“LO BARATO SALE CARO”
The Spanish idiom “lo barato sale caro” means that the cheaper option will eventually turn out to be more expensive: sometimes, when you opt for the most economical choice not taking into account important factors like quality or durability, you end up spending more money because that cheaper option causes problems or is inconvenient at the end.
This saying teaches us that, before closing a trade, product, or service, we should be sure that quality is guaranteed since, otherwise, there might be some economic or negative consequences.
Therefore, it contrasts two values: quality versus price. Poor quality products deteriorate rapidly or cause additional problems that result in extra costs.
Some variants of this set phrase are: “lo barato sale caro y lo caro sale barato”, “lo barato es caro cuando no es necesario” or “lo barato siempre cuesta caro”. All of them have the same meaning.
