Friday, October 26, 2012

20 Things I Don't Scrimp On

While we were shopping the other day I picked up some maple syrup which we were out of.  When hubby saw the price he just about choked.  But I explained to him that I don't mind being frugal with many things, but there are a few things I just don't scrimp on.  Here's my list of those items:

  1. Maple syrup.  The real stuff.  Yum.
  2. Honey.  Unpasteurized, straight from the hive, with honeycomb.
  3. Ice Cream.  No el cheapo ice cream for me--I want the good stuff!
  4. Butter.  No margarine for me either; I'm a fan of butter.
  5. OPI Nail polish.  It just works better than cheap nail polish.
  6. Pilot Precise V7 pens.  Yes I could buy 10 pens for a dollar but I am really picky and like having good pens and this is the best I have found (it just doesn't fly well).
  7. Knives.  There is a HUGE difference between a $10 knife and a $100 knife.  I like the $100 knife better.
  8. Pots and pans.  Again, you can get a complete set of pans for $25 but you will hate them.  A quality set of pots and pans makes cooking a very happy experience.
  9. Paint.  I learned this lesson the first time we painted our house so many years ago.  The cheap paint we bought took three coats to look OK whereas more expensive paint only took one coat.
  10. Travel.  I know people who travel super cheap but if I don't have a clean, safe hotel room or an ocean view cabin on a cruise ship I am a very cranky traveler.
  11. Shoes.  I used to be this way about purses but purse contents can be tossed into any bag.  It isn't the same with shoes--I want my feet to last a very long time so I have switched to "old lady" shoes that make my feet happy instead of expensive yep crippling shoes that look cute.
  12. Chocolate.  I am a big fan of quality dark chocolate.
  13. Tools.  Again, when you have used dollar store tools then switched to Craftsman tools there is no going back.  I love tools.  Quality tools.
  14. Rice.  There's cheap rice and there is quality rice and I know the difference.  I love a good Jasmine rice.
  15. Paper.  I have a bunch of notebooks and I am just infatuated with paper so I am really picky about the look and feel of any paper I write on.
  16. Potato chips.  I have tried a bunch of "cheap" potato chips from the dollar store but there is a big difference between those off brands and higher costing name brand potato chips.
  17. A mattress.  If I am going to spend a third of my life sleeping, I want to be able to get quality sleep and this requires a good mattress (hard, not soft, no pillow top).
  18. Business cards.  While I don't use these much any more, I still insist on having quality business cards.  Cheap cards make a bad first impression for your business.
  19. Legal counsel.  While I have only needed legal counsel a couple of times, I prefer a clever pit bull over a lazy lap dog when it comes to attorneys.
  20. Experiences.  I will happily buy my clothes at a thrift store but I don't scrimp on paying for experiences.  Making memories is well worth the money.
What are things that you won't scrimp on?

4 comments:

  1. Peanut Butter - no generic.

    Mattress - I'm with you on that one - with a bad back and neck my quality mattress has been a god-send

    I recently forked over the big bucks for a jar of real maple syrup - for the first time in my life. I've never had it as far as I know (unless it was at a restaurant and I didn't know it). My DD and I really didn't care for it! We just bought another bottle of the cheap stuff - LOL

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  2. Love your list! I also buy real maple syrup, honey, ice cream, butter and chocolate. I would also add coffee and cheese! I try the store brand of just about everything, but have gone back to name brands on cereal and some crackers.

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  3. Perfume and cologne!! The good stuff lasts forever anyways!!

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  4. Electronics. We do a lot of research before buying things like TVs and computers and we'll pay more for a better rated product that will (hopefully)last longer.

    We also choose higher rated hotels when traveling because we think it's part of the vacation experience. I'm not an efficiency room kind of girl. I'm on vacation just like the rest of the family, so why should I have to cook?

    I like butter too! :) No margarine here!

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