Well. That’s certainly one way to find out that Kalhoun is female.
So, PumiceT, do you drive a name brand car too? 
We must have Cottonelle toilet paper (with those lovely ripples). When I visit my parents’ house, their paper feels like I’m using sandpaper. I’d eat dog food instead of human food if it meant I could keep my Cottonelle.
JIF peanut butter. It HAS to be JIF.
Ice cream must be Blue Bell, Mayfield, or Ben & Jerry’s…no exceptions.
Non-cheap toilet paper or kleenex.
Hidden Valley Ranch dressing.
Mayo, Hellman’s. A daily delight.
Coffee beans, Sumatran. Dark roasted a few miles from home.
Lamb kabab, or the house chicken at Cedar’s Eatery in Charlottetown, PEI.
Notebooks, Moleskine. For writing or sketching, worth every extra dollar.
Caffiene Free diet Coke in cans… hubby wont drink anything else.
Smuckers natural peanut butter. There is no better! The only problem is that you have to stir it and it can be messy.
Sheets must be 500+ thread count… I hate when the sheets are scratchy or pilly… we got nasty ones for a wedding present and tossed em right out!
Deli meats and cheeses… I want turkey that has the taste and texture of turkey!
Betty Crocker hashbrowns are a staple part of our dinner rotation.
I have always been one for quality, not quantity. There are many food related items I don’t mind buying store brand, or not the top brand. However, there are some things that I will spend my last penny to buy.
Food related:
Bread - Warburtons, Hovis, or bakery fresh
Tea - no Liptons (when in the US), or cheap UK brands
Non-food related
Razor (blades) - Mach 3 for me babbee!
Bog roll (TP) - 2 ply soft-n-squidgy only, no John Wayne paper
Shoes (any type) - leather only (I’d rather go barefoot than buy bad shoes)
Hilarious! Made me snort
What are non-brand name cars - KIAs? 
I can’t think of many examples right now - I prefer Angostura worcestershire sauce over any others (no anchovies), Kraft or Annie’s (? - the ‘natural foods’ kind with the bunny on the box) for mac-n-cheese on the rare occasions I buy that, and for soy sauce, San-J brand tamari or shoyu.
Soda: I must have Diet Coke, and there had damn well better be caffeine in it.
Sanitary Napkins: Only in dire emergencies will I use anything other than Always (the leaf symbol kind).
Underwear: Victoria’s Secret.
Lipstick: Other cosmetics can usually be from anywhere, but lipstick must come from Clinique. It’s the only brand that doesn’t make my mouth feel/taste all funny.
Shoes! I only wear top brands* and they have to fit perfectly. I don’t think I own a pair with a list price of below $80–though I have gotten some on sale. I have way fewer pairs than most women as a result, and I like it that way.
*Top brands, for me, include Chaco, Birkenstock, Ecco, Merrell, Clarks, Haflinger, Dansko, etc.
Toilet paper I don’t care about.
Learning my lesson about jeans. I’ll pay more for ones that fit and will last.
Peanut butter must be Jif. This is the first item I ever had convictions about.
I have also learned my lesson about cheap paper towels and toilet paper. They don’t have to be one certain kind, but do have to be name-brand, upper quality.
Dog food. They just poop out the cheap stuff and have to eat more of it.
I’ll also second the top-quality bedding. Once you get a good set of sheets and a nice comforter, you’ll never want to sleep on anything else! (Add quality down pillows and a feather bed, and it’s hard to get up in the mornings, but worth it.) Also keeps you warm without all the bulk.
HOLY SHIT! Thank you for saying this. Peanut loves to get Viva paper towels. He says they’re the good stuff. I say they’re the smelly stuff. True, they are super absorbent, but jeezus! They stink to high heaven!
That’s it, I’m emailing this to him…
For bread, I learned to never go with the house brand. Wonder or Eddy’s is all I will buy.
Trash bags, gotta go with Glad or Hefty. They ain’t kidding about those “bargain” trash bags!
Most consumer electronics. If it’s not a brand I’ve heard of I tend to stay away from it.
My shoes have to be good. I won’t suffer with aching feet just to save a few dollars.
Recording media (audio and video tapes, CDR’s, etc.) You definitely get what you pay for here.
For other foodstuffs I can be satisfied with the house brand (there are actually two house brands), as long as it’s the more expensive of the two. The really cheap house brand at my supermarket is the pits and I won’t touch anything with this name on it.
Here’s another one for toilet paper. We use charmin, and it does double duty as tissues. Last time I bought a cheaper (but not much) brand, and there’s no way it can be used for nose wiping. So charmin is cheaper than other brand + tissues.
Kraft Mac n Cheese. The generic stuff is just gross.
Cereal. No generic cereal. YUCK.
Absolutely no generic t.p. either.
coffee
(real beans - no cans)
My list, after having viewed the entire thread, is -
Kraft Mac 'n Cheese. It’s true, the generics are awful! How can you screw up Mac 'n Cheese? They dood it!
Jif P’Nut Butter - the cadillac of processed foods.
Duke’s Mayo - a “stock up on” item for sure, when I can find it.
Otherwise, Hellman’s is the sammich lube of choice. None of that school paste for me!
“Real” Razor Blades, not the phony kind that tear off bits of meat.
One of my most prized investments. My face needs all the help it can get.
Brand Name Coffee (at a minimum) I think the mac 'n cheese people must be comparing notes with the coffee people. The generic stuff tastes like ground sticks and mud. Perfect for first thing in the morning!!!
And “the most important item I shall not skimp on” <drumroll>
…undershorts!! Ta Da !!it ain’t worth it, man
Ditto on the Jif and NAME BRAND Garbage Bags.
As for cat food, we’re a family torn. Since we adopted little miss Prissy Pants, we can’t get away with only cheap Wal-Mart cat food. We have to get canned IAMS and she’ll only eat the Lamb flavor. It makes the other kids puke, so we have to feed her alone in the bathroom or something. Big drag.
beer- nothing with adjuncts. The Reinheitsgebot: learn it, live it, love it.
Kitchen knives- a cheap knife is a dangerous knife. Good steel is my friend.
Socks AND shoes- cushion, insulation, comfort, protection. Your feet are your friends, treat them that way.
Steak- if you’re gonna, make it a NY strip, porterhouse or T-bone.
Trashbags for sure - but they can be Hefty OR Glad
The bones for the dog - they must be Milk-Bone Basted Gravy Bones for Large Dogs. She has a wonky stomach, and I found out first hand what happens to her when she eats something she isn’t used to. That experience did teach me all about carpet care and getting tough spots out, though…
Ditto with her food - Purina Dog Chow in the green bag. That’s it.
Knives - got the highest quality chef’s knife I could afford
My SO - scratch that - he’s my husband now :eek: - when he buys chili in a can, it MUST be Hormel.
I suppose I could add that I will NOT - under any condition - eat margarine or that country crock stuff my husband buys - I eat real butter, but then I’d sound like a picky old witch who is impossible to get along with, wouldn’t I?