I’m sorry to say that I now own a VW, but truth be told, many a year I said I’d never buy anything other than Toyota. I had a 1996 Tercel that had about 120,000. I don’t think anything ever broke on that thing. Just had some hubcaps pop off is all.
I won’t have margarine in the house, I have to have butter.
I’ll second(or third or fourth or fifth) the mention of good shoes. I work on my feet all day. Used to buy cheap shoes and my feet hurt all the time. Finally a coworker told me to get SAS brand. Geez, I’d never spent $100 for a pair of shoes in my life, but within a week my feet were comfortable all day.
OMG!!! I know, and here I thought I was the only one besides my family who remembered it. Though my sister found some off brand unsweetened OJ in a can and it was very similiar. Brought back childhood memories from our great grandmother’s.
Other things I would never skimp on:
Ketchup, Heintz or nothing.
TP- Scott, its cheap but lasts forever and not sneeze inducing or ass scraping.
Veggies!
Miracle Whip.
Butter
Shampoo
Soap (Body Wash)
Scrapbooking supplies, (Plastic scissors with plastic various blades are baaad on cardstock.)
Taco Sauce, Ortega Medium or nothing!
I’m sure there’s more, and before now I never thought myself such a picky person…
I really don’t see the pont of drinking cheap wine. If you just want to get pished, then buy vodka or something. UK£5/bottle at least. It’ll taste nice and any resulting hangover won’t be as painful.
But then what do I know, I buy own-brand recycled toilet paper. I mean, you’re only going to use it to…uh…well I don’t think I need to spell it out.
Shoes, purses, wallets, cheapies look like crap, hurt/don’t work, and then fall to pieces. Same with clothes. Bedding must be high thread count 'cause sleeping on sandpaper isn’t fun. Never found a store brand food item that didn’t taste funny or contain funky bits. Aw heck, let’s face it, I don’t skimp on anything. If it costs more, it must be better right?
-Campbell’s Soups
-Heinz Ketchup
-Kraft Macaroni and Cheese
-Happy Cat Cat Food (I just love the little cat on the front)
-Charmin Toilet Paper
-Tampax Tampons (no generic will do–I have had cords rip out before)
-Old Navy Ultra Low Rise Jeans. They fit. I have no waist and long legs. They understands that.
-Colgate Total plus Whitening Toothpaste
-St. Ives Apricot Face Scrub
-Victorias Secret Cotton Bikinis
-Kleenex Expressions Tissues. Two-ply, no lotion, pretty box, and the box, not the pop-up thing that never works right, leaving me with big gobs of snot hanging out of my nose while trying to get a tissue.
I’m normally very flexible, but it’s took me a long time to discover what works for me, and now that I know, I’m sticking to it.
TP - the brand’s not important, but it had better be two-ply, dammit. I don’t think there should BE such a thing as one-ply toilet paper. Gah! I find Angel Soft to be a good compromise between quality and price.
Mayonnaise - Hollywood Safflower mayonnaise is the only kind that tastes right.
Handbags. ( Coach, Prada, vintage Mark Cross, etc. )
Cologne and perfume. ( Poison, Opium, Shalimar. )
Jewelry.
Personal stationery.
Leather and suede outerwear.
Food? It is to laugh. I normally eat fat-free uncooked hotdogs as I stand over the sink. Toilet paper? Dollar Store, baby. Clothing? Target, Walmart, or Nordstrom Rack or Talbots Outlet. And with the exception of a couple of really good pairs, I buy most of my shoes at Payless. It’s totally interesting to me how different our priorities are!
I’d have to confess that, off the top of my head, I’m not sure I could name with confidence the brands of toiletries that occupy my bathroom, but I can name the nuke food in the freezer. Not that I insist on that nuke food - it’s more like that’ll do.
But, I buy good olives, meat and produce. And 100% cotton shirts - forget the 60% stuff.
Booze? Well, Stoli just isn’t worth it; Smirnoff’s fine. Crown Royal when I’m feeling different, and I prefer Grandfather Jack over the Black Jack of my youth. Fuller’s ESB if we’re going with hops.
Doctors? Screw the insurance - I’ve already staked out my guy that I’m going to grow old with. Fortunately, he’s so far acceptable.
One of my other rare brand loyalties - French Market Chicory coffee.
And I’ve been happy living in one cheap-ass apartment.
Cars. Damn. I’m currently shopping, and the game plan is as the last two times - slightly used BMW. The two I’ve had have been very good cars, and I’d prefer the devil I know.
But Geez Louise! Who buys these things new? They are outrageously expensive. This experience may be a true test of my brand loyalty.
My first car was a '57 Chevy. They’re going for about what a 2000 740i does now. Yikes!
Pilot BP-S Fine Point ink pens. Thou shalt have no other ink pen before me.
Ditto on the name-brand cereals. I once made the mistake of picking up Wal-Mart house brand honey-nut Cheerios. Big mistake.
Arizona Jeans Co. “Big Ring Denim” Carpenter Jeans. The official jean of Brian for over two years.
Sun-Drop Citrus Soda. I will drink the other brands (due to lack of availability,) but nothing beats cracking open a can of Sun-Drop and tasting that sweet yet tangy goodness.
For me it’s pretty simple: Shoes and Booze. I can walk all day in my Rockports and not have tiered feet. I’ll also pass on cheap alcohol; you really can taste the difference.
The brand is not all that important (Cabot is preferred, but unavailable in my area), but my cheese * must* be sharp, white, Vermont cheddar. The boyfriend buys medium orange New York cheddar. It’s like chewing on bicycle tires. Used ones.
HAHAHAHAHAH