Which items WON'T you go budget on?

[eyes4eeyore]

Good question....

root beer~mug
t.p.~ scott
tampons~tampax
ketchup~heinz
keith urban concert tickets~ up front

 

[NeedaVacation03]

Qtips only not store brand. Only Visine for my dry eyes.Kraft Mac and cheese. Teva flipflops. I know that there are a few more but I can not think of them right now.

 

[Evi]

hrm I believe everything can be purchased on a budget. I guess the question is are you willing to buy a lower quality item then you normally would buy to save money and I guess it depends on what were talking about.

I try to get deals on alot of stuff but will still pay full price if I can't on stuff I love.
All Salon svs (I love buy with me and group on but will pay full price if I have to)
Gym membership (always renew when they offer a deal or go month to month untill they have one)
cosmetics (try to max out points in sephora or buy during holidays that when you get the best deals)
Hair care (I buy professional size and always ask the salon if they are running a special if not I join mailing lists so when they do I stock up)
Tp If I have a coupon great if not oh well but I always stick to my brand.
Shoes (I know this industry well and trust me for the most part you do pay what you get for. usually when a shoe is a second and hits a seconds store its because of a defect or that when ti was in the stored people didnt' buy it)
Jewelry (I know you didn't know you could bargain shop for jewelry did you. lol its true most stores have a 300% markup on jewelry bargain bargain away I've gotten up to 80% off just by asking on a 4k item just ask you'll be surprised honestly it works better with higher priced items so dont over penny pinch with this one or they'll avoid you like the plague when you come in. But if you buy high end and you buy alot this one can work really well for you if you stick with one jeweler.)

Things I never bargain shop for:

Car maintenance I will price around but I don't go to non dealers for work.
Houshold maintenance same as above
Medical and dental care I do price shop pharmacies for prescriptions but I never ever avoid medical care of shop for a cheaper dentists I trust him and woulnd't go anywhere else.

Dog food after major recall my dog only eats all natural from companies in us or Eu that do not import from china.

 

[*pixie*dust*]

I agree with TP, also mayonnaise (only Miracle Whip) at our house & ketchup (Heinz)

Totally agree with Miracle Whip and Heinz!!!

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

Mac and Cheese - Kraft only
Mayo - Best Foods only
Cereal - just not generic, it's not the same!
Shoes
Soda - Diet coke or pepsi only
Hot Dogs - You're right luvmy3 - for .99 they must be really bad!

I think that's it, I'm generally ok with store brands.

 

[woodkins]

I won't go budget on toiletpaper....there IS a difference.

Recently I bought Target brand (Up & Up) of cotton swabs....twice as many for a dollar less? Sounds good, but not such a good deal. They have far less cotton on the tips, and it doesn't feel as soft as the Q-Tip brand. I will use what I have bought, but will go back to buying (and spending the extra $ on)Q-Tip brand swabs.
(I have bought Target brand stuff in the past & have never had an issue with quality/value, etc. This was the 1st time I was not pleased with the purchase. Lesson learned!)

What are some things that you insist on buying the "name brand" of?

This is sooo funny, I also just bought the up and up cotton swabs and had the same feelings as you! I have been buying the up and up brand of lots of items and been really pleased with them, most of the time liking them more than the "brand" name. These were terrible.

 

[laurafergie]

I'm glad I'm not the only one about Kraft Mac and cheese. Also add A-1 Steak sauce to the list.

 

[Leshaface]

Shoes! I won't be cheap on my feet, they're the one holding me up! Nikes, Addias, Nine West, Steve Madden, etc..

Tampax Tampons - Just recently bought the Target Up Brand and they're terrible! The cardboard applicator gets squishy so the actual tampon can't be pushed up, then I have to start all over with a new tampon (TMI I know, but just trying to help others out!)

Chicken - Fosters Farms vs Store brand it will always be FF

Brand Name cereal - Generic always taste stale to me...haven't found a good one yet

Haircut - Someone else said haircut and I totally agree! 80 every 2 months is fine with me!

 

[gwtw428]

I refuse to cheap out on my Heinz Ketchup, Hellmans Mayo, Scotts TP and Skippy Natural PB..Oh and Smuckers Grape Jelly.

Anything else is store brand or what I have qpon for...

 

[MommyBell08]

Yeppers, Tampons (sry TMI) and Diapers only Huggies..I think Ill go store brand on just about anything else...ohhh and Dog food, one of my fur babies has a sensitive stomach.

 

[bookgirl]

Toliet Paper (though I do use a second tier paper so to speak)
Soup/Spagettios (any canned meat or pasta based item in fact)
Ketchup
Soda
Laundry Detergent
Bagged Breaded Chicken Stips
Miracle Whip

 

[Temperance(xiv)]

Definitely no budget trash bags: we only use Glad Force Flex because I've had too many bags break on me.

But I can usually get a good deal on them if I use coupons and buy on sale.

 

[Handbag Lady]

Q-tips. The others are crappy.

Coach Handbags - I know, I know. But, I have a bag that is my work bag that I've used daily for two years now. Due to MY wear and tear, the leather on the handle started to crack. I took it to the Coach store and even though they didn't have replacements parts for that type of handle, they sent me to the shoe repair guy and paid me 75% of the cost to have him replace the leather. (Hard to explain, they are thin-ish straps and I like to swing the bag *I* caused the damaged.)

Always - Just always. And Playtex tampons, too. I had a bad experience with store-brand...

Shampoo and conditioner - I have thin hair so I like certain brands that I switch between. I can use the cheaper shampoos but cheaper conditioners just build up.

Target clothes - I LIKE being able to wear disposable clothes. I need to wear somewhat fashionable work clothes, so I buy the trendy stuff at Target for one season so that I can change styles often.

Books - Kindle all the way.

 

[3boymthr]

The ONLY things that I will regularly buy store brand are:

Milk and a few other select dairy products like sour cream or ricotta
Eggs
Meat - I really don't get the point in buying name brand steak over store brand

No cheap clothes, food, accessories, etc. for us. Like PPs I'm firmly of the belief that there's no savings in buying store brand if I have to replace it in just a couple of months or if I have throw it away cause it doesn't do the job or my kids won't eat it. I do stick to a budget on the things I buy always going for a sale or coupon to get the best price.

 

[Reagan&Co.]

Jif peanut butter

I am all for store brands on a lot of things, but as many of you pointed out, I would not mess with the personal hygeine supplies!!!

 

[overlyspoiled4sure]

We prefer Charmin too but the plumber says the tissue doesn't break apart well enough & can ( & sometime does) plug up the pipes. So we switched to Northern.

Cheerios only; Nestle only for chocolate chips (DD doesn't like Hershey chips but does like Hershey bars--go figure), Skippy peanut butter, Viva paper towels, & Sweet Baby Ray's for BBQ sauce.

That's all I can think of right now.

 

[acourtwdw]

Dawn
Always
Renyolds Wrap
Hefty trash bags
Heinz catsup
Helmans mayo
Cling Wrap
Angel Soft TP
Tide
Purina Cat Food (unhappy cat=unhappy people)
Kibbles and Bits (see above but sub dogs)

 

[Jennifer in MI]

There's very nearly nothing I'm not willing to save on. But, here are a couple non-negotiables:

Food. We do organic and very little processed food. I will shop for the cheapest organic prices though!

Running shoes. I'm a runner and believe that good shoes have kept me going. My kids have just started running and I have them fit at a running store too.

Really. I think that's it!!!

 

[Mad4Mickey]

TP!
my shoes I gotta have good shoes
Plastic wrap and foil
Mac and Cheese KRAFT all the way baby!

 

[sherry7]

I don't mind most generics/budget items at all. I typically grocery shop at Aldi, and have found that we like everything just as well, or better.

The only things I really won't cheap out on are:
Shoes - Because I've had 2 foot surgeries
Cat food - My fur balls only eat California Natural.
Soap - Safeguard is a must for me.
Hot dogs - We only like Nathan's brand...I shudder to think of the ingredients in the other brands.
Tape - Scotch tape is the only decent one for wrapping presents, etc.