when i was younger I was skint as hell...poor parents etc...went to uni and met a mate who said - but cheap buy twice etc and also buy in bulk...his was never a mentality I had...simple stuff maybe, but not something I was taught...my parents were skint as fcuk..
I learnt the hard way...took years tho... and I'm careful now and allowed to save, and if anyone moans then tough...maybe they'll learn?
I grew up with no money, my dad was awful with money and got into serious debt many times. My brother took after him too.
I think i was lucky, i saw the sadness and anger of him working all the time and having nothing to show for it, felt the fear of the letter box going with over due bills or someone taking away the car etc.
It stuck with me and made me more frugal, if i felt the urge to buy something, i would wait, and wait, and wait, instead of buying it straight away. Eventually the urge would go, and if it didn't, i would save up.
There is a false economy in buying cheap things. Low quality stuff does end up costing more, be it time, hastle because of bad customer service etc, or money in having to replace the thing that broke too early. Sometimes it's all you can afford though.
The economy today doesn't seem to help anyone, people working full time jobs should have some money left over at the end of the month, but they don't. Food is getting more expensive, a lot more expensive. It either goes way up in price, or the contents are cut down drastically and costs the same. I see this only getting worse when the no deal brexit happens.
When i say i'm saving up for a new car, i mean a car thats about 3 or 4 years old but will still be newish. I think that seems to be a good price to get one that will last a good few years and be econimical to run too. I do my own servicing so i save money that way too.