Penny Wise - Pound Foolish / False Economies - Tips Here Please

[drosophila]

What cheaper alternatives have you bought and thought - actually it's probably more ecomomical to buy the apparently more expensive item. For me:

Washing Up Sponges
Washing Up Liquid

binbags (the tall skinny ones)
nappies

Yes I find its better to buy larger items as its more economical in the long run and the supermarket isn't awlays the cheapest either I buy my cleaning products from ww.ecoshopkent.co.uk

Toothpaste-we used a value one for a while and I noticed my teeth becoming really discoloured-i had a grey 'shadow' on one tooth.

Back to the Sensodyne pro -enamel for us.

Also, baby wipes-you end up needing a large handful as they are so flimsy and small, and usually with poo on your hand.

wine

Cheap wine is vile so spend a little more!

I agree with washing up liquid.

Aussie shampoo and conditioner not cheapo stuff

Dishwasher Tablets. The economy range is exactly the same ones as M&S standard ones, and lots of other ones bar the ones with the little ball in the middle. Tried them all, the economy ones do exactly the same job.

But one thing I won't entertain is economy meat...yuck.

I always spend on -

loo roll
cheese
Ecover washing up liquid, as it lasts for ages
Twinings Earl Grey

I am happy to economise on -
decaf teabags for dp!
M&S value tights for work
printer paper

I generally start out assuming that the value items are just as good as branded/advertised items (i work in marketing, so hardly a surprise) but there are some things I've learnt this isn't always the case, although it's a good general rule:

1. heinz tomato soup, others just aren't as nice

2. bin bags, doubling up thinner ones when they're exactly half as cheap just means more faff for the same cost

3. washing up liquid, i hate to admit it to my mother but Fairy IS the best i've tried compared to a few cheap ones i've bought

Wow that list was shorter than I'd thought it would be.

H used to be fairly brand-orientated before he met me, now I have managed to convince him otherwise. He's even begrudingly admitted that non-branded items can be better - case in point, has anyone ever compared the fizz in sparkling water for branded bottles compared to the tall 17p ones you get in Asda? The branded ones taste flat to me now because the asda brand ones are like little rockets.

Heinz salad cream and ketchup every time for us. Brown sauce though seems ok in shops own brand.

philadelphia. sainsburys own cream cheese goes furry really quickly.
agree with fairy too.

Oh I forgot bin bags are deffo a false sconomy.

I agree that cheap fizzy water is no worse to my taste than expensive.

I also find cheap shampoos are not worth it.

washing powder - own brand doesn't seem to get the stains out of the kids school shirts at all. But fabric conditioner is fine though. Most of the things mentioned above we do buy own brand - Sainsburys own brand nappies (not the absolute basics mind) do preemie nappies that were just perfect for my own two (as they were very small), and I will buy some just in case number 3 is small too.

Cheap bread is often a false economy. Although it does tend to last a long time because no-one wants to eat it. I thought home-made bread would work out cheaper but the costs aren't actually that much different.

Value ham is just not worth the effort. Same goes for cling-film.

And I agree that Philadelphia cheese lasts a lot longer than own-brands. That makes me wonder what extra preservatives are bunged into Philadelphia to make it stay fresh for so long.