When Is Spending Extra Worth It?

I've found the price of kids' shoes to NOT be an indicator of quality. My daughter has sometimes worn inexpensive sneakers for an entire year. And then the next pair will fall apart in months. So I take my chances with mid-priced shoes and hope for the best. Luckily so far she is the kind to wear the same pair every day so I only need to spend on one pair at a time!

I spend extra for winter outerwear. In MN it's worth it. From the time my daughter was old enough to actively play outside, I've bought her name-brand snowsuits from REI. Most times she's gotten two winter's wear from each one and was never cold or wet while playing outside! Now her niece is wearing her previous ones and they are still in great shape.

I will spend a little more on dress/work shoes for me. My favorite ones have lasted for years. And suits (when my job has required them) that are classic and can be work often.

I calculate value by taking into account frequency of use. In other words, an expensive item isn't expensive when divided by the times it is used. I try not to spend much on an item of clothing I'll rarely wear, or any item I'll infrequently use.

I'm a first grade reacher. I totally agree with Crayola crayons being far better than others. I also think Ticonderoga pencils are the best. They rarely go in sale but worth the extra money. There is a brand of eraser that is white with blue,white and red wrapper. The eraser has a paper cover on part of it. This type of eraser is superior to all others. They too cost more but worth it in my opinion. As you can tell school things can make a difference. As for food, it seems like most everything goes on sale at some time. I just try to only buy what is on sale.

I know it's a bit late but I have found Keens to last the longest for my kids. They're not cheap but they last and they're good for there feet so I can live with it. If you buy them either at REI or nordstroms and envy thing happens to them they are happy to give you a replacement though I have never had a problem with the shoes just my kids outgrowing them. My rule is don't go cheap on things you use everyday like shoes bedding etc. if you work out the cost of the sheets per night you sleep on them it's worths spending the money for a descend quality product. Same goes with shoes. Hope this helps.

I go by the motto: "You get what you pay for" and "never compromise on Health or Safety"

I am not afraid to pay more for a higher end product. In the long run, you do save money.

Example... I paid $150 for a pair of jeans 12 yrs ago. I STILL wear these jeans regularly so as of now, my cost is $12.50 per year. That is pretty economical if you ask me.

Yes we buy higher quality shoes.. same concept as the jeans... 1 pair at $100 typically last longer than a cheap pair at $25.

I don't do the Organic thing in the store because I see that as a marketing gimmick. I do have name brands I will not budge from which are Hellman's mayo, French's mustard, Heinz ketchup, Reynold's foil, etc but I will sometimes buy a store brand on something else.

My pots and pans are the high end All-Clad and they still look new after 7 years of a lot of use. I also love cast iron cookware and I have some well seasoned pieces for over 20 yrs that are fantastic.

We don't really "budget" per say, we buy what we need when we need it and it is all paid for, NO debt. I do not consider pricing when i make purchases, I consider the QUALITY.

Good luck

I always buy name brand: laundry soap, toilet paper, diapers (when dd was in them), dish soap, coffee, and ice cream!
I do buy payless shoes for myself (if they're for special occassion and I don't expect to wear them for very long periods of time) and my daughter (have to buy her new shoes every 3-6months). I prefer to just shop sales for the brands I like, though.
As for food, yeah, I'll give store-brand a try, but if it's gross (or hubby doesn't like it), I'll just stick with the name brand.

For me, the thing I'm willing to spend a little more for is my sanity and blood pressure! Walmart may price match and be the "convenience headquarters of America" but I get so frustrated and anxious when I go there! I'd rather pay more and shop at an actual grocery store (Albertson's) or even Target!

Name brand Q-Tips, toilet paper, and paper towels. :) I am a snob about those things. I have tried the cheap brands and they are yuck!

As far as shoes, my son is 6 and we have to buy him new tennis shoes every 3 months. We buy Nike (have an outlet near us) and he still burns thru them like crazy. My daughters were NEVER that rough on tennis shoes.

For what it's worth, my cousin's son goes through shoes like your son does. Her son is 10, very active, and just tears through shoes. She'd be thrilled if she could get him shoes that would last 3 months, even! She has tried everything from expensive name brand (Nike, Converse, DC, Vans) to Payless, and the expensive ones don't hold up any better. You might as well just get him the cheap ones as long as they're comfortable for him! With my girls, since they aren't that hard on their shoes, I do buy them the more expensive ones.

I completely agree with your list, and I would add to it appliances! It is ALWAYS worth it to buy a nice vacuum, washer/dryer, TV, refrigerator, dishwasher, and oven/stove. Also, I've bought Sonicare toothbrushes for the past 10 years, and though they may be more expensive than manual toothbrushes, we have saved a FORTUNE in dental bills. (Our dentist agrees with us on this.)

The other thing I'll spend a little more on is my clothes. When clothes are cheap, you can tell. I have more of a classic style anyway, so I just buy nicer things that I know will last several years. It's rare that I even buy anything on sale, because I'm super picky about fit and quality, and won't buy it unless I absolutely love it.

Shoes are one for me - not only because they last longer, but foot comfort is important and good shoes can be better for their growing foot health also, so I invest in good shoes, the rest of the clothes is whatever, but also a good coat for our winters.
Good food.
Good toilet paper!!!! :)

There is a HUGE difference between cheap and inexpensive. Cheep is low quality, poorly made stuff. Inexpensive is higher quality stuff on sale or clearance. For kids clothes and shoes I always bought clearance from top quality stores. I once found a Tommy Hilfiger sweater for my daughter at Dayton's for $5 on clearance. I have found $80 outfits for myself on clearance for under $5. Shop after season clearance sales for your kids. If it's fall and the summer stuff is being blown out at low prices and you know they won't wear it for a few months buy a size or two bigger than they are currently wearing. Depending upon their normal growth cycle. Shoes sould be leather or other breathable fabric. Man made or vinal shoes stay moist from the natural sweat we all do daily. If this continues to build up bacteria forms and so do foot infections.

There are somethings I will pay more for. But it very seldom food I find in a grocery store. The exception is fresh fruit in season.

One store had ripe peaches. I'm sure it was an accident that they got ripe ones by mistake. The peaches were $.99 lb. At my usual cheap-priced grocery store, the peaches were $.79 and $.69 per pound. The cheaper peaches were ripened enroute to the store. The higher priced peaches were ripened on the tree. (You can smell the ripeness of the peach.) So I paid 25% more for the ripe ones.

I don't pay more for cheddar cheese or almost any other cheese. When you take the plastic cover off, they are almost the same. The same for canned vegetables and fresh beef steaks or roasts. I don't pay more for chicken. I won't buy boneless-skinless chicken breasts because I know how to cut the meat off a chicken breast. I do it much cheaper than the butcher.

I buy tire by the mileage rating, not by the manufacturer. I wil pay 25% more for a tire that will last for 50,000 miles than I will for a tire that will only last 40,000 miles. (Yes, 50,000 is 25% more than 40,000.)

Good luck to you and yours.

When it comes to food, clothing, education and footwear-it costs less to buy the best! My youngest son (21) is currently wearing a pair of Sperry Topsiders that a hobo wouldn't wear-he has had them as far back as I can remember-I asked him if I could get him a new pair-and he said no thanks! Go figure!

I think it's worth it to spend extra on things that get a lot of wear and tear AND things that you will have for a long time. Shoes, appliances/kitchenware, electronics, mattresses, counter tops, tires, staple wardrobe pieces (for adults) like a nice pair of slacks or jeans, or a good winter coat or classic handbag for example.
I'm willing to skimp on a lot of other stuff though. I get all my toiletries, shampoo, soap, cosmetics, etc. from the drug store. I like buying both kids and adult clothes off season and on clearance as much as possible, and sometimes secondhand. I will buy shoes at Payless, but only if they are for a special occasion and will hardly be worn. We've gotten a lot of great cheap furniture at Ikea that has held up EXTREMELY well (nothing upholstered though!) My Christmas Village is the super cheap Rite Aid stuff but when it's all set up it looks beautiful. And I actually prefer the cheap Target towels to the higher end ones, they seem to hold up better for some reason.
I'm sure there's a lot more but this is what's coming to me now :)

What I do spend more on:

-Organic Milk, organic ground beef and some organic fruits and veggies (the "top 10") - I don't want my little girls to be full of hormones from the cheap dairy and meat products and have boobies when they are only 8!
-Makeup, jeans, winter gear
-bread
-good beer

What I don't spend more on:
-cheese (except mozzarella - cheap mozzarella doesn't have the righ texture)
-tp - costco brand is nice and lasts forever in a house with 3 females
-i buy store brands - most are fine with me

I try to make my own chicken stock, I make fresh bread occasionally and I try to make as much as possible from scratch to avoid excess preservatives, etc. It is nice knowing your food only has 3 ingredients in it rather than 20 and it is sooo cheap to make your own waffle mix, etc.
I don't go shopping that much because of where I live. We just go shopping with a list to get only what we need. I sometimes buy more expensive shoes and sometimes cheaper ones. Cheap Ugg-type boots are not worth it!

I can't stand the thought of cheap uncomfortable shoes and I wouldn't impose it on my son! But, there is a middle ground--clearance sales ( you can buy sneakers ahead) coupon sales at Macy's or Kohls, etc.
Membership rewards at Finish Line, Foot Locker, etc.

I mean, I think there's a difference between a $15 pair of shoes and a $50 pair if shoes but NOT that much difference between a $50 and a $150 pair of shoes, know what I mean?

In college, I figured out there was a cheap brand and a gross brand of mac n cheese. I bought cheap but didn't buy the even cheaper one that tasted gross. It wasn't worth it to me. There are some brands of laundry detergent I prefer because they seem to work better and I don't have to worry about my kid getting an allergic reaction or washing twice. I also like products that are more green, if the price isn't too high. Our dishwasher is picky so we always get Cascade. I also invested in some more expensive clothes when I worked FT because staple pieces last years.

I don't care about coffee - I get what's on sale. Most of the time our canned goods are all store brand/sale price, too.

Mascara, foundation, and lip gloss. Other glamour products I can buy cheap.

Shoes for ME. I have a hard time justifying spending hundreds of dollars on men's shoes, even ones that I can tell are really nice, but I can totally do it on women's shoes. (I let my husband tell me when it's worth spending the money on his shoes.) My son is growing out of his size 4 shoes. Because he is very active and loves to be outside, I'll spend a little more on one pair of everyday shoes, instead of buying two and three pairs of a cheaper shoe.

Good food. I don't mind spending money to eat well every day. I'm not talking about dining out at fancy restaurants. I'm talking about a good weighty ($10 or more) build-it-yourself salad instead of fast food for lunch. I think that it pays off in my overall health costs. Also, I make up for it by buying produce at the farmers' market and creating good meals at home.

Gluten-free products. It's just better for my health, so....

I can't stand the thought of having a standing appointment at the hair salon, but it's worth the money when I'm heading out to someplace fancy and I don't have the time or energy to get my hair together.

I don't like to spend money, so that decision is always weighed heavily.

Shoes-yes
Crayons-yes
Food-no
Jeans-yes
Paint for your house-yes
Electronics-yes
Cleaning supplies-no

to me if its somethign thats going to get tons of use its worth spending a little more.. for example when i buy sneakers i go with cheap.. its not like im running marathons... but my fiances work boots, ive learned that if i buy a cheap pair ill end up spending more money.. he will go through 2 30$ pairs from kmart in the same amount of time as 1-50$ pair from models or sports authority.. so im actually spending more money. As far as food goes i always try the store brand.. if it tastes the same then great ill keep buyin it but if it doesnt i go back to the name brand

shoes are something I spend more for.

Some things are worth paying more for because of the quality. I buy my kids shoes at the stride rite outlet because they are better quality - better for their feet and they do last longer... :) I also pay more for cars (Honda vs. KIA - sorry KIA owners....), and anything I want to last. When I try to save on a lesser item, I am usually sorry. I find I can save money by being smart and only buying what I really need, but buying quality items when I do buy...

I buy food for taste, not name brand OR price....so that may be generic, it may be name brand, just depends on what I'm buying, and for what. It changes...an example would be that I make my own salsa with stuff out of my garden (unless I need to buy mangos for a salsa to put on fish), but sometimes I use Joe T Garcia's or Mrs Renfros salsas if it's to top something. BUT to cook into something, I'll go cheap and buy Pace. I try to purchase better foods instead of loads of junk.
I prefer jeans from Children's Place because they won't shrink, last forever, and I like the way they fit my kids. I'll buy cheap on some clothes, but not the boys' jeans.
I'm a photography snob and buy only Canon stuff. High priced items like TV or appliances, I delegate the researching to my husband to find the right stuff for us. We'll pay for quality rather than having to replace something later.
I've learned to buy name brands on camping supplies! The tent, air bed, camel packs, etc should be good quality!!!

Regarding the shoes, I have had issues with Reeboks myself. The last pair of Reeboks that I bought ripped a hole in the mesh after about a month. VERY disappointing. I went to our local outlet mall and noticed they had a New Balance outlet (halelujah!). Got my favorite brand (which I have NEVER had fall apart on me, even after wearing nearly every day for 2+ years) and for even cheaper than I usually do! New Balance aren't as expensive as a lot of other brands to start with, so I was REALLY pleased.

Regarding what I'm willing to spend a little extra on.... Hmmm.... Nearly everything kitchen related. I'm like you, I want the higher end stuff that I KNOW will last.

I'd never buy payless shoes. I remember when I was a teen and had to use my own money, I'd get payless and they were extremely uncomfortable. Sure, they'd feel fine in the store, but after wearing them for a half day - it wasn't worth it.

For me and the kids, we have nice, high quality shoes that hold up. I usually buy .5 - 1 size larger than they measure to get more time out of them, and they still out grow them before they out wear them. In your case for school, I'd recommend visiting a stride rite outlet.

When the quality is noticeably different, it's worth spending more, so the thing will last. It differs depending on the item. More expensive doesn't always mean better quality, although it sometimes does.

I am very frugal. I like quality brands at a discount price, and I am willing to use my smarts and coupons to achieve this goal. I will buy some cheap shoes for the kids if it isn't their main pair, but I find I can get them shoes from Lands end that will last through two kids. I buy clearance for most things, or I hunt for deals.

I just bought a top of the line weber grill for 500 under everyone else by finding a website that lists 2010 grills but then sends you the 2012.

I don't buy discounted cheese or other foods. I will buy store brand but jewel not Aldi. Cheap cheese doesn't melt right, and hubby just refuses to eat it

I spend more on organic and nitrate free foods, non GMO. I think paying more now in food will be way cheaper then health bills later. I also buy cheap-o shoes with the exception of sales. I'm interested to hear others.

Shoes yes I spend more.. I buy them 2 times a year for the kids at Nordstrom sale. They sizes kids and they told me to leave tags on them and when school starts ...shoes don't fit bring them in for a refund or different size. I buy most in July. Shoes are usually 30 perecent off.

I will buy good chlorine removal shampoo makes a big difference. Kids swim a lot.

Organic milk and meat

Workout pants for me. I wear yoga pants a lot and love Zella Nordstrom brand they last a long time, don't fade and they shorten them for no charge.

Yes, there's more to being economical than being cheap - that is, spending as little money as possible.

If your son wears his school shoes five (or almost five) days a week, you can divide their cost by the number of days he wears them overall and determine the approximate cost of the shoes per day. But if he wears out the value-brand shoes in two months, then the cost per day may actually be higher than the value of a more expensive, but well-made, pair of shoes.

The other thing, of course, is that you have to tell your son not to let his feet grow until the end of the school year. But that's another problem.

Clothing I wear regularly, the things I depend on, might be worth a bit of extra expense. On the other hand, if I have a fancy dress I'm only going to wear once or twice, I'll check the racks and look for a bargain. In a sense, this is laughable, since I almost always buy clothing from second-hand stores anyhow, but the principle is still the same.

I'm usually convinced that if you are in the market for something that you want to use for a long time, it's a good idea to buy the best you can *afford*. That doesn't always mean the highest-priced item - high price is definitely not the same as high quality - but what is the best value in the long run.

The flip side is that what you do have, you appreciate! I won't replace something just because I'm tired of it if it's still good. I'll find a way to keep making it work.

When I had to look for new pots and pans, I made an investment in some good ones, because I expect to use them for twenty or thirty years. We have *invested* in replacement windows this year, because we don't want to make that purchase again! Window coverings? That's something else. I'll look for a bargain there, because I might want to replace them after a few years.

I'm with you about the crayons, by the way.

My son also needs either solid black or white shoes for school. He also has a wide foot ,which makes finding shoes a bit difficult. So far, I have used Zappos. I buy the addidas all white and or black leather sneakers. One, I like the style (old school) and two, the leather gives added protection for the foot (often, I see kids in Converse, for which I love) but.. they have NO supports. those crocs are pretty bad as well..With the leather shoes, they seem to last longer and give the added support for both the side of the foot and heel..
I have paid up to about $60.00 .. which if it last (which so far they have) then it's been worth it.
Additionally, for a running shoe, I have purchased Saucony ... but unlike the leather shoes, these are better for just running (they don't have a side support for the foot)

As for other things, I will buy organic veggies when it comes to certain things, such as strawberries, peppers , lettuce and or grapes (all known to be heavily sprayed) I don't always feel it necessary to buy organic when it comes to watermellon, bananas, oranges and or other mellons..

good luck

My son bought a pair of Sketchers tennis shoes (size 12... sheesh!) when he was visiting family in Las Vegas July 2011..... they just recently ripped out. I think that was money well spent! (I think he got them at an outlet store for around $70 or so.....)

I recently took the plunge and shelled out some big dollars on high quality cookware. This was after years of me buying replacement pots and pans every time one of them wore out. So I am with you on that!

We tend to buy our children's shoes from Nordstrom or Nordstrom Rack. I always buy the kids gym shoes at the fall anniversary sale because the sale prices are hard to beat. And I know that if I ever have any problems with the shoes I buy from Nordstrom, I can take them back. I am lucky though, in that my kids are small and don't outgrow their shoes very quickly. I don't know that I would buy from Nordstrom if I had
to buy them more than one pair of shoes or sandals for each season.

Food: I do buy the name brand stuff if I can tell the difference. If I can't tell the difference, it is generic all the way.

Other stuff that I paid more for quality: Honda Odyssey minivan, Bob stroller, Apple computer, Wustof santoku knife, Hanna Andersson pajamas, and washable markers for the kids :-)

my son has a pair of saucony's that were really cool for 2-3 mos and now the entire outside mesh is ripping off. they look horrible and they were 60 bucks!!!!!

I dont go cheap on shoes, alcohol, food

Trash bags. What is the saving when you have to put more and more bags on the bottom of the one you're carrying to the trash can to keep it from busting through. Or you get it almost to the trash can and it ruptures all over the yard. Then you have to spend time and effort to pick it all up. YUK!!!

When I had my child care center I would buy the white trash bags with the red strip through the top, maybe Glad brand? The partner would be all mad at me for spending all that wasted money when the cheap bags worked just as good. He was sadly mistaken. I showed him over the period of a couple of months that we spent more on the cheap bags due to having to double and triple bag them. We were buying a package each week or more. The other bags we only bought once per month at most.

I also think that laundry soap needs to be a name brand. I showed my BFF that her clothes were not as clean as she thought. I took a couple of her things to my house to wash and dry. It was her hubby's tees for work and a couple of pairs of jeans. I washed them just like she does, all mixed together. I only put those 6-8 items in the washer and filled it full with the recommended amount of detergent. No bleach, no fabric softener, no additives at all.

She took the same amount of clothes and washed them on the same level of water with the equivalent of her laundry detergent that was a generic kind.

When we laid the clothes side by side the load I washed smelled better, it was whiter, it had less spots/stains left on the garments, etc....it was cleaner.

She started buying a better quality detergent and her clothes stopped smelling dirty when she took them out of the dryer.

I would say MOST things are worth paying the extra for.

However, with kids, they outgrow it before they wear it out, so I don't always apply that rule! LOL

And, sometimes paying extra doesn't guarantee better quality. Name brands, are sometimes just that, name brands. More expensive for the name, but not any better.

My kids blow through shoes like crazy too and it drives me bonkers! The older one will only wear vans so I end up paying $45 a pop for them and they last about 3 months. I make her wear them until they literally fall apart. She plays basketball and I won't hesitate to spend $100+ on good BB shoes. Funny... She takes care of those.

After reading some of the other posts I realized that I'm a bit of a liquor snob. I don't drink a lot but when I do, it better be good!

Learned from my Mom that no matter how bad finances get we always use Best Foods (Hellman's) mayo and real butter. I believe in buying quality but sometimes I'm super cheap and go the cheap route. If it's something I know I'm going to want to have for a while I buy quality.

We spend extra to get local, organic milk, local honey, and healthy peanut butter.

I buy cheap-o shoes for the kids (cuz they go thru them so quickly...both are under 7yo), but good, expensive shoes for myself (they can last for 10+yrs!). I am not a shoe person by any means...and probably own 5 pairs or less (no heels). I will probably move to getting better shoes for the kids once they stay in them longer.

We buy mostly thrift-store or Target clothes. We haven't bought a new piece of furniture in 4+ yrs. Then it was a couch and a mattress for DS. We bought ourselves a really good mattress and two great pillows 9yrs ago...it is still our BEST purchase ever!! Those are the only furniture purchases in the last 10+ yrs.

We buy most toys and books secondhand...except for gifts..and then we look for sales.

We've never had a brand-new vehicle, but we look for good quality and good price in a used one. We pay good money for vehicle service and repairs if we know it is someone who is honest.

Won't go cheap on: Alcohol, Makeup, Clothes (hand me downs are okay but for the most part I buy the nicer brands), computer parts, electronics, furniture, bread for me, scrapbooking supplies.

Will go cheap on: Food items, Shoes (or will try to use a coupon to get them on sale...not necessarily CHEAP. We buy from Payless also but also Stride Rite, Target, etc), house cleaners, bread for kids/hubby, toys (again buy used or with a coupon...I don't mean we buy cheap plastic/lead paint based toys. LOL)

I've learned not to waste my time with cheap DVD players and microwaves. I finally bought a Sony DVD and it has lasted far longer than all of the cheap-o brands I had been buying (Magnavox, Craig, GPX).

I paid a litle more for our last countertop microwave and it didn't blow out after a month. (Yes the last one lasted about a week and the one before it a few months.)

I second the Q-tips and I only buy Northern toilet tissue.

Like you I too have trouble justifying the extra cost. I have had a pair of Clark shoes for about 7 years now. There's nothing wrong with them, but sometimes I think I ought to buy another pair. When I see what they cost I can't bring myself to do it!

Long ago I decided that anything over $100 or that we used more than a year then it was worth it to go for quality. These days I might up that hundred dollars but that's the only thing. Like the garage door or an appliance. You want to keep away from cheap stuff that you will use everyday because who wants to be frustrated daily by things!

I blow by clothes all the time and go straight for the clearence rack.
Order water at restaurants.

I yard sale all the time! Never look at something just for the way it's intended to be used. Anything decorative goes in and out of style all the time, don't pay top dollar. Stick to things that make you smile not that a decorator is trying to sell you. Get that "collected" look by well....collecting!
Estate sales for furniture after divorces. Sorry :(

I won't spend extra on organic. Studies have proven that a hype. I do wash my fruit in a vinegar/water bath.

Don't window shop, it just leads to want and envy and eventually spending.

Apple products all the way.