What is expensive but worth every penny?

[Teadrinker11]

Following on from the previous thread about expensive purchases that weren't worth it, what is expensive but actually is worth it? What do you own or have done that is very expensive but you don't regret it at all?

How do you KNOW? What do you think you have got, apart from better facilities, that you wouldn't get from a state school education?

Because I tried both? Yes you can say that maybe it was just that school and another state school would have been better. But aren't parents who can afford to move to the catchment area of better schools reinforcing the privilege, as you put it?

@notwavingbutdrowning5

Ugh. So many people saying private school fees. How do you KNOW? What do you think you have got, apart from better facilities, that you wouldn't get from a state school education?

I believe in buying things that make me happy (yes to cashmere, great coffee, and pets). I don't believe in buying advantage. That makes me sad.

I moved mine from state to private. HTH.

@notwavingbutdrowning5

Ugh. So many people saying private school fees. How do you KNOW? What do you think you have got, apart from better facilities, that you wouldn't get from a state school education?

I believe in buying things that make me happy (yes to cashmere, great coffee, and pets). I don't believe in buying advantage. That makes me sad.

To be honest I am ‘ugh’ about buying animals, but only judging as you are…

Our honeymoon. Our wedding. Our house. Not sure that counts though!

Skin care - not a massive expense compared to other big ticket items, but certainly a lot more than I used to spend and so worth it.

Husbands nice watches - worth it because he loves them. He doesn’t spend money on himself either so makes it even more worth the expense.

@notwavingbutdrowning5 - I’ve taught in both and the gap has widened hugely and it’s not about facilities. It’s about schools who trust their teachers and give then freedom to teach without micro managing, it’s about having the ability to attract well qualified passionate staff, I see so many English teachers on Twitter asking scarily basic questions about ‘subject knowledge’, it’s about valuing your older and more experienced staff rather than hounding them out to be replaced by NQTs, it’s about having real relationships with students not mad zero tolerance policies with kids being isolated for uniform infringements. I could go on…

@Topbird29 I bought some today in Aldi they have it on special at £3.75.

Expensive paint for walls and ceilings.

I’ve just painted a wall in my kitchen using a small tin of paint that cost twice as much as the same size from Dulux.
I loved the colour so bought it thinking I’d definitely need more than one tin.
I didn’t - It was amazing. Thick paint that went on beautifully and the tiny tin went on forever. It only needed one coat. I would definitely buy again.

[quote Musmerian]@notwavingbutdrowning5 - I’ve taught in both and the gap has widened hugely and it’s not about facilities. It’s about schools who trust their teachers and give then freedom to teach without micro managing, it’s about having the ability to attract well qualified passionate staff, I see so many English teachers on Twitter asking scarily basic questions about ‘subject knowledge’, it’s about valuing your older and more experienced staff rather than hounding them out to be replaced by NQTs, it’s about having real relationships with students not mad zero tolerance policies with kids being isolated for uniform infringements. I could go on…[/quote]
Also those that seem to post on every bloody thread about private schools claim that their dc got in to oxbridge from state schools. Which is not my aim, I couldn’t care less about oxbridge. I care about my dc getting a well rounded education that caters for their individual needs.
It’s convenient to ignore that the independent sector cater for a huge swathe of children with SN too. But the oxbridge state school flag wavers don’t care about them.

@marthasGinyard

Avoca Irish throws

Oh my God yes. We went to the factory years ago and bought socks from there. Still have them so many years later. The throws were major expensive but stunning.

@NinaDefoe

Expensive paint for walls and ceilings.

I’ve just painted a wall in my kitchen using a small tin of paint that cost twice as much as the same size from Dulux.
I loved the colour so bought it thinking I’d definitely need more than one tin.
I didn’t - It was amazing. Thick paint that went on beautifully and the tiny tin went on forever. It only needed one coat. I would definitely buy again.

What paint brand was this?

Private school fees

@Scotland32

I wish I could go through this entire list and write it all down!

Mine are:
Horses
Aromatherapy Associates room diffuser
An extra 2 hours of my cleaner to get her to sort laundry too
Good bras
Dubarry boots
Our new logburner

Question though - are MacBooks worth it? Am considering one when my current crappy laptop dies!

@Scotland32 They are absolutely worth it. They’re quick, rarely (if ever) get viruses and the customer service from Apple is excellent.

If you want to save a little money then refurbished MacBooks may be a way to go:

www.apple.com/uk/shop/refurbished/mac

Japan

My dogs personal vet not really his but it feels like it sometimes

This thread is hilarious.
Can it go into the Classics😂

notwavingbutdrowning

At my kids’ private school they get:

• smaller classes and more 1-1 time from teachers.
• more focus on wellbeing from staff because staff have the time because there are 15 in a class not +30
• more sporting opportunities than at any state schools near us
• my child is stretched at an appropriate level, not left to “do a worksheet”.. again because the teachers have less students.
• staff who can know each student as the school is smaller.

I always swore I’d send my child state but when push came to shove I had to choose what was best for child and in this case it was private. I understand the theoretical issue with private schools but I chose it for my child as I thought it was best for child.

Why wouldn’t/don’t you if you had/have kids and could/can afford it?

It was the obvious Farrow and Ball!
£52 for 2.5l compared to £27 for 2.5l by Dulux.
I’ve used Dulux throughout the house and always need two coats. This F&B stuff needed just one.
It was so nice to paint with and went on forever. I would have needed 5l of Dulux and used just under 2.5l of F&B with one coat.

My car

user47000000000, why wouldn’t I? Because I think the very least we should demand of a decent society is that it gives children a level educational playing field. A good education is every child’s right - not something to sell to the privileged few. But worse than that, parents are paying for access. They know that a good private school will open doors for their children throughout their life. That is fundamentally wrong. I don’t want to give my children the message that you can pay for access. And I want them to open those doors themselves, not rely on our wealth to do it for them.

5HTP tablets for insomnia. I've struggled with it since I first got pregnant with DD (she's nearly 10). I saw it recommended on here some months ago - H&B sell a decent brand for about £36 for a 3 months supply. I've barely had a single decent night in the last decade, I would usually get around 4-5 hours, maximum 6, but 2 was quite common & it wasn't unusual for me to go 2 days or more without sleeping at all. Since I've discovered the 5HTP tablets a few months ago, I've been getting 8 hours most nights, they're like magic!

Our mattress
Our dog & 3 cats (bloody insurance) Grandchildren
My Shark liftaway hoover with pet roller (will never use anything else now.)

@Draineddraineddrained

Counselling. Cost me a lot of money over the years but saved my sanity on several occasions.

The kids obviously!

Train travel to London. It's bloody exorbitant from my city but I'd rather roast in hell than do London traffic as a prelude to an outing.

Now can anyone help me - socks! What socks are actually worth spending money on that last? I've tried every kind from Asda multipacks to £15 per pair from Seasalt Cornwall and they all go through at the ball in about three wears!!! I'll pay any money to have a pair last more than a year like they used to!

M&S reinforced heel ones! Amazing!

Dublin River Boots.
Bean to cup coffee machine (DH not me)
Decent mattresses for all of us
Ski holidays
Kanken bag
Bamboo socks

And good quality waterproof/windproof coats.

Scrimp and save on everything else, but buy decent coats and footwear. I'm ridiculously fussy about coats for the DC and I. DH is slowly learning that he was the only one cold or wet and has joined us with a decent coat now.

@Itsonlymeeee

Our mattress Our dog & 3 cats (bloody insurance) Grandchildren My Shark liftaway hoover with pet roller (will never use anything else now.)

You bought your grandchildren?!