What are the biggest false economies?

[toptramp]

So I can stop being a mug and start saving.

RE: insurances etc... If you do have a ridiculously expensive phone it is worth checking with your bank for insurance. My OH always has an expensive phone and has a tendency to break stuff and strop if he has to go without (such a baby sometimes), we were paying £11 a month for phone insurance through Orange but then he changed to an Advantage Gold current account with Natwest which costs him £12.95 a month and comes with phone insurance, breakdown cover, travel insurance and extended warranty on expensive purchases. Well worth it for him as we now buy expensive goods on his card for the extended warranty and don't pay for breakdown insurance on his car.

Personally I think breakdown insurance is something you should have if you do distance driving with a young child. I wouldn't want to be stuck on the M1 at 11pm half way between home (Hampshire) and my parents (Derbyshire) with my 7mo DD in the car.

*corygal for quote of the week!

I disagree about pet insurance. The kitten developed cataracts at only a few months old. £3000 an eye. Who 'puts aside' that kind of money just in case?

corygal even.

A lot of things already mentioned such as :

Cheap washing up liquid.
Cheap "economy" bread - it tastes stale even in its' freshest form.
"Economy" washing powder - I end up using twice as much to do the same job so hardly an economy is it? Even then it's not as good a result as Persil.
Very cheap instant coffee - I use supermarket's own brand but not the economy range which is just minging.

Also:

Cheap batteries - you end up replacing them so much more often it costs more in the long run.
Cheap cleaning wipes - they just don't clean properly, so a false economy as you'd have been better off without them.
Cheap nappies - you use more & have to wash more baby clothing & bedding so another false economy.
Cheap baby wipes.

Rhubarb - oh dear re: fried chicken debris on the doorstep .

I would agree with you that pet insurance is very worthwhile. My mum has two dogs, one of whom is elderly with a host of health problems - he was treated badly in his early life & has been left with worsening kidney, spine & leg problems - she has been able to claim back thousands for his various treatments & operations over the years she has had him. I doubt whether she could have afforded to keep him otherwise, which would have broken her heart.

Buying huge packets because they are more economical. Bit bottle of washing up liquid/shampoo/soap powder etc.. I find everyone in the house uses more because there seems so much of it. Far better to buy it and then decant into smaller containers so they all eke it out a bit and make it last.

Carte Noir coffee - currently £3.48 in Tesco. (large size).
Ten jars in the cupboard!
I agree about dishwasher tablets, only buy Fairy.
Cheap baked beans are disgusting.

Big boxes/ packs are often more expensive.

eg. Felix Cat food at Tesco (last time I went in), Big box of 44 pouches (they're taken 4 out and think we won't notice!!!) £12, small boxes on offer at £3 for 12 (usually £3.50-ish). Big box works out 27p per pouch, small box 25p each.

I think it is always worth checking price per kg, price per litre etc as it isn't always the case that bigger is better value.

oh yes i bought ds a chest of drawers from argos for £60 they fell apart and bowed within 6 months, all they had in them was baby clothes.
pet insurance is a must, my friends horse recently swallowed some wire in the field and nearly died. the vet had to operate to save his life £7000 later. he is insured and making a full recovery. i really dont see many people having a spare £7000 to pay for unexpected vetinary treatments.

This wouldn't, I appreciate, come into many people's thinking about how to save on groceries, although these have been pitched to me as budget friendly...so in some ways it's more of a comment rant generally on something that drives me crazy...

I find veg boxes outrageously overpriced partic as the food seems to go off long before any organic veg I might buy in the supermarket or the farmers' market locally. At the farmers' market I can get all the veg I want PLUS some meat (all organic or pesticide free) for the same price.

I would be very curious to hear if anyone has managed to find a reasonably good deal veg box where the food actually LASTS the week and they use it all.

The organic box we had a few years ago was dreadful. Just because it was in a rustic looking box covered in soil didn't make it any better.

I had potatoes so small I literally couldn't do a single thing with them.

It's strictly ALDI for fruit, veg and pesticides all the way for us now!

Yes yes to flat pack furniture. I had what sounds like the same chest of drawers from Argos, also used for baby clothes and it was so shockingly bent after less than a year that I didn't even feel I could give it away. I get cheaper, more solid furniture from the tip (recycle centre to give it it's posh name). I have 2 beautiful wardrobes that cost me £20 each, both solid wood.
Cheap babywipes are fine imo, but only the Morrisons ones. 36p (up from 18 mind you) and they're fine. I tried Tesco basic ones and they were so thin as to be useless.

'Free' medical insurance from your employer (unless you have a condition of course). I had this and it played havoc with my tax code - I ended up being about £80 per month worse off. (Just got lovely refund from HMRC though for 2008-9 tax year :)

Cheap wrapping paper - use it for toddlers! We realised after a very frustrating second Christmas with DS where he really struggled to open the posh, slightly waxed paper as fast as he wanted to! Next year we bought the cheapest, most garish paper possible and he was in a ripping frenzy :o

I completely disagree about dishwasher tabs, just bought a box from tesco for £2, which seems very reasonable to me, or but the co-op ones for about £3. I don't understand how the finish ones can be £9 for 20 or whatever. I used to buy them when they were on offer until I realised they still cost twice as much!

Stealth - your name troubles me each year. I can't concentrate on what you're saying after I read it.

I think you say you like expensive dishwasher tabs....

:o My name cannot be the most goriest of all of them here, and if it is I demnd the prize!

(where is expat btw, doesn't she usually have a horrible name?)

Back to the baking dilema. The other thing is that by doing home baking you are learning a skill and I find it therapautic and almost like a hobby.

The store cupboard things do have to be replenished but at least the ingredients are fairly pure. You don't know what other stuff is added to shop cakes and the quality of them.

cheap bin liners, washing up liquid,loo roll,value baked beans,coffee,tea,cling film,shampoo,bubble bath,tomato sauce,trainers,meat,eggs,tinned soup,breakdown cover on appliances,
...all a false economy imo

Baking is not worth it if all you get out of it is a cake. If you also get a few hours of entertainment (because you enjoy it), or a glow of satisfaction, or gratitude from the people you made the cake for, then it might be worth it.

harrietthespook I totally agree about veg boxes. We tried a veg box scheme and gave it up after about 3 months as the veg went off so quickly. I now buy my veg from a local farm that has a shop. Some of the veg is home grown and some isn't, but as the turnover is so quick the food is very fresh and the home grown stuff has often been picked the same day.

"Baking is not worth it if all you get out of it is a cake."

It is if you like cake

But you could get cake more quickly and easily via other means :o

Never mind the debate about dishwasher tablets- just wash your dishes by hand! Our last three houses (rented abroad) all came with dishwashers- we never used them- despite being left detergents. You have to own twice as many dishes to make having a dishwasher economic- they cost so much to run too.

"But you could get cake more quickly and easily via other means"

Actually no. To bake some fairy cakes or a Victoria sandwich would take me in total 25 - 30 minutes. To drive into town and buy some cakes would take over an hour. And I much prefer home made anyway.

Agree with many of these, especially cheap loo roll & tissues. I had a cold a couple of weeks ago whilst abroad. My poor septum has only just healed after being scraped off by cheap tissues

Slightly disagree with SockMunkee about appliance insurance. I live in a very hard water area and wouldn't be without washing machine cover. They are called out at least 2-3 times a year and when my machine dies, they give me a new one. As it's on 7-10 times a week, the trauma of it being out of action is beyond words.