Cost cutting that wasn’t worth it

[theaccomplice]

What have been yours?

Thankfully we’re financially alright now but in trickier times I have read and tried all sorts to save money. There are a few which were definitely not worth it.

Mine was cutting hair. I did my own and have tried the children’s but it was bloody awful.

Cheap bubble bath/shower gel and san pro that ultimately all caused more problems than they solved.

Aside from all of the above, my vote would be for car seat covers. The amount I've wasted over the years on cheap covers that bunch up or pop off is lamentable.

Having said that, the ones I ended up with actually cost more than my first car so it would be nice if there was some middle ground 😆

I agree with all of the above especially the clothes (I have some that are 30 year old and were secondhand when I bought them) and cleaning products.
Might be teaching my grandmother to suck eggs with this comment but if you have a Home Bargains near you you can get branded items so much cheaper. I always stock up on giant sizes of my favourite brands - like OGX (577mls £4.99) Original Source ( 750ml £1.79) and Dove peach and white blossom (330ml £1.75). They last for ages and I buy 4 when they are there at that price.

I’d have to be on the bones of my arse before I inflicted diy haircuts on my family.

Cheap shoes are always more expensive in the long run as they fall apart so quickly, in my experience. Unfortunately DS is hooked on Spider-Man trainers from Tesco so I have to buy another pair every couple of months, which is how long they last until he destroys them again.

Marmite, own brand is revolting!
Fairy washing up liquid, they're not wrong, it really does a long way.

When my kids were still young Aldi ketchup was more tomato/less sugar than the leading brand.

We also brought French ketchup back from holidays; same principle.

Not me but my DSis is Queen penny-pincher and it ends up costing far more in the long run. We booked a city break and she said she’d sort the hotel. She booked one miles outside the City centre and we spent half the weekend and a fortune in cabs going back and forth.

She also goes on holiday to Europe and won’t fly because of the cost, so they’ll drive to Spain on minor roads so there’s no tolls. I point out that they’re wasting four solid day’s of annual leave driving there and back, and losing four days of holiday, not to mention the hassle. She won’t be told.

Aldi’s own Marmite is lovely, but it’s the only decent one I’ve found.

I won’t scrimp on brands for Fairy Liquid, Bold washing tablets, Kenco coffee, PG Tips, Heinz ketchup or Simple soap.
Quite happy with Lidl cheese 😋, baked beans, bleach, dishwasher tabs, bin bags, dog poo bags and wine 😂
Stamford Street loo rolls and easy peelers are amazing saves!

Tesco’s is gluten free, so there’s that.

Buying a cheap mascara instead of my usual expensive one. It was meant to be good according to reviews, so I figured why not give it a try and save 90% of the expense. Well, it was crap and now I’ll probably end up buying the expensive one nevertheless.

So is Aldi’s. I’m coeliac and Marmite was the thing I missed most!

Sainsburys marmite is foul 🤢

I used some from Tesco. Only 45p or roundabouts.

Years ago I was a skint single parent so could only buy cheap things

Waste of money on cheaper things where

Shoes (Utter waste of money)
Clothes (they'd get holes by the third wear)
Washing up liquid
Shampoo
Shower gel
Ready meals
Meat (the basic economy chicken was a real low)
Cereals (nothing wrong with own brand but the economy weetabix was foul)
Coke
Fruit/veg (just tasted odd and went off)
Bread
Bin bags
Loo rolls
Super noodles (the cheap Chinese ones)
Hair bobbles (they'd just sag after one use)
washing powder (we all ended up with rashes and it just didnt clean our clothes)
Hair conditioner
Tea bags/coffee
Kids socks and pants (wear then wash once-theyd go baggy and be unwearable)
Make up (a luxury but cheap just wasn't worth it-it would last about an hour)
Bed sheets-they would fall apart after a few washes

Im talking the cheapest of the cheap-my mother would buy everything in bulk for herself and sell me bits to 'tide me over'

Im not rich at all now but I will buy the nice cheese or better quality shoes as life is too damn short not to

I’ve always been a buyer of branded products. I remember years ago being away with a group of ‘wealthy’ friends. We did a shop and I insisted on Carrs water biscuits rather than a shops own version. I was berated and told I was foolish and you can’t tell the difference. Proved them wrong in a blind taste test.

I have a mate who has a large family and she never bought branded foods. I suppose if they’ve never known any difference then it won’t be apparent. Although they are all grown up and I don’t think they are following in their parent’s footsteps.

I tried Shein clothes once, that was a complete waste of money.

own brand Nutella is universally horrible.