I’m with you, I don’t really skimp too much at the grocery store. I figure it is the one store where I can get pretty much whatever I want. Mind - I’m not buying lobster and caviar every week, but if I want pine nuts and they are $6.99, I’m buying them. They’ll get eaten and they’re goooood, dammit.
I’ll second you on fragrance. Cheap scents = synthetic base = greater chance that it’s an asthma trigger for me. I’ll gladly pay BPAL for a tiny bottle of perfume oil with no synthetics in it or The Body Shop for the three or four scents of theirs that I like, but I will not go anywhere near a Victoria’s Secret scent kiosk (or cheaper) because their stuff literally makes me sick.
I don’t often buy shoes, but when I do, I rarely buy shoes that are cheap because 1) they’re never made to fit my large and slightly wide feet and 2) they break, do stupid things like become uncomfortable after a week’s wearing, and just don’t look good after a couple of months.
These days, I don’t buy much alcohol, but I refuse to cheap out if it means buying something I’m not likely to like. This means that, if I can’t afford a bottle of Van Gough Vodka, I’m not going to buy vodka. If I can’t afford Guinness or some of the other imported/microbrew stuff I like, I’m not going to buy beer.
I don’t generally buy cheap underwear most of the time either. If a pair of panties or a bra lasts me less than two years with regular wearing, I’m not interested. This, of course, requires me to rotate between 20 pairs of panties and four or five bras. If I wore the same bra every day until it wore out, the cheap bra would last two months and the stuff I buy now would last six.
At the grocery store, I don’t skimp on quality so I budget between inexpensive staples (lots of rice and other inexpensive dry goods, “cheap” produce like potatoes, onions, etc.) and higher priced items that are worth their cost (good spices, quality cuts of meat, fresh fish). Of course, I don’t eat fish all the time, but I make sure that when I do, I’m not getting the stuff that you can smell from halfway across the store just because it’s cheaper.
Good quality shoes ( birks and mephistos).
Addi Turbo Circular Needles. Worth every penny.
I spend more on food, furniture and my hair (includes eyebrow shaping, highlighting, a good cut and decent products).
Food because I like to try eating lots of fruits, veggies, grains and lean meats, which tend to be more expensive than convenience food.
Furniture because my husband and I have moved into the home we’d like to retire in and are interested only in buying things we really like that will be around for decades if not longer.
Hair because that’s the one feature I have that has stayed consistently nice throughout the years and I’d like to keep it that way.
Life is too short to buy cheap booze. I always buy brand name hooch.
Coffee, must be whole beans and then brewed strong.
Toilet paper must be strong and soft.
Motor oil is Mobile 1 5W30 or the car sits until I can get it.
oh, and razorblades. Store brand blades feel like a shaving with a chunk of concrete
Cigarettes. I only buy Marlboro - I don’t particularly care if the non-name brand is 1/2 the price - I only smoke Marlboro.
Steak.
Dog Food and Dog Bones.
Shoes.
Scotch.
Bras.
Yet another reason I stick with the brand of men’s razor blades that I discovered were better than their women’s equivalent way back when. They’re not only cheaper, but I get more use out of them than the women’s ones.
Oh, and dog food. Our dog gets really awful rashes from stuff that’s cheaper because of the soy content, so the stuff she gets now is $50/giant bag.
Bread and dairy products . Vegetables. I try to meet the 100-mile objective (See Here ) - I don’t always make it - think chocolate - but I try.
Oh yeah - forgot to add: cat food. There is a difference in the cheap stuff and the expensive stuff and I can tell by the difference in my cats fur and by the smell in the litter box. Litter boxes are no perfume counter to start with but cheap food makes it much worse. I will not feed my cats anything cheaper than Iams.
Is there a corollary concerning umbrellas?
Invest in a good one–leave it on the bus.
True, but solitary confinement in a Turkish prison has to be right up there.
Welcome, KatiRoo! That’s a cool idea in the link, but yeah…can’t live without chocolate.
When the pet food recall began, my office manager decided to stock some ultra-high end food lines. Wow. My dog loves the new stuff, but a large bag retails for over fifty bucks! The canned product includes things like Pheasant and Rice , Cowboy Cookout (with beef, sweet potatoes, carrots, green beans, and granny smith apples), Turducken, and Mediterranean Banquet (lamb, chickpeas, brown rice, spinach, and golden delicious apples). The food looks good enough to serve to guests! The people who are buying it would never stoop as low as Iams! 
Food, for the most part. Since I have to eat, I’d might as well choose freshest produce and the leanest meat I can afford. Plus, I’ll pay extra for pre-chopped things to save time. Also, food for the dog. Vetbridge, who makes those foods you mentioned?
Sneakers
Razorblades
Tissue
Merrick Pet Care, LTD
http://www.merrickpetcare.com/ (turn down your volume first)
I’m okay with cheap clothes, but not jeans. I’ll spend money on good jeans if it means they’ll last for a while. This is good since I wear jeans pretty much every day. Shirts and socks are replaceable; I generally buy several cheap shirts each summer then wear them until they get too stained or whatever to wear them. Ditto for socks. When they’re too dirty or torn, out they go.
Handbags. I’m addicted to Vera Bradley. Their bags look cool and are insanely functional. My backpack will hold all of my stuff and then some, and I don’t need to worry about losing stuff.
Shoes. I’ve got flat feet and bad knees. Cheap shoes don’t fit right and at the end of the day, my back and knees hurt like hell. I also go to the local shoe store, not to a department store or to one of those self-service places. Yeah, I pay a premium, but I also know that the shoes I buy will fit, are appropriate for my particular problems, and will last a while.
Robin
Thanks.
I agree with PunditLisa on the hotels. I don’t have to have to be in a five star hotel, but there has to be decent food on the premises, which usually means a restaurant onsite. I’d make an exception if there are numerous restaurants in the immediate area. For example, if I didn’t live in my town and had to stay at a hotel here, I’d be perfectly happy at the Holiday Inn Express in my neighborhood, because there are several decent to very good places to eat within a few blocks.
Besides that, the usual things that people have said here.
Jeans.
Alcohol (Get thee behind me, Johnnie Walker Red Label*)
Coffee
Food in general.
Trash bags. No, the store brand isn’t just as good.