The "Things *Not* to Cheap Out On" Thread

^ Congrats on the weight loss!

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nightfire
An easy way to tell if the stuff is real olive oil and not fake? Stick the bottle in the fridge for a day or so. The real stuff solidifies into a sort of goo.* The fake stuff won't. It will stay liquid.

This happened with my homemade italian dressing made with avocado oil (much to my dismay). Avocado oil is supposed to be identical to olive, so this would seem to bear that out. At least I know it's a pure product, right?

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cerebralherpes
BUY REAL BUTTER!

wink

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navi8orgirl
Merlin will only eat FF seafoods and only with gravy.

LOVE that name. Might have to steal it for a future fur-baby...

Cooking/baking utensils. The cheap stuff will only break down or rust on you. I'm not saying buy the super-expensive stuff, but don't get bottom barrel items. Spend the few extra dollars on stuff that lasts longer.

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"Why children take so long to grow? They eat and drink like pig and give nothing back. Must find way to accelerate process..."
- Dr. Yi Suchong, Bioshock

"Society does not need more children; but it does need more loved children. Quite literally, we cannot afford unloved children - but we pay heavily for them every day. There should not be the slightest communal concern when a woman elects to destroy the life of her thousandth-of-an-ounce embryo. But all society should rise up in alarm when it hears that a baby that is not wanted is about to be born."
- Garrett Hardin

"I feel like there's a message involved here somehow, but then I couldn't stop laughing at all the plotholes, like the part when North Korea has food."
- Youtube commentor referring to a North Korean cartoon.

"Reality is a bitch when it slowly crawls out of your vagina and shits in your lap."
- Reddit comment

"Bitch wants a baby, so we're gonna fuck now. #bareback"
- Cambion

Oh whatever. Abortion doctors are crimestoppers."
- Miss Hannigan

I agree on the cookware thing. Two years ago I was in a pinch and needed to buy some cookware to hold me over until I had more to spend on something nice. This was when I was in a paycheck-to-paycheck situation for about a year. I could afford the 40 dollar set of cookware from Big Lots. It did what it needed to do for about a year, but after a year it was SHOT. I was so happy when finally able to upgrade to a set I know will last many years.

Socks and underwear. I've had panties I bought at Walrus-mart start to fall apart after 2 washings! It wasn't Hanes or Fruit of the Loom, but one of Wal-fart's brands (it didn't say Wal-fart on the label but it was some brand that's sold only at Wal-fart I think). Some other budget brand of socks like Faded Glory or some shit like that at Wal-fart also didn't last me long. I sprung a little more for some Hanes socks and they lasted for 3 years before I wanted to replace them, and this was working on my feet every day. Built to last! This also goes for any other types of clothing. The problem is that it's getting harder to find clothes that are well-made and won't fall apart in a year or two, even if you take good care of the clothes. It's like companies that used to make great clothes started outsourcing their factories to China, and now we get crappy clothes even from the designers that used to be high quality. Sad.

On food, yes and no. It depends on the food. Some things are fine going cheap on and others not so much. Coffee and tea are two things I don't like to cheap out on too much, but I don't buy the top brand, either. I just want my coffee and tea to taste really good and be of decent quality. Once I bought a big tin of the Kroger Value coffee, the dirt-cheapest they had just to see if it was palatable enough, and it was awful. Even the Kroger house brand which is a step above said "value" brand is tons more tasty than the shoddy "value" brand they have. Certain house brand stuff is fine, and some of it is shit. It really depends on what it is. Cheap chocolate sucks.

Pens, pencils, permanent markers, and tape. Sometimes the dollar store here actually has some BIC pens or Scotch brand tape in stock. But I wouldn't buy something there that wasn't one of those brands, because it will most assuredly be crappy. I made the mistake of getting some permanent markers that weren't Sharpie at a dollar store, and they SUCKED.

Umbrellas. Want the next swift wind to ruin your umbrella? Then buy it at the Dollar Store!

Purses. This sucks because even really cheaply made purses are fucking expensive now. Plus, I use public transportation and I want my purses to have a long enough shoulder strap I can actually put it over my shoulder like a messenger bag so no one can make off with my purse. Almost no purses have shoulder straps right now, and they're all super butt-ugly. Almost none are the right size for me, either. I need it to be big enough and have enough pockets to keep a small hairbrush, some medicine and maxi pads, a book, and my wallet. They're all either tiny or HUGE lately. I guess that's another rant for another thread. I Still, I've never had luck with cheap purses. They always fall apart super quick.

Tools. I'd rather spend more on tools that will last many years.

Furniture. Of course try to find the best deal on something quality, but don't cheap out. When we went to get our bed, we initially were teased by Big Lots once again, as they had a Serta mattress with a pillowtop advertised for a really affordable price. We thought it might be too good to be true, and we were right. After looking at a lot of reviews online, we could see that the quality of this mattress was said by most people to be sub-par. It's like Serta made a crappy model exclusively for Big Lots, as evidenced by the fact that no one else but Big Lots sold this particular model from Serta. People complained that it was already sagging after a YEAR. No thanks!

Shampoo and conditioner. I've tried the cheap-o ones before and they always damaged my hair and gave me split ends from hell. And like Cambion said, they don't work up a good lather, so you end up using way more than you would if you just spent the extra couple of bucks on a better brand. I've had pretty good luck with Tresemme (sp?). Pretty good quality for the price you pay. I found that the el-cheap-o shampoos and conditioners also left my hair feeling a bit coarse and like there was a bit of a film left behind. I like a product that does its job and rinses clean.

I definitely agree on the purses.

I own 12 or 13 KVZs, regularly $90+, but I bought them all from Ross, TJ Maxx, or Dillard's, at a very steep discount. My oldest one is 9 years old, and looks brand new.

Hiking boots an work boots are another couple of things I wouldn't go cheap on. Of course, I'm spoiled wrt footwear, in general, as I have a huge collection of Doc Martens, some of which are 18 years old.

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cosmictraveler
Cheap chocolate sucks.

OMG, you just triggered a memory! For holidays/birthdays, my Grandma used to buy us these huge boxes of assorted chocolates - they were from Czechoslovakia or some place like that. Mom and I would have "guess what the mystery filling is SUPPOSED to taste like" contests. Urgh!

We'd always end up throwing the gross crap away. Why ingest the calories if you don't even enjoy them? Quality over quantity. We'd tell Grandma to just get us a tiny box of Laura Secord or whatever for the same price, but she just didn't get it. To her, more was automatically better.

The new Doc Martens don’t compare; they were once made in Great Britain…I have a 16 year old pair myself that is still in great condition. I use them for when I am out at the hangar on field projects. Nowadays they are made in China. They still cost the same though, which is a shame. The quality is not even close.

A lot of quality shoes are now this way. I want a pair of classic loafers that will last forever (made in Italy—the India/China/Brazil/who knows where don’t compare) and the best I can find that fits this description is Prada at 575 bucks a pair. (I do search eBay for old school Cole Haan—USED to be made in either the US or Italy.)

Purses, I so agree with. The cheapest I have these days is a Nine West I got for Christmas, and I don’t see that lasting with everyday wear since NW decided we don’t need leather purses anymore. My go to bags were Fossil or Kate Spade, though I have an old school Coach leather from my uniformed days.

Cheap coffee and chocolate both suck.

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From a bottle cap message on a Magic Hat #9 beer: Condoms Prevent Minivans
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I want to pick up a bus full of unruly kids and feed them gummi bears and crack, then turn them loose in Hobby Lobby to ransack the place. They will all be wearing T shirts that say "You Could Have Prevented This."

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cosmictraveler
Purses. This sucks because even really cheaply made purses are fucking expensive now. Plus, I use public transportation and I want my purses to have a long enough shoulder strap I can actually put it over my shoulder like a messenger bag so no one can make off with my purse. Almost no purses have shoulder straps right now, and they're all super butt-ugly. Almost none are the right size for me, either. I need it to be big enough and have enough pockets to keep a small hairbrush, some medicine and maxi pads, a book, and my wallet. They're all either tiny or HUGE lately. I guess that's another rant for another thread. tongue I Still, I've never had luck with cheap purses. They always fall apart super quick.

I love Fossil purses and wallets. I've had my current ones for 4 or 5 years, partly because I like the style of them and partly because the new styles really have gotten butt-ugly and EXPENSIVE.

Have you checked out Etsy? I could spend hours and $$$ at that place...

http://www.etsy.com/listing-category/bags_and_purses/messenger

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Shauna's like a gluten-free Jim Jones for dumb, lifeless middle-aged women. I swear, this bitch could set fire to a orphanage and they would applaud her for bringing them light. ~ Miss Hannigan

I'll check out those purses, CrabCake, thanks! Shark, I don't get a full-on messenger bag because I've never been able to find one that wasn't too big for my needs. If I were using it as a laptop bag or something, it would be fine, but I just need my small items in there, with enough spare room for a book if I'm going somewhere I think may be boring. I used to never have a problem finding a purse with a long enough strap to completely wear across my shoulders so it would be securely strapped on, and now I can't find a durable, practical one of the right size anywhere.

ETA: The women's shoulder bags on the Fossil website are really cute but a lot of them too small, so I clicked over to the men's bags and there are a ton of smaller (but big enough for what I need) messenger bags. When my most current purse wears out I'll have to pick one up! Thanks CrabCake!

I'm usually a Chock Full O'Nuts drinker and never tried cheap coffee before. Is it really that bad? I'm asking because I just bought a huge can of Kirkland brand coffee from Costco because it was on sale. Has anyone ever tried this brand? I'm wondering if I should return it before I open it.

Generic canned or potted meat. If you must have this, go all out and spend a few extra pennies for the Spam as opposed to Treet. I have a strict No Potted Meat rule for myself.

Ok everyone....time for my snobbish coffee rant.

If you don't drink your coffee black, I guess you can discard my advice, but for those of you who REALLY enjoy coffee... listen up!

Step 1: Buy a good burr grinder. NOT a cheap one. A good Baratza Maestro Plus will run you over a hundred bucks but they are really good. Blade grinders produce inconsistently sized granules and you will not get even extraction from your brew.

Step 2: NEVER get your coffee beans ground for you. ALWAYS buy beans whole, and DON'T buy beans from the grocery store, Drunken Donuts or Starbucks. Find a good coffee shop that actually knows how to make espresso and buy fresh beans from them weekly. If you don't have a place like that nearby, go online and let your fingers do the purchasing. I try not to keep beans longer than three weeks tops out from their roasting date. If you notice, Starbucks has a date stamped on the bottom for when the coffee is good til. Most of those dates are approx 6 MONTHS out from their roasting date. Plus, they over-roast their beans and it always tastes burned.

Step 3: Grind your beans right before using them for the best flavors. Once beans are ground, the flavor deteriorates rapidly.

Step 4: Brew your coffee your favorite way. My favorites at home are French Press, Pourover or Aeropress. the coffee shop I go to every day at work is amazing and I get a latte almost every time.

Step 5: enjoy!

I am telling you, if you really want to enjoy your coffee, get it freshly roasted and grind your own beans. If you like to dump creamer, flavors and sugar into your coffee like crazy, then it doesn't matter.

Ok, I am done being a coffee snob... ps, I am not even as bad as some.... lol!

I don't drink mine black, but still insist on good coffee because unless you add coffee to your flavorings, you can still taste it. I want it to be good.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From a bottle cap message on a Magic Hat #9 beer: Condoms Prevent Minivans
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I want to pick up a bus full of unruly kids and feed them gummi bears and crack, then turn them loose in Hobby Lobby to ransack the place. They will all be wearing T shirts that say "You Could Have Prevented This."

A good umbrella - I have owned so many crappy ones and one that I bought on Amazon because the reviews said it was sturdy. If anyone here has a suggestion for an umbrella that can withstand winds of 15 MPH or higher, let me know!

There's that hurricane one which was developed in the Netherlands a few years ago. It's expensive, though, because it is patented, but the one person I knew who had it was pretty happy with it.

Don't buy it if you're the sort of person who forgets umbrellas, though.

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Ketchup
A good umbrella - I have owned so many crappy ones and one that I bought on Amazon because the reviews said it was sturdy. If anyone here has a suggestion for an umbrella that can withstand winds of 15 MPH or higher, let me know!

Check this out

I remember buying this years ago and it did work. I forgot what happened to the umbrella. I think I let someone borrow it...you know how that goes.

Yurble, yeah I need one that is both not very expensive but durable, because I've left my umbrella on the bus at least twice that I can remember. Thanks PNQ for the suggestion!!

I bought a huge Totes umbrella to deal with Okinawa typhoon weather. The other squadron mates mocked my roof size umbrella but guess whose roof did not collapse...HKWet (haha)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From a bottle cap message on a Magic Hat #9 beer: Condoms Prevent Minivans
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I want to pick up a bus full of unruly kids and feed them gummi bears and crack, then turn them loose in Hobby Lobby to ransack the place. They will all be wearing T shirts that say "You Could Have Prevented This."

Computers. Buy the very best you can afford. Reason being, a cheap one will cost you more money in the long run because of repairs. You will also be much happier with a reliable machine that works.