What’s something you buy which is cheap/basic that is really good?

[Earbogeys]

Mine is bars of unscented soap from (predictably) Aldi, and also Waitrose own salt and vinegar crisps.

What gems are in your life?

Rina I would be worried about breathing in substances that are not meant to be inhaled from the unstoppables melting.

@Rina66 its very dangerous to use them as a wax melt they produce toxic fumes and can affect breathing x

Rimmel soft kohl eyeliner, absolutely the best

Vosene shampoo. I have really oily hair and Vosene makes it shine like silk. I also like that menthol smell it has.

Asda George Rose Oud double wick candle. It's 4 quid, lasts for ages and smells like it should cost about £70. I'm on my fourth.

@Rina66 I would seriously advise against putting unstoppables in a wax burner.. besides the fact they are actually flammable! They release toxins into the air, with prolonged exposure can lead to respiratory tract infections etc, it’s really not safe. You can get wax melts for about a quid in a pack from b&m etc (probably cheaper than unstoppables anyway)

In regards to op, I used to be a bit of a washing snob tbh but the last few months I’ve been using own brand washing tablets and fabric softener, Tesco’s own are actually brilliant, smell lovely and so much cheaper.
Own brand digestives always taste better than mcvities.
Primark pants and socks.
Tesco’s lactose free milk tastes so much better than the branded one.

elbow grease spray,
Rice that you cook (rather than the pouches you reheat),
lard,
giving up fabric conditioner,
dove bubble bath as handwash (really helps cracked eczema hands),
taking cup of tea out in insulated cup (hate tea out of cardboard, and resent paying £2+ for something that costs me 10p)

OTOH always worth paying for:

mutti tinned tomatoes, they taste amazing and you really do notice in the final dish

Yorkshire Gold teabags, nothing else comes close

Sainsbury lavender polish - only 65p and has a lovely smell.

Lidl's version of Cadbury's animal biscuits.
Likewise their Neo biscuits- dupe of Oreo.
Asda Potato Rings- copy of Hoola Hoops.
I also like all Supermarket Radox bath stuff dupes. Currently using the 'Sleep' one from Asda and it's lovely.

Atrix handcream - cheap and it does a great job
Olive bar soap - I wash literally my whole body and face with it and it’s brilliant stuff
Rimmel nail polish - not super cheap but definitely less expensive then OPI, Chanel etc, nice quality and beautiful colours

Yeah don’t put Unstoppables in a burner (I used to work for P&G, indirectly). To be honest knowing what’s in them I wouldn’t even put them in my washing machine.

It’s not cheap in itself but it is because it replaces loads of other products — black Marseille liquid soap. I get it from a French company. It cleans anything except people (ordinary Marseille soap will do that) and you can also use it as an insect spray for plants. I buy a 750ml bottle and it lasts months because it’s so concentrated.

@Rina66 I’d stop burning Unstoppables unless you want to be unwell and have a house fire. www.blackcountrychamber.co.uk/news/article/dangers-of-burning-fabric-softeners-such-as-unstoppables/

Sainsbury's basic range of tinned meals - chicken curry and chilli particularly are great. Not high in salt or sugar, really nice with an extra dash of spice. Not a gourmet feast to serve to guests, but totally fine on a jacket potato.

Own brand passata cheap as anything and just as good.

Please stop burning fabric conditioner it's full of chemicals was it a "top tip" from somewhere?

cancel the cheque

Stop the Unstoppables.

I switched away from alot of unbd=nded stuff a while back. Sometimes the quality os not quite as good, but the extra cost isjust not worth it.

I have saved a small fortune of toilet roll since switching from Andrex to Lidl soft. No, they are not quite as soft, but they are about half the price.

Lidl washing powder is just as good as the branded stuff for a fraction of the price.

Morrisons own biscuits are much cheaper and very nice.

I finally taught my adult son how to cook rice and save money on those microwave pouches.

I also switched to dove soap. It lasts ages and is plastic free. Much better than all the shower gel and hand wash I used to buy.

If I really want to save money then I go to Farm Food with their money off coupons and bulk buy all of the beans, soup, tea, coffee, pepsi max (so much cheaper from there in the 2L bottles) etc.

Superdrug naturally radiant skincare range. I switched from Estée Lauder and my skin has never been better.

Astral moisturiser
Aldi Lacura hyaluronic serum
Home Bargains wax melts

Buying a bag of frozen broccoli and some Stilton.makes lots of soup very cheaply.
Just fry and onion, and whatever and add a stock cube.

Elbow grease, £1 a bottle and seems to get stains out of anything.

Aldi dishwasher tablets

Oh and Poundland eyebrow pencil.

Surcare washing powder is the best I've found (hard water area) and it's eczema friendly very little fading /colour loss

Cheap white vinegar on hot water for windows & mirrors, then rubbing off with newspaper

Tesco cheapest apple & blackcurrant squash is my fave over any branded squash

Plain bottle of witch Hazel. Have always used it for face cleaning/toning. Git my DDIL into it who had bad skin. She swears by it now, her skin has cleared up and glows. £1.10 from Home Bargins

A rice cooker. Cost about £20 but it's saved me hundreds in replaced burnt on pans/time scrubbing them plus we actually eat rice regularly which has saved money because rice is cheaper than oven chips or whatever else we would have had with the food instead.