No matter how broke I am, I will not compromise on

[NorthEndGal]

Butter
If I only had a few dollars left, I'd still buy butter.
Not margarine, not 20-80 spread, just real pure butter.

Anything else, I'll do without, or by a substitute, etc

What is your "I'm not going without" thing?

Butter, good coffee and tea

Free range eggs, my face cream, tea and good coffee.

I do most of my shopping at Aldi / cheap street markets.
I cook from scratch as much as i can for reasons of economy.
I give the kids the good stuff, and use up the out of date / yuk myself.

I used to drink Twinings. Have tried to train myself to drink Aldi Earl Grey but its yukky. I buy Twinings on offer and eke it out for months.

I guess this thread could be re-titled:
'If you were painfully broke, what would be the 'last to go'?
For some it would be good coffee, for some lipstick, for some butter.

Or choose between food and heating

Exactly! It's like reading a middle class privilege tick list. Cleaners, hair do's and higher welfare meat ffs.

I understand the way the OP meant it to come across, I do, and I'm sure it was a sincere thread idea. But it's ridiculous.

Lurpak butter and Kenco coffee are my absolute no substitutes will do things.
Loo roll - I mostly always use Andrex (I judge a good loo roll on if it sticks to my bits :) ) but will substitute occasionally for Lidl's if I forgot to add to my amazon pantry delivery.

Weetabix. The cheap stuff is crap!

I have been proper skint and did just cut out some things - like - I'd eat dry toast rather than cheap marge. And I have just drunk tap water rather than bad cheap tea or juice.

Tomatoes, butter, bread

Weetabix. The cheap stuff is crap!

I think it's got worse - used to be edible when we really were broke but last lot - bought on top up shop - kids tried and then wouldn't touch and I had to use in baking - (something I wasn't doing when money was really tight)

Cheap coffee depends on the brand – some are very bitter so you end up making weaker coffees and adding more milk or sugar – not noticed such a difference with cheap tea so drank more of that.

I'd do what I had to do if I were that skint, but the thing that would annoy me most, personally, (so not including things that would be bad for DS or DH) would be not being able to afford my shampoo, given that it's the only one I've found that doesn't seriously irritate my scalp and leave me a flaky, itchy mess. I'd have to stop using shampoo at all and I've been there, done that, and did not enjoy the experience.

Yorkshire tea bags
Fairy liquid & Bounty kitchen towel - anything else is a false economy

A good bra, I was skint a few months ago and brought a cheap £6 bra from Asda, it was rubbish, I wore is one for a few hours and threw it away. It was the correct size but the boning in it left me in agony and it gave me no support either. May be cheap bras are okay if you are a small size but I am a 38GG.

I'd rather save up and buy 1 of my usual £40 (ish) bras than have 6 cheap rubbish ones.

Yes this thread talks more about luxury items than basics (not getting drawn into which one of those butter is!) but that’s the point - posters are saying they would rather go without than eat/drink the cheaper options.

Mine is high welfare, free range meat and eggs. When I couldn’t afford it my meals consisted of various concoctions of lentils, onions, carrots other cheap veg with potatoes or dried starch. When I started to be able to afford meat I had free range meat (very occasionally at first as it is a luxury). Same as coffee and tea. No one needs it - drinking water is cheaper - If you can afford frequent cups of cheap brands of these (which not everyone can) then you can afford occasional cups of more expensive brands.

The product that has been mentioned most here is butter. Is that a middle class tick list product now?

Some people are looking for offence where there is none intended. It's not a competition. I don't see why I have to justify how poor I have been previously to say I like butter now.

'If you were painfully broke, what would be the 'last to go'?

Things for the kids - cotton trousers/clothes for Eczema prone DS as they are a trigger, washing powder same reason would use less or wash without.

Education support stuff for kids – they’ve all struggled at some point – might have to wait or find cheaper alternative but we’d still get it unless it was choice between no food/heat rather than poorer quality/ less heating.

There are lots of people living in what is classified as 'poverty' in the UK who still choose one product over another! I am not talking when you get to the 7p noodles or starve choices, but millions including children live in poverty and still have some agency over how they spend their (smaller) amount of money- be it on food (like the Flake I would buy when living off £25 a week), alcohol, cigarettes, TV (which is cheap entertainment) or even illegal drugs. People do find money for enjoyment and luxuries, even when poor. In fact, there's a whole body of literature that explains why small 'luxuries' such as smoking a fag (if you are a smoker) matter a lot when you live in a shit environment and have very little.

It's ridiculous to suggest people who are 'broke' have no choices to make as consumers whatsoever, even if those choices are more constrained or not what others would choose.

ChicCroissant

None intended of course, but a very badly worded OP none the less.

Same as coffee and tea. No one needs it - drinking water is cheaper - If you can afford frequent cups of cheap brands of these (which not everyone can) then you can afford occasional cups of more expensive brands.

I think I had more hot drinks when money was really tight the houses we lived in were cold in winter because it was cheaper than heating the house – lots of layers, all in small room and lots of hot drinks or go out somewhere heated.

We'll have to agree to disagree on that point CatsWearingHats. I don't think the OP is badly worded but some poster are interpreting it in a way that means they take offence and feel able to launch their judgement on other posters. That can be the main attraction of MN though!

So- buying a cheap 'new' clothes seems silly to me as I use charity shops, but a lot of mums living in poverty will think that signals poverty to wear second-hand clothes and prefer to buy new, even if they go into debt to do so.

Buying Lurkpak is probably £2.50 on offer. If the OP is single and doesn't use much, it would last a month. That's actually an excellent luxury item to choose if it gives you pleasure every day, costs a small amount and doesn't hurt anyone else.

Coffee and teabags. Cannot compromise these days in these things!

This is more to the right point 'If you were painfully broke, what would be the 'last to go'?

Organic chicken, eggs, butter and bread.

Maldon perfect salt- I’d rather not have any if there’s only table salt.

The OP said "no matter how broke I am, I will not compromise on" and obviously there are huge huge variables of what people consider "broke" because yes, ChicCroissant when I was broke, I was more concerned about when I was going to eat next and if I'd have somewhere safe to sleep than my next hair appointment for highlights or having lurpac slightly salted in etc.

I'm fortunate now, I'm not in that situation and haven't been for a long time. I'm not looking for offence, i don't find it offensive as such, like I said, it's just amazing what people consider to be essential. The person who suggested "what would be the last thing to go" probably worded it better.

I choose less of those things, rather than more battery farmed stuff because of animal welfare btw.