What do you consider fine to buy cheap vs not fine to buy cheap?
Mine:
Not fine:
Toilet paper. Toilet paper that is both strong and smooth is crucial.
Pants. Pants I have bought at Walmart have invariably ripped in crucial places not long after purchase.
Fine:
Vodka. I used to get citrus flavored mid level vodka. But then I tried Georgi, and really, that’s just fine.
Phone chargers. The more expensive ones still wear out in 6 months. And really, something that is essentially just a PLUG should not cost over five dollars.
Do you mean chargers to use with standard 120V wall outlets? Those aren’t just plugs, they’re transformers.
And I don’t know that I’ve ever had one wear out; I can’t recall buying one except with a new phone. In fact, I seem to have an abundance of transformers generally–I’ve got a bag with a variety of different output voltages from various devices–because the transformers outlast the devices more often than the reverse.
I’ve always heard that the two things you should never skimp on because of cost are shoes and mattresses.
It makes sense - if you spend a third of your life in bed, you want to be comfy. And you can generalize and say that if you’re not in bed, you’re probably on your way somewhere else, usually with shoes on.
Fine to buy cheap: golf balls. These days I buy whatever COSTCO has a deal on.
Maybe it makes a difference to scratch golfers, but I’m a 20-handicapper. What do I care if my approach shot backs up gently after it lands or bounces/rolls five yards further given that I have no idea where it’s going to land in the first place?
This is based on buying the Kroger brand equivalent of certain items.
Fine:
Mouthwash (ingredients are no different than Listerine)
Day and Night time cough medicine (ingredients are no different than NyQuil and DayQuil)
Ibuprofin (active ingredients same as Advil)
Cooking spray
Paper plates, plasticware, napkins
Not fine:
Trash Bags (much thinner than Glad)
Daily Face Wash (has fewer, larger micro scrubbers than Johnson & Johnson)
Cheap: booze that is going to be mixed
Not cheap: booze that is going to be sipped
(the one current “exception” is Bacardi Silver rum. Bevmo has been running a special - 1 liter for $1 (750ml goes for $15.98. 1.75l goes for $16.98!!!))
Store brands of most foods are just as good if not better than brand names.
Cheap:
OTC drugs - ibuprofen, allergy meds, etc. They’re all the same as the name brands.
most store-brand foods/condiments
Not Cheap:
bras (they either don’t fit, or they do, but fall apart, and I spend more money replacing them than I would if I’d bought a good one to begin with)
shoes
bedding (sheets, comforter, etc)
fine:
toilet paper (10p a roll does just fine)
dishwasher tablets (4p per tablet andI can’t tell the difference. clean is clean)
Not fine:
Whisky, you’ll have to prize my 21yr old Balvenie portwood from from my cold, dead, drunk hands
Over the course of year we can save about £80 on the former, which is useful because that’s how much the latter costs (and a bottle lasts me a year)
I don’t like cheap TP, it shreds and doesn’t get the job done. My father served in the Korean war/conflict/police action, and you should HEAR him on the subject of cheap toilet paper. Or on the subject of needing TP and not having any.
This is a prime example of a thread for which I wish I could come back at any time and make edits because I’d like to add a few examples from time to time as I think of them.
The first and foremost thing that comes to my mind are mattesses. There is no better example of something that is worth spending as much money as you can get your hands on to buy the finest quality available.
The reason is that you spend such a large percentage of your life sleeping, it’s really worth having the finest quality mattress that you can get.
Oh, darn it! It never occurred to me that I should have read the entire thread to check that no one else had said “mattresses” before I did.
I don’t know where you shop, but IME, no way. I’ve found huge differences in quality between the two. Like someone else said, staples are one thing- sugar is sugar. But store brand cereal, frozen vegetables, coffee, spaghetti sauce, soda, mac n cheese, and other things like that? I’ve found them to be of much lower quality.
Define cheap. Chintzy, or inexpensive? I understand that some times you have to pay more to get a decent product, but I don’t really look at a higher price tag as a guarantee of higher quality.
Costco’s Kirkland brand is one of the best in the country, IMO. Stater Bros. Honey Ohs are just the same as Honey Nut Cheerios, at half the price. The list goes on. I’ve done side-by-side comparisons, and 90% of the time the store brands are just as good if not better. YMobviouslyV.
Some store brands are much lower in quality, and some are the same or better. As much as I hate WalMart, I have to admit that their version of Tucks is even better than the name brand. And I also prefer their version of SlimFast. My husband likes WalMart, so I don’t have to shop there if I don’t want to, I just put stuff on the “dry goods” list (dry goods is basically anything that isn’t really groceries). I’ve had some decent experiences with other store brand items, too. But my family has a very distinct preference for name brand spaghetti sauce, and mac and cheese, and cold cereal. I’m usually willing to experiment with a store brand, if it comes in a reasonably sized package.
Cheap OTC meds whose effectiveness is regulated anyway are fine.
Cheap Giant brand raisins taste better to me than expensive Dole ones.
Many cheap things, though, it’s better to do without than buy. I hate the idea that you are only out the price, because you spend time messing with cheap junk and are delayed fixing whatever problem you bought it for in the first place.
If you buy cheap, you pay for it but you don’t get it.
Do you mean chargers to use with standard 120V wall outlets? Those aren’t just plugs, they’re transformers.