It is only good bargains that ruin.
It is only good bargains that ruin.
Meaning in plain English
An attractive price can encourage purchases whose combined cost exceeds their value to you. A bargain saves money only when the purchase itself is useful and affordable.
Example
A household buys one needed discounted appliance and declines several additional offers that would consume money reserved for essential bills.
Deeper explanation and when to use it
The saying exaggerates by claiming that only good bargains ruin, but the practical target is the temptation created by a favourable deal. A low price can make each purchase feel justified while distracting attention from the total spent, the available budget or whether the item is needed. The question is not merely how much was saved against another price. It is what benefit was bought and what else the money could have done. Declining an unnecessary discounted purchase can preserve more resources than collecting several apparent savings.
When to use it
Use it when discounts are encouraging spending beyond a real need or budget.
Keep in mind
A genuinely useful bargain can help someone with limited resources. The warning concerns unnecessary expenditure, not low prices themselves.
Edsverb editorial interpretation · agent reviewed · 2026-10-05. This explains the saying; it does not establish its historical origin.
- Source
- A Polyglot of Foreign Proverbs (1857)
Printed page 26; French section, paragraph 509; source wording: Il n’y a que les bons marchés qui ruinent.
Read the original context ↗ - Attribution confidence
- traditional · historical anthology
Preserved as printed; independently unverified. - Historical coordinate
- Undated
No reliable date supplied by the collection. - Rights & edition
- Public domain (United States)
Translations and rights may differ elsewhere.
Provenance and licences ↗