Things you can't go cheap on

[gekko]

Sunglasses I won't buy cheap, but I won't go overboard (as in designers).

Soccer equipment I usually buy near the most expensive in everything. Can't stand anything less than the international match balls (usually get the latest FIFA, U.S. Soccer, or MLS ball). Goalie gloves under $100 just tend not to provide the grip, and the go bad quickly. I tend to buy Adidas newest cleat for the year, but it's just I like them, not my fault they're so expensive. Have to buy the molded shin-guards.

Computers I usually won't go cheap, but that's because when I buy new, I want something new, not a year old. So I tend to always buy the latest and greatest.

Home theater I don't go crazy, but I won't do cheap either. I don't spend $10,000 because I want an HDMI-switching receiver, but I would if I had the money. I usually go for the mid-level, that is still affordable, but provides the features I want.

[The Germanator]

I'm a pretty cheap bastard, so I'll go the cheap way most of the time... I buy all of my clothes at Salvation Army and Goodwill. I mean, I got three pairs of pants for $8.50 the other day, it's just unbeatable..

There really isn't much in my life that I wouldn't try to look for the best bargain on..

[manasecret]

I hope you don't mind, I figured I'd respond to each of ya and in the meantime I would answer the question for myself.

Crash:
Agreed
Cereal - agreed, tried cheap cereal once about ten years ago, never again
Bread - Good bread is good bread, especially fresh baked stuff from standalone bakeries, but the good thing is even good bread is cheap!
Chocolate Milk - Hershey's definitely my one and only
Paintballs - Is that true? Oh well, I always end up buying the expensive ones from the paintball place anyway
tooth paste/ tooth brush - definitely, teeth are important! But I only care about good toothpaste...

Disagreed
DVD players - I'm not with you here, you're probably right about quality, but my TVs all suck anyway
Writable Cd's - I've never experienced paint chipping but cheap CD's do seem to die immediately, I burn a CD and during the first playing it already skips! But I'm still a sucker for 100 CD's for $10


Link:
Agreed, Dr. Pepper is the one and only besides maybe Mr. Pibb. However, I am not very picky about cheap knock-off cola brands in general, though I have recently come to realize that the real brands do taste better. Maybe it's subconcious though, like I know it's more expensive so my mind thinks it can taste the money...


Dyne: I'm not picky about sushi, but that's because for me it all tastes the same. Please don't kill me... it's just I'm a dumbass sushi eater, but there are many other types of food that I won't go cheap on, like Chinese or Mexican especially, or even barbecue. But I also don't go the ultra-expensive, they're often just as bad as the cheap stuff I think.

Cheap videogames I eat up, as long as it's something I want. As for clothes, I agree good pairs of pants are a must. If you get a good pair of jeans that fits you well, they're worth the money. They'll last you for years and you'll get more use out of them than anything else. However, I go to thrift stores for my shirts. $5 for a T-shirt that IMO has more personality than any store-brand is waaay worth it. T-shirts only last a couple years anyway. Sometimes you also get nice shirts from good brands like Tommy for $15 when normally it's some $65.


jeepnut's slave
Is this a contest over Pepsi and Coke? Ummm, I gues they both cost the same, so hmmm.. I often go really cheap on pizza, though the Roman stuff is the best for me.

Reese's are Reese's. There ain't nothing else. Though truthfully I've never seen a knock-off brand of Reese's.


Typhoid
I think I already said the rest, but Sub sandwhiches I go can go cheap on. I think I'd agree about coffee, though I don't drink it much.

As for clothes, $92 is worth it for good pants if you like them, though I won't go over $50 (Levis is my brand). I only have one hat that I wear and I paid close to $25, so yeah, it's worth it because I don't like most hats, so when I find one I like I will pay extra for it. But thrift stores for shirts...

I'm also usually bad about always offering to pay for everything wherever I go, that's the way my whole family is so I've picked it up. It's not a bad thing, but it's not always a good thing when you're amongst friends. I think you gotta know when to simply offer to pay and when to offer to pay and then not take no for an answer, in a kind way.


deejzguy
Definitely don't go cheap on the pants. (Have I said that enough? )


Jonbo
Mayo and cheese I definitely don't go cheap. Just ain't the same flavor and taste to the cheap stuff. I think for all simple foods like bread, cheese, cereal and the like, there's no need to go ultra-cheap because it's all pretty cheap anyways... though I guess that depends on who you ask...

For computer parts, I've built a few computers, and I don't know exactly which parts you can go cheap on--they all seem expensive to me!

Bube
There are lots of things I would agree for that, like good food and good electronic stuff.


gekko
Soccer equipment and home theater equipment I don't have the money for at all, so I don't know. But I'd imagine those are things you need to spend extra money on. I have spent good money on Klipsch computer speakers, and I can tell a huge difference after using my laptop to listen to music for a year and then coming back to those wonderful things.

I go cheap sunglasses, though, or nothing. I usually end up losing them within a couple weeks so it ain't worth it for me to go expensive!



Germanator
I love thrift stores for the great deals, but even they don't get as cheap as $8.50 for three pairs of pants.... hmmm... I need to start going to Salvation Army and Goodwill.

[DimHalo]

I thought of another thing I don't tend to go cheap on, sort of.

When I am shopping for a dress I usually gravitate towards the more expensive stuff. Jessica McClintock is my favorite designer. So the dresses I own tend to have been pretty expensive.

but...

My mom and I are really good at finding deals so although they started out expensive, I usually get them on sale so I have not actually forked out the big bucks for the dress. In fact, my newest cocktail dress started out at $80 and I got it for $13.

[jeepnut]

99 times out of 100 I won't go cheap on electronics. It's rare that I skimp on electronics because I consider my electronics to be my favorite possessions and I want something that I spend a lot of time with to be something I really like.

Video game controllers and accessories. Generic sucks. I only buy official controllers.

Soda. Pepsi all the way. Nothing else will do.

[Typhoid]

Originally Posted by gekko

Soccer equipment I usually buy near the most expensive in everything. Can't stand anything less than the international match balls (usually get the latest FIFA, U.S. Soccer, or MLS ball). Goalie gloves under $100 just tend not to provide the grip, and the go bad quickly. I tend to buy Adidas newest cleat for the year, but it's just I like them, not my fault they're so expensive. Have to buy the molded shin-guards.

I forgot about sports...


I cant have cheap cleats for Soccer.....playing in such a *cough* high level that I played in (U21 Premier ) cheap cleats just dont do it.....anything under 150 wont do you good for the season. Shinpads I dont much care about, I use the same ones I've used for 4 years, its sort of grown into a superstitious thing. I always wear the one thats cracked down the middle on my right leg.

And for hockey, I cant go cheap on anything. The mouthguards I buy are 20 bucks a piece, and I get a new one every so often, Sticks are about 100 bucks, I need new gloves soon, and those will be close to 120. When I bought my skates, they were 550.

Damn sports.

[The Germanator]

Originally Posted by manasecret

Germanator
I love thrift stores for the great deals, but even they don't get as cheap as $8.50 for three pairs of pants.... hmmm... I need to start going to Salvation Army and Goodwill.

Yeah, well yellow tags were 50% off and all the pants I wanted happened to have yellow tags, so it worked out great that day.

[Krypton]

CANDY


CANT GO CHEAP ON CANDY!




my childish intentions.

[GameMaster]

Stamps. You can't go cheap on stamps. Even though they are quite inexpensive to begin with (like 33 cents or something), I always buy the premium stamps which go for a $1.50 each. And if they have a picture or theme I like, I go for the $3.00 stamps.

[Jonbo298]

Originally Posted by manasecret

Jonbo
For computer parts, I've built a few computers, and I don't know exactly which parts you can go cheap on--they all seem expensive to me!

What I meant was that there are some brands that people don't mess with. example: Power supplies. There are a few very respected brands that do well, then there are ones that burn out after a month.

When you get to know computers as much as I do, you take reader reviews for granted and follow the brand(s) that are respected everywhere

**Add another thing to my list. Insanely cheap toilet paper: I can go a little cheap but like...the ones where its like "20 rolls for a dollar!" *shudders, I will never do something similar to that again. Lets say just 95 cents was wasted (Theoretically, not $1.00 for 20 rolls but you get the hint )