To ask your suggestions what it's ok to cheap out on?

[lettymoo]

I recently saw a thread about things it's worth spending more on to get better quality, but I was hoping to start a discussion about what things it makes absolutely no difference at all with and the lowest priced versions are just as good.

Some of the things I'll buy the cheapest/value version of include:
painkillers
medications
tortilla chips
cleaning products (although I'm starting to wonder about this)
printer paper
disposable razors
cotton wool pads

Would love to hear your suggestions!

Passata

Kitchen roll but not toilet paper!

Second tortilla chips
Salted roasted cashews
Rice pouches
Sparkling water

I got a lot of ideas from the eat well for less series. When they swapped people’s brands the majority went unnoticed or where preferred. Just need to work on brand snob DH!

Bathroom hand soap (I decant lemon fairy into a posh bottle)
Shampoo (tresemme is cheap and most versions have no sulfates which are nasty to your hair) - I don’t cheap out on conditioner and products though.
Foil and baking paper
Toothbrush (buy cheap-ish ones and change more often)
Kitchen roll
Pillow cases- if you still get spots, buy 10 sets in cheap 100% cotton and change them daily. I put 5 on at a time and remove one each night. Life changer for my skin. If I’m having company I’ll put the set that matches the duvet on for looks but they mostly stay in the airing cupboard.

I bought a shaver, works out so much cheaper. I can't use cheap razors, though.

I like Primark's Pj's, I wash them on a hot wash and they don't shrink.

Argos/B&M versions of kalkax units etc.

Wilkinsons paint. In fact a lot of their stuff.

I like cheap diet Lemonade.

Aldi/Lidl chocolate, across some of the range.

Compost, stock up at B&M and feed it.

For me, Nail Varnish remover.

Air freshener refills. I buy some for £1 and they do the same job.

Sainsbury's rooibos tea.

Pasta!

Pasta
Tinned tomatoes
Rice
Spices
Baby wipes

Certain things I won't swap
Loo roll
Lurpak

Things that I only ever buy on offer (and have an amount in my head that I won't breach)
Posh coffee
Teabags
Shower gel
Hand soap
Washlets
Toothbrushes

I buy almost everything locally and try to be as eco as possible, not always the cheapest but it has its pros. For example I use Bio D surface cleaner that’s about £5.00, it’s concentrate but can go into squirty bottles and lasts about 6 months and can be used for everything.
Otherwise I’ll have shops own brand stuff all the time.

Value squash and fizzy pop.
Own brand mayo, marmite and salad cream.
Tuna
Noodles

Cheap foil is a false economy here-it ends up getting caught and tearing on silly bumps and makes me very cross!

Shower gel - its only on your skin a few seconds.

Aldi/Lidl cleaning products, bleach, etc.

Pasta and rice.

Tinned fruit and veg.

Most things to be honest!!

I very rarely buy branded goods unless they are the only thing available for that product. The odd exception where it's clear there's a quality difference but most of the time you can't tell the difference for most things.

Flour
Sugar
Eggs
Butter
Cocoa etc

I have a side cake business and Aldi or value brands of individual ingredients perform just as well as long as the recipe is good.

Socks (primark)
Cotton pads (primark 50p for a pack)
Kitchen sponges
Baby wipes and floor wipes (aldi)
Toilet roll (it is literally for wiping your arse, no need to be fancy)

Any basics. Paracetamol, ibuprofen, cotton buds, pads, flour, sugar, butter, pasta. Would never had said toilet roll - the proper economy 18p a roll stuff is vile - but for eg a £1.49 lidl pack of 4 is absolutely NO different wuakity wise to a waitrose £3.50 version. Oh and nappies! Aldi and Lidl are now my actual preference. Any tinned goods, fruit and veg, and basic meat like chicken breasts or mince.

Don’t buy rice pouches - buy a big bag, it is far, far cheaper!

The only thing we don't cheap out on are tea, fizzy drinks, waffles, ham and tuna!! On the toilet roll, once all we could find was Andres and the 4 rolls lasted sooo much longer than the 9 rolls of cheaper paper. Historic moment but we still could never bring ourselves to buy again ;)

TickledOnion totally agree with the baking ingredients! Flour is flour is flour, ignoring "specially fine ground" or gluten free. Examples ASDA (not Smart Price) 54p per 1.5kg, Homepride £1.50 for 1kg, McDougalls 79p for 500g. So paying up to 4.5x as much for a brand.

Some things I may not get the very cheapest on offer, but decent own brand loo roll is just as good as named brands for example. Supermarket own brands higher quality are often cheaper than name brands budget versions, so things like honey, jam, chilled desserts, ice cream all worth getting.

Tinned food and cooking ingredients is usually ok.

Minced beef. In fact the cheaper fattier stuff tastes better in a lot of recipes.

I'm fine with cheapest margarine.

Own brand teabags are fine, but "value" ones are liable to be awful.

Don't cheap out on bread, it's not worth it, the bread makes or breaks the sandwich for me. Also by all means try cheaper pop but the taste is never the same; I insist on real Dr Pepper for example.

I'd think twice before cheaping out on cleaning products. Look for bargains but you still want it to be good or you'll be wasting your time.

The only foods I won't go cheap on are butter and teabags. I always stick to the one brand of butter. I've tried others and they're either too oily or too salty.
Teabags purely because I like very strong tea and the only 'strong' bags I can find are Robert Roberts.

Otherwise about 95% of my grocery shopping is from Aldi.

For me, I'd say

Flour
Chopped tomatoes
Dried pasta
Cleaning cloths
Bleach

Oh, and on the rare occasion I drink something fizzy it has to be Coca Cola. Own brand coke just doesn't cut it.

Cheese YMMV on. I find value cheese (and cottage cheese) inconsistent, and sometimes it has a strang eggy taste to it I still eat it though, but others might be pickier.

TickledOnion my friend has a cake business and she buys stuff from Costco as says it is much cheaper.

For us: chopped tomatoes, kitchen roll, bleach, kitchen pasta, frozen veg. I do tend to only buy stuff that is on special offer.

Paracetamol

Baking paper - Home Bargains BP is far superior to more expensive stuff

Bleach - like paracetamol, the basic chemistry is the same regardless of the branding

Don't scrimp on butter, has to be Lurpak and buy M&S loo roll, far better than Andrex and better value.

If you are slow cooking meat then you can buy the cheapest.