Having friends from Detroit, I know you can be beaten for buying a foreign car. “You live in America, you buy an American car” one friend of mine used to shout! When I went to purchase my first car, I told my financial planner I wanted to buy an American car. He said, “If you do, remember to buy 2 –one to drive and one for the parts.” Whether or not that’s true, what the person concerned with my financial future was trying to tell me was to not only think about price, but think about quality and longevity.

I’m no technology expert, but it appears to be fairly well known that the best place in the world to purchase the highest quality, most diverse technology is from not the U.S. One area known for technical superiority in their products is Japan However, at the end of the world wars, not that long ago, it was just as well known that you should never buy anything from Japan due to the poor quality and limited ability of their products. America was considered the best, by far, at that time.

Ironically, an American, Dr. Edwards Demming, was the one who turned Japan around. He came in and re-built, re-engineered and re-designed everything Japan was thinking and doing. He resurrected Japan using one single concept: uncompromising quality in all areas of product and procedure.

In our modern American world, quality is the last thing on people’s mind. Here are some examples:

The result of a “faster and/or cheaper is better” mentality is: You spend 25% more in the long run because you have to buy it twice. Worse, you live a 25% shorter life with 50% less quality. God wants you to be a good steward with your money, but God wants quality. Quality and not price alone should be the priority, particularly when it comes to your health.

I came from a home that always bought the cheap sneakers, low-end electronics, and cost-cutter technology. They all wore out or got broken quickly so we’d end up buying the cheap one again. When that also failed quickly; we’d finally by the good one. In the end, we had misery and ended up paying more than twice as much as the quality product would have cost us if we just bought it in the first place!!

After more than 20 years in the wellness world, I’ve found little benefit –or even cost savings –to being frugal with your health. People buy cheap vitamins and avoid health food stores thinking they’re saving money. However, the vitamins don’t work and they’re toxic. The less expensive food people are eating lacks safety and nutrients, they spend even more money eating out because they don’t like the food at home, and anything you thought you saved got spent on doctors and medications because you’re unhealthy.

I see it in Chiropractic every day. Someone chooses a doctor on an HMO, insurance, or looks to avoid the necessary, recommended amount of care believing they’re saving money. Yet, poor quality and/or insufficient care leads to more pain and illness, lost work days, and the need for greater, more invasive, and radically more expensive care in the future.

Cheaper is not only not better, it usually ends up costing you more and in many ways. When it comes to your health, it ends up really costing you.

Spend for quality when it comes to your health, it’s not only better –you’re worth it!