What Items Do You Refuse to Scrimp On?

We all have little things that we do to cut corners and save money.

But what things are you willing to spend extra, and settle for nothing but the best, even when it costs more?

I'll kick this off with 3 items where I refuse to scrimp:

Coca-Cola ... I'm a lifelong Coke-head. I buy it in the 2-L size, Coke Classic with the red label, and go through a bottle about every other day. I've tried house-brand colas, and some of them are decent and half the price that CC costs. But I'll spend the extra for CC simply because its the best tasting soda I've ever tried. I'll even pass up Pepsi that severely discounted to get CC at full price.

Toilet Paper ... I can buy a 4-pack of cheap toilet paper for about $0.99, but the sheets are thin and rough, and when I use them, I don't really feel like I'm getting myself as clean as I want to be. My purchase last week was Cottonelle, with Aloe and Vitamin E, 6 rolls for $4.99. It replaced some el-cheapos that my roommate had picked up, but I didn't even wait to run out the last of those before I upgraded to the best I could find at the store.

Cigarettes -- A lot of my co-workers smoke these generic cigarettes. I've tried 'em but they taste like sawdust. For about a year, I thought I was saving money by buying Marlboro '72s, but I found that I was going through a whole pack in less than a day, because they didn't deliver enough nicotine, and I smoked them twice as fast. So I switched back to my previous brand, Camel Wides. They cost $1 more per pack than the Marlboros, but they deliver a lot more flavor and a lot more nicotine, so one pack lasts me 2 days. And those e-cigs that are supposed to be so healthy and save you money? I tried it once and it tasted horrible. No, thanks, I'll stick with my Camels, even if they're one of the most expensive brands at the convenience store.

So there you have it ... these are a couple of my "Money is no object" purchases ... what are yours?

Funny thing about Coke. I prefer Diet Pepsi (gotta watch the calories) but Coke is medicinal for me. I have a rare condition called Achalasia where food has difficulty getting from the esophagus to the stomach. The Coke acts as a lubricant (or maybe drain cleaner) to move it along. Works better than Pepsi, water, milk, and dozens of other fluids I have tried.

For places I don't scrimp:

1. Bacon - gotta be thick cut, premium brand bacon.

2. Computer equipment, tablets, smartphones - since I run my business on them, they have to be fast and powerful. No scrimping here.

3. Sound System - I lusted after my wife's Bose computer speakers for years, so when mine finally dies, I picked up a Bose Sounlink Mini which does double duty as my computer speaker and a portable speaker for my tablet and smart phone. Gorgeous sound that beats others I listened to at much higher prices.

Computer- it has to be a mac. I am not a fan boy by any means but just got tired of the $200 computers crapping out on me after 2 years, and dealing with windows crap.
Car parts- other than the expendable car parts like filters. OEM parts fit the first time, I don't have to splice connectors, and are better quality and they are not that much more expensive than the generic part from auto zone.

Air travel: always choose Singapore Airlines whenever they are an option. Safety and service are pretty important to me.

Winter gear. Hats, coats, gloves, boots, and such.

Tyres (Tires) - absolutely will not skimp on these and buy the best I can

Meat - cheap just will not do, it's nowhere near the quality

Footwear - I'd go barefoot before I'd put cheap, bad footwear anywhere near my feet. It just isn't worth it!

Anything really when it's false economy to buy cheap. Paint is a very good example of this too!

August West said:

Winter gear. Hats, coats, gloves, boots, and such.

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+1

Wow. You guys already have some great choices.

Shaving Soap. If it's great soap, I'll spend whatever it costs. The most expensive stuff in the world costs maybe 25cents/shave. I can bear that cost to get exactly what I like.

Shoes. My feet are hard to fit and I'll spend what I have to to get it right.

Ice Cream. Generic ice cream sucks. I'll pay for the upgrade and eat a smaller helping.

Cold weather gear for hunting. Have you ever been in a duck blind or a cornfield at dawn in 10 degree weather? That's no time to regret one's choices.

Hunting dog. My girl, now retired, was not cheap but she is the single most important element of an upland hunt. Without her enthusiasm, drive and intelligence, the whole day is lost. I had a conversation with a hunter one day who had a 5k dollar over/under, drove a top of the line Ford Crew Cab and wore 300 dollar boots and 200 dollar sunglasses. He insisted that no dog should cost more than 300 dollars because that's what his dad paid for a dog 40 years ago. To his credit, after a day in the field with my pup, he went out and spent nearly 2k to get one from the same kennel.

Luggage. After having luggage break in various cities around the globe, I started spending more. Can't say enough about Briggs & Riley. Have one of their expandables which I bought 7 years ago. Lifetime guarantee. They've fixed it twice for free. No questions asked. This thing has been BRUTALIZED. It's got at least 100 miles of pulling in NYC streets alone.

Direct flights. Do I really have to explain this one?

Anything having to do with supporting business customers.

GordyN said:

Tyres (Tires) - absolutely will not skimp on these and buy the best I can

Meat - cheap just will not do, it's nowhere near the quality

Footwear - I'd go barefoot before I'd put cheap, bad footwear anywhere near my feet. It just isn't worth it!

Anything really when it's false economy to buy cheap. Paint is a very good example of this too!

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Oooh. Good use of "false economy".

1. Shoes : Need to be comfortable and look good. I never compromise on what I like for shoes.
2. Shirts : I buy the best I can, and at times get custom stitched ones so the collar and shoulders align perfect. Also am picky about the cuffs and buttons.
3. Bacon and Salami : My favorite food. India does not have much variety (like the States; which was Bacon Nirvana when I went over) but I try different brands and stick to the good ones.
4. Electrical Connectors : Be it RJ45 cables, multi-plug kits, UPS units, broad band end connectors, HDMI cables. These have to be a snug fit and should not leak signal.
5. Tools : Wrench sets, screw driver sets, pliers, basic home tools. I hate handling cheap tools, which do not work or break under pressure.

Anything in the personal hygiene category. Including toilet paper!

One big one for me is food. I do try the "store brand" but 9/10 it fails in comparison to the name brand stuff as far as taste goes. And taste is all that matters to me when it comes to food. If I gotta pay extra then so be it.

I see a lot of guys have mentioned shoes. A big +1 on that.

Safety shoes are required on my job. The company gives us $60 to cover the cost of buying shoes, and will give another $60 when you turn in a worn-out pair.
A lot of my co-workers will go buy a cheap $30 pair from Walmart, and then pocket the difference.

The all laughed when I showed up in a $165 pair of RedWings. I used the company's $60 and put out $105 from my own pocket. I tried to explain to them about quality, durability, and comfort, but it fell on deaf ears. I had the last laugh, though, because their feet were in a lot of pain half-way through the shift, and I was still going strong by the end of the day. And my $165 pair are still in use, while my co-workers have replaced their $30 shoes a dozen times or more in the same length of time.

Toothpick said:

Anything in the personal hygiene category. Including toilet paper!

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And name-brand Q-tips. Generic cotton swabs just don't cut it.

One big one for me is food. I do try the "store brand" but 9/10 it fails in comparison to the name brand stuff as far as taste goes. And taste is all that matters to me when it comes to food. If I gotta pay extra then so be it.

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I do buy store-brand food for basic staples like bread, milk, eggs, vegetable juice, pasta, canned goods, and household cleaners like detergent, witch hazel, isopropyl alcohol.

Some of the things where I insist on Brand Names are the aforementioned Coca-Cola, Jarlsburg Swiss Cheese, GrandMa UTZ potato chips, and spices. As a Native BaltiMoron, I'm partial to McCormick's, but I also indulge in some fancy spices like Colman's Mustard from England.

I agree wholeheartedly on toilet paper. I can't stand cheap "John Wayne" TP.

I don't scrimp but I also do not drop serious bank on the most expensive either.

I get Mountain Dairy Milk which is in the middle between the store brand and Creamland. I could never stand the taste of creamland or the store brand. For some reason Borden disappeared from my area so Mountain Dairy it is.

My shoes gotta be 80.00 custom made converse. My shoe size is exceedingly hard to find in any brand of shoes.

Beer... I do not ever buy Coors (except for batch 19), Bud, Schlitz, Warsteiner, Heinekins, Brcks, Stella Artois. or Millers. I usually go straight to the Harp or Guinness selection.

Peanut butter. I get the natural made stuff that you have to stir before using. Costs 2 bucks more than Jiffy or whatever but it is worth it.

I have a HFCS intolerance so I pay extra for the products that do not use HFCS. Products like, Spaghetti Sauce, Pepsi, Tortillas. Ketchup, Pizza, BBQ sauce, jelly, Sweet and Sour Sauce etc...

My green Chile has to be bought then roasted and peeled by me. The store frozen or canned stuff just won't do.

I use New Mexico made Honey, Salsa, Enchilada sauce, pinons, and Pitschios, and Boschitio (those cookies with sugar, star anise and cinnamon) cookies only. I detest Pace salsa.

the_edski said:

I agree wholeheartedly on toilet paper. I can't stand cheap "John Wayne" TP.

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They called him the "Duke" for a reason

Shaving products. I only want the best, so Queen Charlotte Soaps is all I use. Nothing else will do!


Ok, on a more serious note:

-flip flops - I will only purchase Rainbows.

-plastic wrap - I will only use Stretch-Tite.

-food storage, cups, etc. - I will only use glass. I do not care about BPA-free. Plastic just grosses me out.

-medicine - No generics for me. My doctor and pharmacist friends are split on the issue, though.

-food - Only organic and pastured/grass-fed/whatever. To me, food is like medicine, so if that means spending triple what the average person spends on food, I will happily make sacrifices in other parts of my life.

I am sure there are more that I cannot think of.


I never never really compared toilet paper. I always use inexpensive toilet paper (not the brown, extremely rough type, though), but I may experiment next time.

Like a few have said it's winter clothing for me, I sit out in the cold fishing a lot and hardly move so quality boots, socks, jacket etc are very important.
Hand and power tools are another thing I don't scrimp on, I use them for my job and having the best tools I can reasonably afford really helps.

My wife and I are trying hard to pay down our student loans right now, so not much is off the table when it comes to saving some cash. We've both started shopping at Goodwill for clothes (but not shoes), and I've gotten my last couple of pairs of shoes from Walmart (sure they don't last as long, but I can buy 4 pair). Food prices have started getting a little out of hand, so we go with generic a lot there too.

The one thing I will not be stingy about is my Air Conditioning. We live in AZ, and I'll pay the extra cash to be comfortable in my home. When most people have their AC set in the low 80s, I keep mine at 76 at night, 78 during the day. Doesn't sound like much, but in the summer that could be as much as $150 difference in cost.

Replacement parts for my car. If you buy the cheapest, China made parts, you'll just be doing the job again soon.