False economy (merged threads)

adelight

I agree with bella! Big packs of treats never seem to last unless I er... freeze them!
Coffee. I hate cheap coffee, I end up making a cup having a few sips and throwing away the rest. I can just about stand instant coffee but wish I had the time to make espresso. I was spoilt as a kid as we had stove top espresso and a coffee machine.
Furniture and clothes. I would rather have something plain if it's better quality and longer lasting. I grew up with posh made to order furniture, wool carpets etc and we were always careful with them so a sofa that cost 3 x the price of one from DFS would last 5 times as long (we had one from dfs once and it lasted about 2-3 years, the rest of the furniture was 12 years old and would have lasted longer if a cat hadn't ripped the underside) and I grew up knowing how to look after things.
Can't think of anything else that hasn't already been said, guess we're all too saavy for our own good!

[Deleted User]

I have never scrimped on shoes or a mattress as if I'm not in one then I'm in the other and I like happy feet.I buy probably maybe one or two comfy pairs of shoes a year and they are not cheap but the cost is far outweighed by the comfort.
I don't like cheap washing up liquid either but most of the other basic stuff doesn't bother me.years ago when really brassic I once bought some pink salmon and 'coloured it up a bit' with a dollop of tomato ketchup, my OH never noticed the difference ,especially in fish cakes so red salmon was only bought at Christmas when it was on the offer :)

Pink.

Hi FairyPrincessk,

Mine is washing up liquid...I have never found one that touches Fairy. I also agree with the person who posted about home baking. It's really yummy, you know what goes into it etc, but these days when you add up the cost of the ingredients plus the cost of the energy required to bake in the oven, it's a bit of a luxury compared to value brands that still hit the spot when you want something sweet.

We have an earlier thread that may interest you:

False economy (merged threads)

I'll add this thread to that one later to keep the replies together.

Pink

plzhelpmesave!

cleggie wrote: »

Saying that, i think that the biggest myth at the moment is that Prim**k is cheap! I went in there the other day and couldnt believe how much more expensive it was compared to a few years ago.

So glad its not just me who thinks primark is expensive!! people look at me like I am mad when i say i think they are dear... but i oonly ever buy my clothes in the sale, using vouchers etc so used topaying under a tenner for most things...

bouncydog1

DD is a Uni student and does all her shopping in M & S! Reason being:- she only buys the stuff on offer e.g. 3 for 2 and splits down into single portions; the fruit lasts longer than cheaper stuff and she can buy what she needs and she can buy an assortment of veg in single packs. She only has limited storage space like many students and has found this is the most economic way - food bill is around £20-£25 per week yet she eats well, cooks all her meals, doesn't throw stuff away and doesn't buy takeaways!

Has tried cheaper brands which have been thrown away so not moneysaving and you can tell the difference taste wise!

cleggie

plzhelpmesave! wrote: »

So glad its not just me who thinks primark is expensive!! people look at me like I am mad when i say i think they are dear... but i oonly ever buy my clothes in the sale, using vouchers etc so used topaying under a tenner for most things...

yeah, i went in there and was looking at a nice jumper, then saw it was £14! I can get something similar from new look for that price, which is better quality! So i went to NL instead!

beautiful_ravens

My false economy is bulk buying things that are on offer. By the next weeks shopping I dont notice whatever it may have been that I 'saved' on the bulk buying, as I still spend the same each week on shopping, regardless!

Value lines of bubble bath really are quite bad, they smell odd, although Ive mixed them with shops own brand and theyve been ok like that.

I agree with baking your own not always being cheaper. There are so many very cheap versions of what you can bake - BUT I like to know whats in my HM biscuits (3 or 4 ingredients and one of MY dogs hairs maybe) compared to shop ingredients (unknown things like for example once i found some blue rubber in a pack of chicken mince, I assume someone at the processing factory lost their rubber glove - ewww, have never bought chicken mince again) AND we have all heard stories about factory workers throwing in awful things to the stuff that ends up on the shelves.
...and its nice to be able make a load of biscuits at midnight if you so wish, rather than go to the shop!

angeltreats

Stephen_Leak wrote: »

Supermarket basic own brand cling film and kitchen towels. I tried them. Epic fail.

You're right about the kitchen towels. We buy Plenty and one roll lasts for ages, one sheet does the same job as three or four sheets of cheaper stuff. We are currently using pound shop cling film though because recently the more expensive brands seem to be more like opened up plastic sandwich bags than cling film, it doesn't actually stick to itself (or anything else) and is very annoying.

Saucepans are another one. Mine are about eight years old so far and still going strong.

Mascara! Never found a cheap one that was any good and that didn't make you look like a panda by lunchtime. I used to use Lancome when I actually had money; nowadays I use Maybelline (about £8.50 a tube although it's usually on 3 for 2).

Coffee is one thing I absolutely refuse to scrimp on, but I freely admit that I'm a bit of a coffee snob. I'd love a decent grinder, but at the moment I buy Carte Noire or Douwe Egberts, or some freshly ground from a local coffee roaster, and use a cafetiere or aeropress at work and a filter machine at home. And I have a Nespresso machine and don't care that it costs about 30p for an espresso, it's a lot nicer than waiting for an espresso machine to heat up or remembering to turn the gas off after using a stovetop pot at 6am

Cheap teabags are also nasty, they seem to have a strange taste and are a bit weak. I have PG Tips and Twinings Earl Grey at home, and my work supplies us with Twinings English Breakfast.

Not a fan of budget washing powder, although I do really like the 2 in 1 tablets from Aldi.

Linda32

Can I ask, has anyone thought of giving up kitchen roll, cling film and fabric softener, its a myth that these things are necessary IMHO.

I never did buy cling film and gave up on the other two years and years ago.

As for false economy, really cheap loo rolls and washing up liquid are about the only things I can think off. Primark jeans look abit iffy as well

FairyPrincessk

Wow! So many great responses. I'll definitely check out the pre-existing thread. I had a feeling I may just have not been getting the search just right! I agree on the washing up liquid especially, but pretty much everything on here. I'll have to catch up tomorrow...OH is harassing me to go to bed as I'm a little under the weather.