What do you feel is worth spending extra on?

[ChocolateHobbit]

I've got a bit obsessed with saving money, and as a result I'm constantly buying everything on the cheap. However, I sometimes wonder if I spent a bit more on certain things I'd benefit in some way.

For example, perhaps I'd properly hide my dark circles rather than sort of hide them, with a more expensive and better quality concealer.

Maybe if I bought a really decent brand new SUV, rather than stick with my older trusty Volvo which I own outright, I may worry less about whether it'll pass the MOT this year. Maybe it's a worthy investment.

Just a couple of examples.

What do you feel is worth spending a bit extra on, and what's NOT worth it?

If your really penny pinching I’ll tell you what I used to do in uni - for the whole 5 years I never paid for loo roll I just used to nick it from bars and restaurants toilets. I was going to bars and restaurants so obviously I wasn’t flat broke lol once I started it just became some kind of weird challenge to see who could last the longest. If you push the lock on most loo roll dispensers they’re not actually locked.

Worth spending on:
Bin bags, kitchen roll, bagels (the Lidl own brand ones taste like sand to me), tomatoes that you’re going to eat raw
Not worth spending on:
Mascara (it’s the shape of the brush that makes the difference imo), lipliner, lipgloss

Everything

revelation: this may be why I’m poor 😂

Bin liners - M&S scented 50L ones or Addis recycled 50L off amazon
Agree with coats and shoes. Would probably say bags too - not necessarily just for appearance/brand but durability especially if its for work.
Food - fruit, as it just seems to be a false economy to buy Aldi fruit that deteriorates within a day or so. You can economise on cheap vegetables that will be cooked and seasoned.

I don’t mind spending money on

Meat
Hotels (We only take 2 breaks each year, but I will only stay in a 4 star)
Wine
Hairdresser
Shoes and coats, hence why they last for several years, so I’m good for coats for the next ten or so
Estée Lauder foundation (which has recently been discontinued) 😭
Furniture

I buy Aldi or supermarket own brand for most things - ketchup, jam, teabags, tinned tomatoes, pasta etc
Ive also found that I prefer most budget makeup ranges for eye makeup

Oh yes, heating.

I know of many people who take great pride in proclaiming that they don’t put the heating on

Fairy washing detergent and softener

🤣🤣

Mature cheddar

Handbags 😂

Tinned tomatoes, Mutti are the best. And Yorkshire tea bags.

I like your examples. both of these make your life better. The car might even be cheaper in the long run than forking out for repairs. The concealer allows you to wear less makeup overall and feel more confident at work or when socialising by feeling less self conscious about the dark circles.

I spend more on serums as they sit directly on the skin and have more active ingredients. Less on moisturiser. Cleanser, shower gel, handwash can be cheap own brand ones as they are designed to be washed off. more expensive foundation, lipliner. Everything else is cheaper end.

I buy most things cheaper end, apart from washing up liquid and certain cleaning products as they last longer.

Spend more on furniture, less on decorative items.

Bin liners, loo rolls, butter, waterproofs… I work on a dairy farm (lots of water, rain, sweat and cows’ bodily fluids involved!), and Regatta doesn’t cut it. Oh, and steep toe-capped wellies. Dunlops are cheap, but impossibly uncomfortable to wear all day.

I try to get a deep tissue massage every so often, because they are supposed to relieve tension which can lead to migraines. Sure enough, when I stopped having them due to the expense, I had more migraines.

I recently bought a set of expensive kitchen knives (which her on sale if you bought them with the knife block). Oh, my! I couldn’t believe the difference. I can cut cleanly through salmon*, instead of hacking it into fillets!

*I buy whole/half salmons (usually around £20) and cut it up myself. It works out cheaper, tastes better, and they are actually fill-your-tummy fillets instead of salmon slivers

Didriksons is my favourite, properly waterproof but decent enough styling to wear around town.
If you don’t mind looking like you’re about to climb a fell then Paramo is excellent.

Neither brand is cheap but absolutely worth the price, I can go out in a downpour and know that under my coat my clothes are actually dry.

I bought Didriksons ‘Erika’ parka for around £150 in November and with all the rain we’ve had over the last couple of months it’s been the best thing I’ve purchased in a long time.

I will spend a bit more when on holiday for a conveniently located and good hotel.

I second Didriksons. I bought one in a sale last year, not having really considered the brand before, and it's great. Lightweight but very waterproof. Flattering shape too.

Good quality food and clothes. This makes me feel good inside and out

Cheap sellotape is awful - once bought pack of 3 out of B&M and couldn’t get one strip out of all the rolls - never again. I was so frustrated the air was blue and they all went straight in the bin.

Agree with the majority of suggestions on here but need to try these vine tomatoes that keep being mentioned!

I went through a phase of buying quality £££ red wine and can honestly say that it’s not that much better than Sainsbury’s own brand - after one glass they all taste much the same and I always have more than one glass 🤣

Good quality food
getting hair done professionally
make up

The better gins cause less hangover and fever tree tonic doesn't leave an aftertaste like slimline tonics. On the subject of kitchen roll..I swear by the Lidl one that £1.40 ISH per roll.

YES

And I will add to this, a decent bin. You have to use it every day so make it easy! We have a brilliant SimpleHuman one.

Wolford tights. I have some opaques that have just survived their 4th Winter and are still immaculate.

Bed linen. Our quilts are 100% Hungarian goosedown and we have them in various togs. Our sheets are 1000ct Egyptian cotton sateen from Belledorm, okay so they're £130 a pop but they're indestructible and will likely be passed on to future generations.

First class rail travel.

Conversely, I've sworn by Bobbi Brown Sheer Lip Tint in Raspberry for years even though it's now £32. But had to resort to No7 Hydraluminous Lip Balm in Raspberry and it's so much better and a only £9!

Dog poo bags.
cat food.
dog food.

Yorkshire tea.

Charlie Bighams ready meals.

chicken.
bread.
wine.

Worth paying more for:

Wellington boots
Shoes
Waterproofs
Perfume (any made in France smell fatty on my skin)
Carpet - bought 80% wool for last house which was immaculate when we left. This house has acrylic which looked grim after a couple of years.
Teabags
Sellotape

Not worth paying extra:

Charlie Bigham ready meals - only tried the fish pie when it was on offer, but the mashed potato seemed to be just that. Potato mash. No butter nor cream in it, going on the taste.
Dog biscuits
Loo roll, though I buy Tesco/Sainsbury's not Lidl
Bran flakes
Weetabix - own brands taste similar.

Most mumsnetters then.

I can no longer drink cheap wine. It keeps me awake all night, and leaves me with horrible anxiety the next day

I was never a snob about taste

I spend a fortune on tyres - because it's absolutely worth every penny.