Turner isn't a Kiwi so he doesn't have my cultural baggage about the Warehouse being cheap and nasty, although he could feel my pain and compared it to buying Tesco-branded wine in the UK.
I remarked that the furniture, homewares and other goods such as lighting seemed to have become more stylish. He said there had been a shift from "making the desirable affordable" to "making the affordable desirable". That's certainly true of the lighting range. Check it out.
I'm a believer in buying stuff to keep. But if, as Turner said, you like to "refresh the look" in your house from time to time, then $10 cushions and nice but cheap accessories such as vases from a budget store can look just as good as the real deal.
I have a mantra that there's always a cheaper way. For example, when I bought the two bedside tables, I planned to buy a three-drawer dresser for $100 as well. That same day I called into the Salvation Army store in New Lynn looking for something else and found a solid wood, antique chest of drawers that was perfect for $30. That's another $70 towards our imminent trip to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
Some snobs would never set foot in an op shop or at a white elephant stall or garage sale, although Trade Me may be acceptable. More fool them. They provide opportunities for those of us who have better uses for our money than paying full retail price on anything.
After returning from a spell overseas, I shopped at garage sales to find non-essential but useful items for the house. Week after week, I saw the same people up at the crack of dawn on a Saturday. Among the antique hunters and the occasional dealer were one barrister, a solicitor, a property professor and others who were perfectly well off. By not being snobs they saved an awful lot of money.
The "always a cheaper way" mantra holds true even if you want to buy top of the range goods. I'm partial to Briarwood shoes and handbags, but never pay full price. My Briarwood handbag-to-die-for came from the local school fair and my latest find was a pair of brand new red Mary Janes at the local Hospice Shop for $40.
I don't suppose many people place snob value in the brand name of a regular home phone. But I did apply the "there's always a cheaper way" to buying an emergency care phone for a relative earlier this month.
I'd been thinking of suggesting that an Oricom 170 with an emergency pendant might be worth trying. The phone retails for $259 plus delivery through specialist providers catering for the needs of elderly people. This seemed to be the best option in New Zealand, although much better technology that uses GSM networks is available overseas.
But there was no way I was spending my own, or in this case someone else's $259 on a phone. Often, items such as this aren't used for long before the elderly owner stops living on their own. I did a quick search on Trade Me and found three of the phones for sale, and bought one for the astoundingly low price of $25.
My Warehouse bedside tables and Hospice Shop Briarwood shoes may have been bargains, but neither is essential to human survival, and not buying things in the first place is even better for the bank balance.
It's not just me who thinks kicking snobbery into touch is good. Kyron Gosse is a young man who has done well for himself financially thanks to hard graft and sensible financial attitudes and has some views about property that plenty of people of his generation ought to consider (tinyurl.com/KyronProperty).
When it comes to snobbery, he says: "I think it comes down to looking rich, or being rich. If you waste your money on designer brands without having the wealth behind you to support it, then you're just a peacock."
Gosse, who has written best-seller The Freedom Investor Blueprint, says: "I don't believe in paying a ridiculous price simply because of a brand. Nice looking, fitting clothes are far more important than what the brand is."
Gosse has a point about buying good quality products. They last longer.
But cheap doesn't always mean poor quality. Nor are you paying solely for quality when you buy an iPhone 7 or a BoConcept sofa. Snob value is factored into the pricing.
Snobbery isn't just an affliction of the wealthy. Raewyn Fox, chief executive of the Federation of Family Budgeting Services, says that budgeting clients come under pressure from their children.
"Every teenager wants to be part of the in-crowd and sometimes that involves looking the part with a label. It isn't snob value or selfish. It is just a desire to fit in, which is a really important part of growing up and feeling good about yourself," says Fox.
"In lower-income communities it isn't so pronounced as many people will have restricted spending power, but a lower income family in a more affluent area will feel more pressure."
One way to get over the problem with children is to include them in the family financial decision-making process so they have a chance to understand the pressures, she says. This gives them a chance to voice their needs and make choices about giving up something else to get what is important to them. It also teaches them good skills for when they are responsible for money.
It is amazing what a period of financial hardship can do to overcome snobby attitudes, says Fox.
"We often see families who have suddenly and unexpectedly hit a rough patch financially, like an unexpected redundancy, and their outlook on life changes."
