What things can't you compromise on?

puss14

I am new to this forum, so my no compromise items may change. Some of my products are expensive but I generally wait until they are on sale and stock up.

Ayam asian sauces- best sauces as have no msg.
Abundant earth tamari sauce
norganic golden soya mayo- didn't even like mayo until introduced to this.
harmonie butter
organic/free range eggs and chicken
eco cleaning products, but mainly make my own so very cheap anyway.
alchemy shampoo and conditioner- until I find a cheaper natural one, this stuff rocks.
organic milk
organic soy milk
recycled eco toilet paper
natural soap
organic flour

It probably sounds as though I don't compromise on anything:rotfl: I actually do buy lots of supermarket brands for tinned goods and I grow a lot of my own vegies so that helps. I just try to buy bulk when items on sale and I cook 99% of the time so that helps to keep costs down.

hotcookie101

My big thing is happy meat-I will only buy free range/organic eggs (preferably Clarence Court if I can get them, the Burford Browns are the tastiest I have ever had bar straight from the hen, not organic, but very welfare friendly)
Also will only buy FR/organic chicken-we don't eat a huge amount of chicken as it is more expensive to buy FR but I have been to intensive chicken farms-both broiler and battery and I feel that I cannot buy things that come from one. OH and I will only eat products made with FR eggs or chicken (unless we are eating at family or friends places, restaurants if it doesn't say FR we avoid it!) so very happy Hellman's is now made with FR eggs. Egg pasta etc from m&s
I also will only buy higher welfare/FR/organic pork and bacon. Again I did work in an intensive pig farm and I hated it (and tbh was a small Irish venture with low mortality compared to the massive ones in UK) Again we don't eat a huge amount, am currently trying to empty freezer so can fit a half pig in there
Organic milk and yoghurts
OH has sainsbury red label tea, I have fair trade coffee (instant, and not own brand)
Oh and Rooster potatoes (they are the best spuds ever, but I hate that they are branded here-went shopping with my mum last time I was home and was SO jealous that she could buy 5kg sacks of them for about €3.50 when I pay around £2 for 2kg :mad:!!!) Have tried to grow own this year, hoping to dig them up today so fingers crossed

(gosh it sounds like I am really fussy but I'm not. Honest )

kunekune

We're lucky in that we've not really been hit by the current economic situation yet, since we are renting and both work, and our heating bills are lo (new build, well-insulated). However, I've been trying to reduce costs, so this is my list:

Decent wine (I don't go below £5 a bottle, and £7 isn't unusual) - but I look for more expensive bottles reduced to the target price
Good instant coffee - either carte noire or douwe egberts
Free range eggs
Free range chicken
Anchor spreadable butter
Good quality cheese
Good quality ham
Brown bread from the deli, even though DH's sandwiches are so thick he only gets 4 lots from a loaf!
Good shoes for all of us, we have wide (mine are square) feet and couldn't buy cheap if we tried!

[Deleted User]

on yet another gloomy, dismal day in wales, hammering with rain

I am not compromising on the basics. Blow the budget now, I have no debts and have made allowances for winter and as far as I am concerned my energy costings are on an upward graph as from today.

I am washing at 60 in a minute, as I want germ-free towels etc since my dh got a skin infection through my washing at 30 so I am not compromising on washing temperatures

I will be putting the heating on for half an hour later when my washing is hanging in a spare bedroom

I have already said about not compromising on being warm and eating organic veg and fruit and I am going to add: shiptons flour, best chocolate ie montezuma and/or hotel chocolate. Rachels organic yoghurt and I am going to add riverford cheese and some higher hucknell meat

and sod feeling guilty, why should I?

taplady

Great thread stefejb!:T

for us its

Yorkshire tea
Douwe Eggberts coffee
soft loo roll
Quorn
decent cheese
free range eggs

those are the main things and I try to get the tea and coffee when its on offer and stock up.

reverie

This thread really made me think! I thought I'd have a much longer list than this...

Free range chicken
Organic eggs
Organic carrots
Douwe Egberts instant coffee
Good olive oil
Elderflower cordial (I didn't get time to make any this year)
T Gel shampoo for my husband (his head is v unpleasant with anything else!!)
Soft loo rolls
Holidays
Fabric conditioner (I am sorry vinegar converts, I just love the smell )

I also always often end up splashing out a bit when we have a dinner party as it's my chance to really go to town with the food, which I love.

suzywoozy_3

Oh Montezuma chocolate. Their dark chocolate buttons are my most favourite ever. My in-laws live near a shop and it's my birthday next week :jbut I only get this as an occasional birthday treat.

I ask for Original Source shampoo etc for my birthday and Christmas but when it runs out I'm onto huge bottles of Tesco value.

About the only thing I won't compromise on is Fairtrade coffee and Fairtrade standard tea. I'm rather ashamed that I love the Twinnings Earl Grey and buy this as my major treat. I will atm buy the fairtrade sugar from sainsbury's as the white sugar and the gloden caster are not much more than buying non-fairtrade.

I only use ecover washing liquid, it doesn't bother anyone's eczema and I'm not willing to risk anything else.

Pretty much anything else is up for grabs.

beckstrous

I love food - I guess I am a bit of a foodie - I am a big fan of Hugh FW and have both the meat book and the fish book. There are informative sections about thrifty cooking in both these books and they are excellent. I am really up for experimenting with this sort of thing and also with using cheaper cuts of meat, but it still has to be good meat. We prefer to go to the local butcher but I do still get yellow stickered meat in Tesco if it is organic.

What I won't compromise on (and feel fortunate not to have to):

- Our organic fruit & veg box deliveries - would never go back to the supermarket stuff now
- Yeo Valley Yoghurts - we have tried others and honestly nothing compares! We eat it every week night with half a banana as a healthy pudding
- Good chocolate
- Good wine (I'm not a wine snob, though, so I usually just buy whatever is on special offer)
- Westons or Sheppys cider
- Free range eggs (this includes things like Mayo too - I will only buy Hellmans, organic etc, not the standard stuff with the battery eggs)
- Free range chicken
- Good fish from the fishmonger

We have learnt to cook in a more economical way e.g. big batches, using the whole of a chicken or joint of meat to make soup, home made bread whenever there is time etc. And also use some value stuff (frozen peas are ace). But would never compromise on the actual quality of the food. For example, if we couldn't afford much chicken we wouldn't get value or broiler chicken, we would just eat it less often. We are quite good at stretching chickens and have probably purchased not more than 7 this whole year!

saversarn

Happy eggs
Anchor butter
Top hair stylist ( I'd rather starve, shallow but true:o )

kr15snw

Ummm (Im going to sound terrible here....) my sky tv (we looked at going to virgin but I cant manage without skyone!), soft loo roll (OH buys the value stuff, so glad I do the shop now lol) and my clinique face products / moistoriser (I have terrible blotchy skin and this is the only stuff that helps and doesnt bring me out in bigger blotches!).

Oh and my biggest one is gifts. No matter how skint I am (when I was a student) I used to always go out of my way to scrape pennies together to buy that special gift for family / friends