entertainment, and food. Because I did not make a lot of money, I had to pinch every penny. When my friends and I ate out, I always looked for the cheapest food possible. At that time, a Taco Bueno had opened up in our small bedroom community. They great thing about Taco Bueno is that you could get a chicken taco for less than 50 cents. If you had three dollars, you had a meal, with free unlimited re-fills on your drink.
As I have grown older, I noticed that even though I can afford a lot more than I used to, I still am looking for the bargain. For example, an outlet mall just recently opened in our area. At the outlet mall, a Converse store opened up. I told my wife that I wanted a pair of high tops, which the store had plenty of. Most of them were priced anywhere from $59.99 to $29.99 which was straight out. The store had clearance shoes, too, for $19.99. Even this was too much for me. I would not buy a pair of canvas of high tops until they were $14.99. Sadly, I took at least a half an hour to determine whether I wanted the shoes. I bought them, and I love them. But I think I got a fair deal.
I have received many expensive watches and pens as various gifts. Although I cherish each and every gift, the watches and pens that I have cherished the most are those that I have purchased at a great deal. Funny enough, most people have notice that the cheaply purchased pens or watches are as awesome as I believe them to be. (I suspect that my love for these items imbue them with desirability.)
You would think that the more valuable an item, the more I would value it. This isn’t true. I remember meals that I spent over a hundred dollars on and though to myself, “I’ld rather have had a hamburger.” Perhaps it was in the build-up that I felt somehow jipped by the experience. Perhaps seeing money pass through my hands made me have higher expectations than was warranted.
Usually, the cheap items are also unique items. There was a time that Mervyns Department Store sold canvas Airwalk shoes on clearance. I believe my mother had purchased them for less than nine bucks for me. At the time, I had no idea what skate shoes were or who Airwalk was. I just liked the shoes and so I bought multiple pairs. I wore the hell out of those shoes, so much so, that I wore them well after they had been poked open with holes. Eventually, they ripped open from the front of the shoes all along the sides to the point where when I walked the shoes flopped and I ended up walking like a clown in them. The point being, no one else had those shoes, and, despite my return to Mervyns to obtain another pair, I was unable to see them again.
In fact, in our household, we have a saying. “You better get it now because you never see it again.” Without exception, the saying holds 
true, and my wife and I have also bloodied our feet kicking ourselves for leaving behind items we knew we should have bought.
So, my advice to you is this. Always check the cheap bin, look for the deal, seek that which is close to free but not quite. These are the precious items of the world, the treasures to be snatched up and cherished.
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