Quality vs Monetary Value

We've all been there: do I go with the higher quality item or the cheaper item? What is the difference? I'm gonna share my experiences with this dilemma and what my advice is.

Age old question: does cheaper mean lower quality? Not always. I got most of my recording and filming equipment at a "cheap" value but they are just as good as some of the high-quality brands. However, and I cannot stress this enough, do your research before automatically going with the cheaper option. What are you going to be doing? If you're learning an instrument, how long are you practicing for? How often? What is your goal? Same if you are drawing or learning a new sport or hobby. Once you answer those, you can determine if the cheaper option is better for you. 50/50 chance that the cheaper option is just as good as the high quality but it can also be worse.

A personal experience on this: my old guitar broke so I got a $90 acoustic guitar on Amazon from an unknown brand. In this instance, I went for monetary value over quality. And let me tell you, that guitar sucked. I don't know that much about guitars, but I could tell it was not a good guitar. I tried to stay with it, but it was so hard to play. When I tuned it, it sounded as if the strings were going to break, that's how cheap it was. So, I swallowed my pride and went to a local music store and bought a Yamaha FG800J Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar. More expensive, yes, but a better overall guitar.

In this case, quality value was more important then monetary value. But I didn't just pick the first guitar I saw. I did my research for about a month before I even decided I was going to get a new guitar. I took into account my experience, how long and often I was practicing, when I was practicing, and other factors when looking at guitars to replace the cheap one I bought. Could I have found a cheaper option that would have worked just as well? Maybe. But I had to do my research to see which one was the best for me.

Now, don't get me wrong, there are some items that are amazing that are also cheap. But make sure that, if you are serious about something, you are not sacrificing quality for money. That will come back and haunt you in the long run, maybe even hurt you. If you are in a position where money is a major factor, look at your price range and what resources you have. Can you borrow or rent or get a free trial? What about having a friend or family member help you figure out if you want to do something? Are there payment plans that work for you if you want to buy something? Just because you have a budget doesn't mean quality is immediately out of the question.

So, that's my experience and advice. I am working on my music and art and I will be posting an update as I get closer to releasing them. Hopefully, the music will sound better since I have a better guitar now.

Until next time!