lo barato sale caro
Spanish
Etymology
Literally, “cheap [things] turn out expensive”.
Proverb
- cheap objects or solutions can end up being expensive, because they don’t last as long, require high maintenance or are inefficient
- buy cheap, buy twice
- cheap things in expensive disguise make everything more costly, setting precedence to inflate true value while lowering quality not just for goods but services and society as a whole
See also
- el dinero del avaro, dos veces va al mercado (dated)
- el dinero del pobre dos veces se gasta
Further reading
- “lo barato es, o sale, caro”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024