To ask what you think is worth spending a bit extra on?

[ethelfleda]

And what you think isn’t?
Can be anything - food, clothes, holidays etc etc?

For example, I’ve just bought some socks that are a cashmere blend and wonder how I could now ever go back to boring old cotton.
Likewise, I usually spend a bit more on coffee for good quality. But some food items such as tinned pulses - I don’t think it matters buying cheap.

What items do you spend a little more on because you think they’re worth it? And which do you buy the cheapest of because you can’t notice any difference?

Thanks for taking part in a mundane thread

Those of you who have said perfume or handbags, what sort of figures are we talking? cos I would think £50 for either is posh

We tried buying cheap instant coffee. I suppose it may be better now.

Cars. After seeing several accidents and knowing someone who work in motor insurance litigation I would never buy a car that isn’t a merc/bmw/jag etc. It’s a death wish.

Meat - I find cheap meat in the U.K. inedible and I don’t see any issue with eating meat rarely if it means it doesn’t make me feel sick (or actually sick as it has on a few occasions).

Alcohol - again it’s better to have it less often anyway and the cheap stuff makes me feel ill (I mostly drink straight spirits so it’s definitely a quality thing).

Education - this is by far the most important consumable I’ve ever had. What’s the point of living if it’s in ignorance?

Health insurance- cheap insurers are a nightmare if you are claiming.

Shoes
Handbags
Coats
Dishwasher tablets

Coffee, you really get what you pay for (at least up to a certain price point)

Shoes, good shoes are much more comfortable and last ages. I have a pair of strappy leather sandals that were £50 10 years ago and still going strong.

Furniture solid wood is just better than flat pack chip board.

Matresses (and matresses over bed frames as you don't exactly sleep on the bed frame, it's just something to put the mattress on)

Lego, the real stuff is better quality with insanely small tolerances in manufacturing

Skin care. I have ridiculously sensitive combination skin. Enough said

Coats. I grew up poor so mostly had Ethel Austin or supermarket coats, then was a skint student so still couldn't afford a high quality coat. The first year I could afford a decent warm welcome properly waterproof coat was a revelation. It hit me some point in mid January that not once that winter had I shivered with cold whilst wearing my coat outside, for the first time ever. It lasted years too and I only don't wear it now because I'm too fat for it now. My ds now also gets an expensive coat (despite dp's protests 'because he'll have grown out of it in six months', and he has never once cried because he was so cold, something that happened to me every winter as a child)

Tinned tomatoes. I like the polish ones

Toys. My ds gets less but more expensive toys, that don't break as soon as you look at them. So he doesn't get upset that his toy car he's had for a week suddenly has no wheels, and when he's grown out of them they're still in good enough condition to pass on.

Chocolate. Cheap chocolate is gross and I'd rather have no chocolate at all than eat greasy brown sugar.

Perfume, like a pp said, copies just don't have the staying power. Doesn't have to be super expensive, something like paco rabbane lady million or Paul Smith rose will do, but they definitely last longer and smell nicer after drying down than say new look or lidl ones.

Flooring. Decent flooring lasts ages so works out cheaper in the long run. It's vimes boots theory all over with 90% of stuff. Buy cheap buy twice.

That said stuff like toilet roll, socks, kids clothes are fine cheap. Ds is
in clarks m&s shoes and coats but primark clothes. And the cheaper the sausages the better they taste

There are some brilliant 3 and 4 ply budget toilet paper, even better than Andrew. I used to use that years ago and the quality of that now is so poor.

Also so many people are equating price with quality. It is just not true. There are loads of lower priced items that are good quality.

Also the items made from the better more durable materials do not have to be found at high prices.

Just shop around for the better quality items. Dms, birkies, Cashmere etc can all be found cheap online or at ebay.

I buy good quality for most things and at the smallest budget but it worth it to find a bargain. Yesterday, i got a new with tags Windsmoor cashmere and wool coat for £15.

So buy cheap buy twice does not always apply.

You can have an expensive but badly made items too. Buy quality but shop around for that quality at a good price.

No way would I spend 125 on Dms, when I see them all the time for under £60.

Flights, bedding, bras and underwear and coats.

@flirtygirl has a very good point. Good quality doesn't have to be super expensive, and expensive doesn't always mean good quality.

There is also a point where the price you pay is mostly for the name and not really any measurable difference in quality.

I doubt very strongly that a £2000 coat is any warmer than a £200 one but I would put money a £200 coat being better made than a £20 one.

Cheese- cheap cheese lacks the depth of flavour

Whisky- I only like particular single malts

The big jobs on the house so they never have to be done again in my lifetime- am in the middle of having my kitchen done, never had a new one before, probably won't again so have invested in quality

Cornflakes
Make-up, Needs to be M.A.C etc
Ham
Bleach / bleach spray / any cleaning products

My toddler’s shoes (she has wide feet)

Tomatoes! Decent vine-ripened tomatoes are delicious. Cheap, watery ones shouldn’t even be called tomatoes.

And yes, yes to sturdy bin bags. The thin ones rip and spill rubbish everywhere.

Shampoo and conditioner for me. My hair is fine.
Washing up liquid has to be fairly liquid.
Squash and eggs for the DC

Spend more on:

Foundation (Lancôme or MAC)
Gin (Hendricks)
Shoes
Mascara (Lancôme)
Organic food
Coffee
Coats (Karen Millen - beautiful high quality that have lasted me for years and still look amazing)
Perfume

Cheap:

Serums/moisturiser - used to spend more on these until I discovered The Ordinary's excellent and very cheap range.

@JacquettaW yes to catsan litter. Anything else not worth the hassle!

Always buy expensive boots (one of my pairs of doc martens I’ve had for over 10 years!)
Expensive rum
Decent gloves

Cheap: most other things. Especially cleaning stuff, tinned stuff, makeup.

A proper coat and underwear

Bin liners

Good time flights
Pensions
Washing capsules
Coleslaw

You can spend serious money on rice if you make the effort you know! Wild rice blends. Top end arborio and carnaroli risotto rice. There’s always someone waiting to take your money for premium products.

www.amazon.co.uk/Acquerello-Aged-Carnaroli-Rice-500g/dp/B07XZB5HN9/ref=mp_s_a_1_6?keywords=carnaroli+rice&sprefix=carnaroli&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&qid=1574704311&sr=8-6

Jewellery - there really is a difference between a diamond and a cubic zirconia....

And that difference is that nobody was ever enslaved or died to produce a cubic zirconia - and that 'ethical' diamond cert is barely worth the paper it's written on. And there's no shortage of diamonds, their allure is a result of a marketing campaign by DeBeers. Diamonds aren't forever, but gullibility is. Mossanite is sparklier and almost as hard as diamonds, more reflective and completely ethical. Knock yourself out with that.

For me it's worth spending on:

Miele appliances
Business Class for long haul flights
Volvo or VW cars
Denman hairbrushes
Essie nail polishes
Goodyear tyres
Professional landscaping

@00TheoriginalLEM
Forgive me, I don't drink but otherwise we could definitely be friends
Money well spent on comfy boots.... charity shops, 2 of my favourite things, I'm right there with you!

You do realise that some poor goats were tortured for your cashmere? Wow. So selfish.

Customer service - I am happy to pay more for a more ‘pleasant’ shopping experience, I know food is cheaper in Aldi and Lidl but I would much prefer to shop in Waitrose (can’t afford to all the time ).

I also really dislike shopping on line and am prepared to pay more for the benefit of shopping on the High Street which I think is better for the community.

I work in retail myself so both these factors are impute me and I feel the extra cost is ‘worth it’ to me. I live and work in the same small town so shopping locally is a social experience.

Who pays for first class on the train?

ARE YOU MAD?

3x the price for a different colour seat? Then if the train is full plebs like me sit there anyway

Decorator
Food - especially meat
Appliances
furniture
Bedding
Shampoo

Matress

Where I’ve gone expensive and it’s not been worth it;
Cashmere jumpers (full of holes)
Bedding (if someone could iron it I’d change my mind though)
Baking trays (they all seem to lose the non stick at the same rate
Mulberry Bayswater (I’ve barely used it as I don’t find the handles long enough to be comfy)

Where going more expensive has been worth it:
Kitchen aid (just love it and get pleasure using it)
Le creuset bakeware and casseroles
Robinson’s squash (I don’t like the own brand
Kellogg’s crunchy nut cornflakes (normally can’t tell the difference between own brand cereal but the branded one is loads better).
Dentistry - the differences between my Nhs and private experiences are massive.
Holidays- I’d rather go less often and go more upmarket.
Taxis- my husband seems to be morally opposed to them and will take a bus on principle as he doesn’t see a value in paying for convenience. I’d much rather pay the taxi and know I’ll be back home in 15 mins rather than an hour. It doesn’t come up very often as we both have cars but we fundamentally have different value judgements on them.