Spend a little more for these items

In My Humble Opinion
21

The tools of your trade, whatever your trade may be. I’m a housewife, myself, and I can’t tell you how glad I am that we spent the money to remodel the kitchen in our new-to-us house. I already had good pots, pans, knives, and gadgets (not that I spent huge money, but I spent a lot of time amassing the good stuff at good prices through the years,) and having a great stove, oven, dishwasher, even kitchen faucet makes my job easier, better, and even (in the long run) less expensive: I probably won’t ever need a new stove, for example - I found a 6-burner Viking gas cooktop on Craigslist for a real bargain. It’s heavy-duty, has very few moving parts to break, and suits me perfectly. My dishwasher is a high efficiency model, so I use less water per load. I found a great wall oven at a yard sale - my back thanks me every time I get a heavy casserole dish or roasting pan out of the oven. I use my Kitchenaid mixer about 4-6 times a week, and have for the past dozen years. It gets cheaper with every use, and I enjoy using it.

If I were a carpenter, or a mechanic, etc., I’d say the same: buy the best tools you can afford. They’ll last.

Not just cheese, but food in general: It doesn’t have to be the most expensive, but buy the best food you can afford. The freshest, the in-season, the least processed. If you’re gonna splurge, have real butter or the good chocolate.

Shoes. Always. And handbags or other sorts of totes/luggage. One good piece that lasts forever is vastly better for your budget (and the environment,) than 20 that last a year or two.

Not previously mentioned: desk chairs. Spending a few extra bucks on a really good one is better for your wallet, better for the environment (than replacing every couple of years) and better for your back (and wallet - what’s the co-pay for a doctor’s visit or chiropractic visit? How much vacation/sick time do you have to nurse a bum back before you start taking a hit in the paycheck? How much are you spending on pain relief if you have a back ache?)

22

A small thing, but Hellman’s Mayonnaise. There are always cheaper store brands of mayo and they are hit or miss, might as well spend the extra buck.

23

I invariably opt for the more expensive foods, as bitter experience has taught me that the alternative will often end up in the trash. Thomas’s muffins vs any other brand, Skippy vs whatever, S&W canned beans over anything else, etc.

24

Definitely chocolate! Life is way too short for crappy chocolate.

Pay the extra couple of hundred bucks for a better routing for any really long air flight. Adding time and stop overs to a long journey is never worth it, NEVER ! Just pay the money!

25

Wine. There are sometimes less expensive wines that are “okay,” but generally I’ll skip the cheap stuff

26

Absolutely agree. Out west, its called Best Food. Don’t buy cheap mayo.

27

After another 5 pages, the list will come down to:

“You may get what you pay for; very rarely will you get more”.

Back to the list:
Any cutting blade - knife, saw blade, pruning shears
Any tool made of steel - you can buy 6 screwdrivers for $5; or a good one for $10. How many times do you want to buy them? Need I mention socket wrenches? Drop a socket on bare concrete - if it rings, buy it; if it goes 'thud",keep looking.

Oh - I’ll slip this in - BIG BOX STORES SELL CRAP - especially tools. If you are buying a name brand tool, pay attention to the manufacturer’s part number - they will make one version for real tool stores, and a cheaper one for the big box - and modify the part number. The real one is #1682, while the cheapie is #1682a.

28

Musical instruments. You can tell a good guitar over a cheapo.

29

Sports/hobby equipment. Good equipment makes a huge difference, lousy equipment makes whatever you’re doing more difficult and wears out more quickly.

30

Stuff at IKEA. If you just need disposable furniture for a temporary place, the low end is fine. But going just one step up makes a huge difference.

31

Plastic wrap, it’s one product where I can really tell the difference on price points.

32

I came in to say kitchen knives. The ones I bought are Wustoff and cost $100 a pop. That’s expensive until you realize they have a lifetime warranty and are made to last forever. The difference in having shitty knives and having good knives is extreme. It makes cooking faster and more enjoyable. Forever.

33

Gas grills.
Seriously, spend the $500+ bucks and get the Weber. It’ll last you forever.
Too many people I know are cheap, buy the $300 Charbroil and it rusts out over the winter. Then they go out, buy another of the same thing, then complain about having to assemble a new grill every spring.

Bikes. Yes, I know bikes have gotten crazy expensive over the years and the guy at work paid over $3000 for his. But you still really need something from a reputable bike store and pay at least over $300.
Stay away from the walmart/target stuff.

34

In Russia, corners of toilet paper cut YOU!

35

[quote=“usedtobe, post:27, topic:709167”]

After another 5 pages, the list will come down to:

“You may get what you pay for; very rarely will you get more”

[QUOTE]
I think even more pointless: “This is a product I use a lot.” The last time I peeled a vegetable must have been years ago. My “el cheapo” will last longer than the expensive one in the OP.

36

In my experience, it’s not even the quality of the knives, it’s that they haven’t been sharpened in a decade. My wife has a friend who we occasionally visit, and she has a great Wusthof chef’s knife (Classic, I think), and that thing is astoundingly dull.

Even cheaper knives would be adequate if people just sharpened them. But you’re right in that there’s a certain minimum quality below which they won’t even take a decent edge, much less hold it.

I’ll second the sporting equipment nomination. Trying to fish with a really cheap rod and reel is more work than pleasure, and cheap guns jam, aren’t accurate, and are just unpleasant. And in both cases, you can get decent ones for not much more money.

37

Aluminum foil. The cheap stuff is as thin as gold leaf and incredibly frustrating to deal with. I buy the heavy duty stuff from Costco now and there’s no going back

38

That’s definitely part of the equation; if you use something once every two years, buy as good as you need - you might pay less for replacements than you would have paid for the really good quality thing.

Clothes are an example of another factor that often needs to be taken into account - I can buy good quality clothes that last forever, but I won’t wear them once they’re horribly out of style or looking too shabby - I buy cheapies, wear them for a season or two, then replace them with something more current (and recycle my old clothes off to a thrift store).

39

air travel. Stuff you acquire tends to depreciate over time, while memories and experiences tend to appreciate over time. That memory of the super-comfortable 20-hour flight across the Pacific will continue paying rewards long after the trinket you brought back has gathered a thick coating of dust from years sitting in your attic.

40

Oh, og, not me. I’ve tried buying cheap and expensive, brand name or not. No matter how much I spend, my shoes last 6 months. That’s for a $20 or a $120 pair.

Now I just buy a couple of pairs at the New Years Sales (half off second pair) and let that last me for the year.

J.