Don't try to do better things, just try to do things better

Due to technological advancements we can do and make things cheaper and more efficiently than we could many years ago. However, instead of continuing to make cheaper, better versions of the same products, most people want better products. 

While continued innovation is awesome, many people are then only satisfied with having the best, newest version of whatever is out there. Instead of using off the shelf technology in a better, cheaper way, we try to come up with something completely novel.

This mindset can surface when people are trying to save money, as well. For example, I have seen forums and blog posts outlining ridiculous lengths people will go to in order to pay less for gas, with all sorts of cash back, rebates, etc. And they almost never mention the 2 most important aspects of fuel consumption: 

1. How fuel efficient is your car

and even more importantly, 

2. How much you drive!

People would get overjoyed if they found a way to pay 50 cents less per gallon of gas. But think about this: 

If you have a car that gets 20 mpg, switching to a car that gets 25 miles per gallon is the equivalent of getting $0.87 cents off per gallon when gas is $3.50! 

And simply driving less, and hyper-miling when you do, increases these savings even more! 

Fuel consumption is just one example of how you can apply this principle. Just remember, you don't have to come up with better, new ways to do things. Many times you can just do the same old things better, and save money that way.