What are the biggest false economies?

[toptramp]

So I can stop being a mug and start saving.

Bunbaker - thats really not very green as the clothes could be sold on or given to charity

ivykaty44 I don't throw them out. I usually give them to charity as I don't have anyone to pass clothes on to as all of DD's friends are bigger than her.

If the clothes aren't fit to pass on I use them as rags for cleaning or take them to our local recycling plant.

I recycle as much as I can - it is a way of life for me as I hate waste.

dreams - the dishwasher repair man told me off once for using tablets in our narrow dishwasher. Rather uselessly I can't remember why, but he said it was better for the dishwasher to use the correct dose of powder rather than tablets designed for bigger machines.

Cheap tinfoil. Just tears all the time :(

Agree that the Lidl dishwasher tablets are good. They come out well in Which? tests. I get the cheaper ones which don't have rinse-aid in them, 'cos I live in a soft water area and my dishwasher allows me to adjust how much rinse-aid I actually need (which is not much). Actaully, also becasue I live in a soft water area, the dishwasher tablets work better if I half them. Before then, my wine glasses were starting to cloud - now they no longer do, my dishes are just as clean and I'm saving money! Result. :)

Dont agree with the boiler cover comment - we have had more than our moneys worth out of the british gas cover - it costs a fortune to get someone out to fix it or leaking pipes

Likewise re boiler cover, even though there is a well-regarded local company that will do a boiler service, we have had to call out British Gas almost every other year for new mid-position valves and other little jobs that they have done quickly and would have cost us £50+ each time.

I like this thread! here are my false economies, some of which I strongly agree with others on:

cheap shoes
cheap tights
cheap clingfilm
cheap loo roll
cheap binbags and dog poo bags (as my DH pointed out...so grim)
cheap butter
cheap bacon
cheap dog food (more due to puppy's sensitive tummy)
Hardly ever buy 342 things as we'll never eat a million satsumas etc, so a waste of food

I will however buy the value paracetemol/brufen etc from Boots as those are all the same drug, just put in fancy boxes for a lot more.

I find Sainsbury's clothes pretty good. Not as good as Boden or Gap, but at less than a third of the price I do buy DS1 some things from there and most of them are still ok to be passed on to DS2 (admittedly only for 'garden clothes' but better than nothing.

Cheap socks
Tights
Shoes
Skincare

are all a disaster.

I use Aveda shampoo and Joico conditioner. Expensive, but I buy online once a year and pay £35 which lasts me a year. I used to get through about £10 of cheaper stuff once every couple of months so it is saving me a fortune.

Cheap electrical items. They always die far more quickly than the more expensive versions, and are generally much less energy efficient so also more expensive to run.

I agree re cheap supermarket clothes (unless it's primary school uniform, which is frequently torn, damaged or lost!). However, I would recommend NCT sales and charity shops in posh areas. I work in a small, posh town and spent my lunchtimes picking up posh kids clothes for a fraction of their new cost (Boden, Gap, Verbaudet etc plus Next and M and S). Likewise with posh NCT groups. Picked up my posh 3 wheeler (plus cosytoes and rainwear) for just £30.

Cheap peas. Cheap coffee. Both nasty IMO.

As for supermarket clothes, I've had some fantastic stuff that has lasted ages but you have to pick and choose, generally the jersey material stuff won't wash or wear that well in my experience.

MIL buying things because they are on 3 for 2 when she doesn't even want or need 1 of said item. She then tries to foist whatever onto us.

It isn't even the quality of the clothes with supermarket clothes - they are cut and sewn so badly they look awful and you can tell they are supermarket clothes as they have the A and H line thing going on when they aren't supposed to make you look like an A or H - sorry its just weird

I like this thread. I think the biggest false economy is buying in loads of stuff that's on offer and is massively over-processed, fattening, unhealthy, sets up bad habits. Because you end up spending the money you've saved on WeightWatchers or similar. Buy nice food and less of it.

Ditto clothes. Cheap clothes look good on people who're size 8 or 10, they cannot be cut for bigger people without cutting a lot of corners in order to save fabric. It's just not worth it.

Cheap marge. Like plastic.

Cheap chocolate. Ditto!

i disagree with boiler comments too. I think BG homecare is brilliant. we've used them many times. they always arrive same day (once within 10 minutes of the emergency call - although it took over the weekend to get us a replacement water tank - still saved heaps on the cost of that) and do stupid stuff that I'd normally do myself but cant quite manage ( I got the metal bit of the lightbulb stuck on the light fitting - called em up - bloke came and sorted - I felt a bit sheepish but he said 'thats what you're paying for - even if you need a washer replacing just call' So I do. They came round to fix our cooker but for whatever reason couldnt do it (or in the future) so repaid ALL my payments for that part of the contract to me.

False economies for me are not multibuys either, unless its certain types of food that perishes too quickly and needs binning.

I agree phone contracts are generally rubbish unless you are really going to use the amount of stuff you're given, because you are just paying for the handset. If you really want the handset and cant afford it all at once though, I guess so be it.

I agree with all suggestions of bin bags and loo roll.

"Buy cheap, buy dear" was my mother's cry - i.e. if you go for the cheapest option, it will cost you more in the long run. I put it to the test in my extremely skint 20's, and found that yes, mothers DOES know best but only on this.

So -
Shoes - always leather, never synthetic.
Clothes - fewer and better quality. A top that can only be worn once because it washes so badly is not a bargain however cheap it may have been! Yes I am looking at you, Asda!
Toilet roll - I find we use considerably less Andrex Quilts than normal paper, so actually saving in short term too!
Heating - I used less fuel keeping the heating on low all day than when it was switched off when I was out but had to turn it up to heat up the house when I got home.
Beds - you spend a third of your life in there more if you're lucky, if it's not comfortable you sleep badly and life is shit.
Wine - tap water is infinitely preferable to cats' piss; better one bottle of good wine than a case of vinigar.
Food - if it's cheaper but you genuinely don't like the taste as much, then it's a false economy. Buy the better item and e.g. bulk out the meal with veg. Fresh veg are incredibly cheap compared to processed food.
Insurance - never be without contents insurance. You can be burgled. Next door's electrical fire can spread to your home. If premiums look like a waste, consider how much it would cost to replace items instead and blanch at the amount.

A and H?

Cheap kitchen towel
CHeap bin liners
Cheap booze (for example I bought some English wine recently out of curiosity because it was cheap. It tasted like crap wine diluted with half a bottle of water.)
Cheap washing up liquid
Cheap clothes
Cheap cereal because it's quite often shite and your kids won't eat it.

cheap loo paper, washing up liquid cling film
cheap coffee
cheap mild cheddar needs a whole pack to make cheese sauce taste vaguely cheesy smaller quanity of mature much better
only worth buying cheap childrens clothing in very small sizes as they will not wear them often enough to wear out, buy cheap t shirts to wear under stuff as extra layer but on ebay/NCt etc will get really good quality stuff for less than new primark
cheap shoes
cheap meat because you are paying for water or possibly salt and water not cheaper cuts which are great value
just buying too much stuff because its cheap even if only 99p if you don't need it , it is not a bargain

Cheap shower gel - doesn't lather properly and just runs through your fingers like water and most of it ends up on the shower floor.
Cheap saucepans & oven trays - they stick, rust and don't last

Last time I looked at the Which? tests, they said if you were using rinse aid and salt on top of tablets anyway, Tesco Value one were comparable to the top rated Finish Max-in-1's

Has anyone said cheap moisturiser?

My nutrimetics stuff is about £25 a pot < faint > but it lasts about three months. If I run out and buy a £5 jar to tide me over before I can order some more, I get though it in about a fortnight. And I can see the difference.

Cheap loo paper
Cheap Tea (yuck!!!)
Cheap baby wipes

I have bought cheap underwear for the girls when pottytraining. I do buy things on offer and freeze them. I always buy quality dishwasher tablets when they are on offer.

Moral here - look for the bargains. My definition of a bargain is quality stuff discounted.

:)

I second the cheap cheese motion - absolute rubbish in a cheese sauce, and normally that's something I can make nice and smooth! (having had a recent presentation disaster with the mn recipe for 'posh broccoli')

"Buy cheap, buy twice" - my Nan always said. So buy the best you can afford of anything. Meat - agree - cheap meat is nasty and pumped full of water s buy cheaper cuts and have it less often. Children's clothes - the pricier stuff has lasted better - but we have 3 kids and one on the way and stuff also worn by 2 cousins and now coming back - so much of the better quality stuff has had 8 years and 5 kids' worth of wear. Worth it for sure!