To ask for a guide as to what's genuinely worth spending a bit more on?

[TattyOldbit]

My default setting is cheapest, but I also get that cheapest often costs more in the long run.

Fruitbatdancer
I think you're being goatist, Welsh goats don't have beards

For me I always think buy the best you can afford.
High thread count bed linen, furniture, carpets, flooring
For me not shoes, or clothes.

Shoes.

For most other things I can find an excellent product at a reasonable price, but for shoes this is not possible.

Shoes, beds and haircuts. Always worth getting the best you can afford.

For DS - school shoes
Me - winter boots, bras and coffee

Agree with so much of this. I would say:

Shoes/boots
Dental care
Facial serum
Perfume
Bags - not designer or anything, but I tend to use the same leather bag all the time rather than chopping and changing
Tights - about five years ago I bought one pair of Falke opaques a month for six months, and chucked all my other tights out. They are still going strong except one that the cat ruined.
Insurance. Never skimp.

The stuff you use every day.

For me, that's wellies. I wear them virtually every day for three seasons of the year, and I have awful circulation in my feet, and flat feet as well. So warm, comfortable, supportive wellies that look alright are essential - to me. Worth every penny.

For you that thing may be wellies, or a bag, or a bike, or a car or a coat but work out what that thing is for you. A pair of beautifully comfortable designer heels woukd be wasted on me for instance, but not necessarily on you!

Shoes
Coats
Jewellery
Bed
Sofa
Carpet and underlay
Knives
Bakeware
Coffee

Perfume.

Bin bags, washing up liquid, pet insurance!

Bin liners. Cheap/thin bin liners are the very devil.
I am not allowed to buy batteries for our household anymore. I kept getting them in Poundland & DH wants ‘proper’ ones.

It depends on what you think is important in your life. I am very much a bargain hunter but the important things/things that i can't live without is where i will spend money. For example, we go through a ton of washing between uniforms, Clothes and sports kits. I went through several washing machines before i bought a decent(ish) one which has stood the test of time. Same with soap power, cheap ones seem to make my sports wear fade quickly, i now buy branded. Not having a washer was hell on earth for me, and having to replace faded sports kits is too expensive.

Shoes- i struggle with sizes regardless of cheap or expensive so i generally but cheap but comfy. Trainers on the other hand, have to be nike for me, cheap ones are no good for sport for various reasons. Ive had 2 pairs of nike air max for 3 or 4 years, i wear trainers 6 days a week for several hrs at a time and are still going strong!

We bought a generic brand tv ages ago but the sound went crap after 3 years. Still useable but not the best. We then bought a samsung which again is still going strong several yrs later.
Perfume, i dont wear it alot but it has to be genuine. Cheap knock offs make me ill, never smell the same and dont last so you end up using more by re-spraying yourself throughout the day.
So it depends on what you class as important imo. What couldn't you live without or would be highly inconvenienced by if it broke down etc? That's where to start.

I have bought high end knives. I still can't cook.

They are really only useful for cutting stuff up, you still have to be able to cook. Maybe what you need is a cook book?

Washing up liquid
Dishwasher tabs
Teabags

I think most quality names rely on their past reputation and aren't half as good as they were once upon a time.

I disagree with a lot of the things mentioned on here. A lot of it is nasty and half of it unethical. If you want quality nowadays you're better buying something antique!

I will concede on the bin bags though. Cheaper bin bags are only stron enough to hold paper!

I agree with many of these things:
Mattress and bedding - definitely worth paying more
Shoes & clothes - mid-range is fine for me. I buy cheap stuff if I like it, but it really doesn’t last as long. I bought some T shirts a couple of years ago from Sainsbury’s and from LandsEnd, the difference 2 years on with similar wear is amazing.
Shoes I think it depends on your feet.
Groceries - can’t be doing with cheap bread, sausages, tea, coffee, jam, ketchup or b beans. Anything else I’m not that bothered!
Loo roll - the cheap stuff is definitely not worth the sacrifice!

Shoes and mattresses

Completely disagree.

Best mattress I've ever had was £150 for a king from ikea! so much comfier than all the fancy ones.

Not shoes. Expensive shoes get dirty, down at heel and stretched in all price brackets.

Carpet maybe.
Coffee

I find most things these days are no better or worse than you’d expect them. Lots of “ expensive” things are available much cheaper somewhere online/outlets/ warehouse sales etc. And lots of expensive things are just expensive names.

Cycling shorts

I realise this is fairjy niche.

It totally depends on what you consider to be expensive, I only buy Clarks shoes because I need a narrow width and half size, the minimum cost is about £30 which one of my colleagues thinks is completely extravagant because she can get shoes for £5 from shoe zone, but some people would consider £30 to be cheap and would spend £100 on a pair of shoes.

Bedding - nothing beats getting into lovely high thread count sheets.

My 20 yr + white cotton sheets still look like new.

Tea

Cornflakes

Foundation

Perfume

Wine

Agree about mattresses. I get a bad back on some beds. Pocket springs and well padded. My last one cost £1000 in the sale 20 years ago but was still fine. Replaced it last year and it cost the same. My DPs spent £4000 on theirs but sleep in them every night for 10 years so it's about £1 a night.

Also agree good quality supportive shoes. Nothing worse than sore feet. Same with walking boots and walking gear. Again miserable with sore feet or feeling cold and wet with inadequate clothes.

Food. I bought only organic food for DC for the first 5 years or so. Still do for meat for DH or anything where I need to avoid synthetic additives.

Disagree re skincare. A friend was a marketing director. She showed me factory codes. A lot of skincare is made in the same place with v similar ingredients. Main difference is packaging. It was a long time ago but my Clinique and her M&S were almost identical.

We got a new mattress last year. I insisted on buying a fairly expensive one, probably from reading threads on here. Our last one was the cheapest we could get at the time about 12 years ago

It was so uncomfortable! For a month. After that,
I realised I no longer have lower back pain. Worth it.

For me it’s

• Skincare and foundation- I have really sensitive skin so I am devoted to things that don’t irritate me and don’t mind spending more
• Our weekly organic fruit and veg box delivery. Makes us eat healthier and is better for the environment
• Ketchup. There is no own brand version that tastes as good as Heinz!!