A lot of us realize the adage “you get what you pay for” is one of the truer things people say, but sometimes the cheap version of something is perfectly fine. If you don’t expect it to last that long anyway, or it’s something trendy that will fall out of fashion, by all means, save the cash.
If, though, it’s something that needs to fit right, or be comfortable, or that you plan on using for a long time, then buying the expensive version is usually worth it.
In case you’re wondering which is which, these 19 people are sharing the things they never, ever skimp on.
1. Dawn gets it done.
Dish soap.
Nothing suds as well or gets my dishes as clean as Dawn.
I use blue dawn so much. It takes stains out of clothing, carpet, cleaning my rings off, the poo that got stuck to my cats butt…its so useful. When my oldest got her first apartment she asked about cleaining supplies & i told her #1 is blue dawn.
2. You definitely don’t want that to fail.
Condoms.
You’re probably talking about how they feel, but cheap condoms have matched/outperformed expensive ones in reliability tests.
If it’s not due to “brand name = pay more” then I’d guess it’s because the fancy ones are designed to be thinner but still fairly reliable.
3. They’re saving your life.
Car parts like tires and brakes, these are literally the most important part of your car if you are a daily driver.
They stop your car and keep you on the road you, yes they are expensive but it’s worth your life.
4. It will change your life.
Butter.
Once I tried the fancy gold wrapper butter, I can’t go back to normal pleb butter.
It’s just not worth the wax paper that it’s wrapped with.
The flavor of the gold wrapper butter is so rich and creamy that you don’t have to use as much either.
5. Your nether regions will thank you.
Toilet paper.
I will thrift first for just about everything I need but will splurge on good quality toilet paper.
6. Nobody wants that.
Trousers.
I move around a lot in my trousers.
The cheap ones make me think about it twice tho.
I really don’t like when I have holes in my nether region.
7. It is 100% a privilege.
Food.
Grew up on frozen and canned foods.
I’m privileged enough now that all my food is fresh, and it’s incredibly expensive.
8. Stop it, woman!
My wife insists on buying batteries at the dollar store. THEY DON’T F**KING WORK!!!
I’ve rationally explained to her multiple times that they aren’t worth buying because they just don’t have enough juice to power anything but the remote control, but she absolutely refuses to spend the money on Duracell or Energizer and keeps bringing home 8 AAs for $1 that all end up in the garbage.
9. A few key items.
Tires.
You will be dealing with random, uneven baldness or they’ll flat out just go flat randomly or start leaking air from a slight bump. The minute I got quality tires was a breath of fresh air. Also, you should not skimp on anything related to your car unless you don’t have a choice due to financial reasons. That thing is responsible for your life most of the time.
My Dad had two other things that you should never go cheap on in addition to tires and those were a mattress and shoes.
Mattress is because you spend most of your life sleeping and being on a bad mattress is going to make you feel the consequences for years. A good night’s sleep sets the pace for your entire day.
Shoes because you’re walking in them most of the time, so take care of your feet for the same reason to get a quality mattress to take care of your back/spine.
10. You know it.
Tin/Aluminum Foil.
Reynolds Heavy Duty, accept no substitutes.
That stuff rips just looking at it.
11. All parents learn this eventually.
Lego.
Sure knock-off brands may be cheaper as Lego is extremely costly, but it HAS to be the real thing or I immediately hate it.
We call it Heretic Lego in my house…banished on detection.
12. Especially if you’re a runner.
Running shoes.
Go get fitted and everything. You will not regret it.
13. It’s not even worth it.
Sushi.
Grocery store sushi is usually a hard pass, but there are a few exceptions. Where I live (US East coast), both Balducci’s and Wegman’s have very high quality sushi. Balducci’s in particular rivals many respectable sushi restaurants I’ve been to. Both also offer sashimi and low-carb options (usually they’ll make rolls using a very thin sheet of sliced cucumber in place of the rice).
Whole Foods (at least the 3 I’ve tried) is surprisingly disappointing. While the quality is fine, the portions are small, and the fish-to-rice ratio is way too low.
14. Not getting food poisoning is always worth it.
Most meats, particularly beef steak and fish.
Steak because the quality and texture change too much if you go for thinly-sliced roasts that pretend to be traditional steaks.
Seafood because when my local supermarket has a super cheap, 1/2 price sale on salmon fillets, its likely they are about to spoil. Most of the time they are bad before i even get it home.
15. And you won’t have to replace it as often.
A mattress.
Always spend high on a mattress – your back will thank you later.
Btw… you spend ONE THIRD of your life on these things.
Yeah.
16. A very practical answer.
Safety gear.
You don’t want your dollar store safety harness and rope for rock climbing.
When the only thing keeping you alive is that gear you don’t take any risks whatsoever.
17. You definitely don’t want to gamble on that.
Lasik eye surgery.
Friend I worked with kept telling me I could get it for $500 in Colombia. Did it here in Georgia for $3k with a doctor who had done over 100,000 procedures.
I’ll stick with having perfect vision.
Took me two weeks to work up the nerve to have someone who only does Lasik and has a perfect record out of 100k+ 5 star rating to do mine, no way I could of gone to a foreign country to do it haha.
18. I cannot like this hard enough.
An office chair is a great investment for the long run.
Saves your back.
19. You use it every day.
Kitchen cookware.
The difference of quality between knifes is night and day.
I have Victorinox and a Zwilling & Heckel 8 inch chef knifes and while Victorinox is good, the other one is just amazing.
20. If you’re a lady, you get it.
Bras.
It’s hard enough getting one that fits properly.
I hate that my bras are so damn expensive.
I recently tried a $15 Bali bra because I didn’t want to spend another $60 on one bra.
I seriously could not believe how bad it was.
Now I remember why I always buy expensive bras.
21. Truly life changing.
Work boots.
On your feet most the day, out in construction or sketchy areas for your feet? A great pair of work boots makes all the difference in the world.
Thorogood is the brand of boots that changed my perspective on just how important great footwear truly is.
22. Northerners get it.
A winter coat and winter boots are SO worth the investment. You could get four or five good winters for your money.
I used to buy cheap, especially the coats as a good one can be costly, but a really warm, waterproof coat for winter makes the commute that little bit easier and life that little bit cosier. Sturdy, water-proof boots are also a great investment – no more cold toes and wet socks and the expensive ones really do last well.
I’m due a new coat for this winter and I’ve already started to put a little bit aside each paycheck for it.
23. One of the best decisions you can make as an adult.
Toilet paper.
My wife and I got 5 ply once, and now there’s no going back…
24. Anything that could give you a disease.
Tattoos.
The Hepatitis C outbreak in my neighboring county was traced to a single tattoo “artist”. He made a tattoo gun out of an electric toothbrush and some fine guitar wire, and would take it to parties to give strangers tattoos (get a tat to commemorate this epic party brah!).
He had HepC himself, and would always go first to prove how good he was. He sterilized the needle with a lighter, but he double dipped the ink, and managed to give dozens of people HepC. They eventually sent him to prison after he 1. killed someone via sepsis from a seriously infected tattoo, 2. traded tattoos for s^x from underage girls.
The news story about his arrest didn’t mention his name, but the Facebook comments were full of shit like “I bet it was <his name>, he gave my sister HepC”.
25. You can tell instantly, too.
Q-tips.
Suffered for two years because a 500 count was 2 bucks cheaper and I was to stubborn/cheap the throw them out.
Hate the cheap ones that the cotton just falls off the tips when you look at em.
26. It will last forever.
PSU for a computer, get one from a reputable brand, not the $15 from some random brand no one has heard of.
If you cheap out on a power supply you’re asking for it to fail and take other components with it.
The PSU is also basically the single most transferable component. PSU standards haven’t changed in a while, and although there some push to switch to the 12v standard there doesn’t seem to be much interest (unsurprisingly) at the consumer level. When I bought my PC a few years back I overspeced my PSU specifically so that I could keep using it if I got a more powerful GPU, a good PSU will last so long.
27. Good sleep is priceless.
Pillow. $150 but feels like a poofy cloud.
Have had it for 2 years now, so less than $.25 a day and going down.
Down fill, gusseted sides, and a decent fill weight are a recipe for success.
If it gets a little low just punch in the sides and back to floof.
28. You spend a lot of time in there.
A BED.
If you have only bought shitty cheap beds your entire adult life, save your money for awhile and buy an awesome bed. That purchase can change your life. For real.
When I was young I had a cheap bed and the metal would rust and break. Then it would poke thru the cloth and into my skin. I would lay blanket after blanket on top of the mattress until I couldn’t feel the sharp points anymore. After I got older and started working I bought an expensive bed. Its one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
29. It’s between you and the elements.
Camping tents. I’ve been Chinese water tortured on a rainy night in a cheap tent one too many times to ever skimp again.
Just outdoors gear in general. Cheap stuff will break when you need it most. There might be a few acceptions but for the most part avoid the cheap crap you get from places like Walmart or aly express
30. You only get one pair of feet.
Shoes. Mostly running shoes but all shoes really.
I only buy on sale items… Of name brands. So they could be a season or two old butt I’ll never buy the fresh new pair.
31. There is no other mac&cheese.
Tampons. OB or nothing
Chocolate.
I love No Name brand stuff but I always get name brand Kraft Dinner!
32. You want those things to last.
I won’t buy the cheapest electronics. Mid-range or higher is what I look for.
Direct replacement warranties aren’t too bad as long as the price is reasonable. I used to use them for cheap earbuds because they would always stop working during the warranty period, and I’d get a no-questions-asked replacement.
The local GameStop equivalent (EBGames) has an interesting replacement policy on controllers. You can buy a $70 controller, and then pay $15 for the in-store replacement warranty. If/when they replace it as part of the warranty coverage, you can purchase the warranty again on the new controller for $15 and repeat that again towards the end of the warranty period again and again.
My only guess is that they make more profit off of selling those warranties and refurbishing/selling used controllers than they do on selling new controllers.
33. Lieutenant Dan tried to tell y’all.
Socks. No more cheap socks for me.
From now on I only buy socks made from 100% merino wool.
Typically Darn Tough socks since they have a lifetime warranty.
I agree with most of these, and I think tennis shoes are at the top of my list.
What do you always splurge on? Tell us why in the comments!
