Expensive Things that Save Money

The other thing is well-made clothes! Always buy the best quality you can afford. They will last longer than cheaper, trendy clothes. Stick with natural fabrics like wool, silk, cotton. Whatever it costs to maintain these fabrics will far outlast the cost of junky synthetics that you’ll have to throw away after one or two washings.

I agree with the previous comment. I would rather spend money to buy nicer clothes. I resell my kids things and if I shop right, I can often dress my kiddos for next to nothing after I resell their clothes. Rather, if I purchased their clothes from WalMart or Target, I’d have to donate them when they were outgrown. Those brands have little to no resale value.

Definately clothing. I shop at TJ Maxx and Marshall’s and Ross and find name brand clothing for a good deal. Mudd Jeans for $10, Gap shirts for $5, etc. just because the store needs to get rid of ‘em.

I agree with all the comments provided however, it’s my experience that I can find the name brand clothes for myself at my local thrift stores, sometimes with the tags still on them.

Also, regarding kitchen gadgets and quality kitchen items I would add Pampered Chef to that list. They have a great warranty program and about 90 items from their catalog are always under $20.

I spend money on All-Clad pots and pans and wustoff knives and other kitchen necessities. I registered for alot at Williams Sonoma for our wedding 7 years ago and have not had to replace anything. Eating at home saves money and it helps to do it right. I also buy more expensive clothes to last longer. Not only do inexpensive clothes fall apart, but they may not fit right or be flattering and then you always feel like you have nothing to wear. I recommend Tide Total Care to take care of the clothes.

Thank you so much Mrs. Huffstetler for your site. There are many great tips here.

I bought an expensive Zanussi washing machine 19 years ago and it is still going strong. Many friends who bouught cheaper models have been through three or four washing machines or even more in that time. Same with our central heating boiler. We bought the best one we could get at the time and that too has worked with no problems for 8 years with no attention whatsoever!

We all have to clean our homes, like it or not. I bought the Dyson vacuum cleaner and what a difference. This vacuum outperforms any other product I have used over the years, especially for pet hair and everyday dust.

I am a police officer. Years ago I transferred to plain clothes unit and placing my gun on my belt usually destroyed the belt within 30-60 days. Pretty expensive at 25-35 dollars a pop. I switched to a Coach belt (at the time, $65 dollars) and it’s 15 years later and they are only just now starting to show a little wear. So $65 dollars over 15 years wound up being a lot cheaper than $180 dollars a year. Saving up for a better quality item certainly can save you quite a bit!

Footwear! You are pretty useless when your feet are killing you, so quality footwear is a priority. Thrift shop shirts are a must for me – I farm and my shirts get wrecked on a regular basis. A freezer is a great savings tool, too. Insualation for the home pays off year after year.

When we got married 12 years ago we registered for white high-end cotton towels. I chose white so they wouldn’t fade and could be bleached if necessary (and it has been necessary on a few ocassions). These towels show almost no sign of wear while some cheap towels I had have long since been made into cleaning rags and discarded.

I always check Consumer Reports before buying appliances, cars etc. I also agree spending a little more on clothing is best when you can afford it. I shop the sale racks at Talbot’s (they have a great petite department) to get classic pieces that have severed me well for many years.

I have a friend who shops at our local thrift store for his work clothes. I have seen them and they are in great shape. So, he has helped the store and saved himself some money.

Personally, I have tried buying used clothes and cannot get accustomed to wearing them as they don’t feel right.

Hard goods like tools and appliances you should buy good quality with a warranty. Clothes do the same and use them as work clothes when they wear out.

I can attest to the expense of buying cheaper clothing. I’ve been struggling with my weight for the past two years and haven’t wanted to spend a lot of money on clothes in a size I didn’t want to be. Just about everything I’ve bought over the last 24 months looks tired and weary now. Those cheap synthetic fabrics seem to manufacture their own grease stains.

I’m finally making progress on the weight issue and when I get back to where I need to be, no more “bargain” clothes for me ever again.

HVAC – Everytime we have to replace a unit – (3 now in 10 years because of a move and multiple units in each home) we buy the 95% efficient units. The difference in cost is made up in one winter and usually there is a tax rebate and/or local utility company rebate.

Dehydrators! I dehydrate a lot and I bought a cheapie the first time, but soon realized I needed a “real” dehydrator. I wouldn’t give up my Excaliber for anything.

I agree well-made clothes last longer, but I get those at resale/thrift shops–they are WAY cheaper and still have plenty of life left in them. I walk a lot and am hard on my shoes, so I do spend more for new shoes–I used to love Clarks but they’ve updated most of their shoes to be trendy and not as comfortable (at least not for my ffeet, and they’re the only ones I have!).

I hate cheap toilet paper. I buy the Scott’s 1000 sheet roll every time. The kids use less of it. The cheap stuff will go through 2 rolls a day. The good stuff might be 2 rolls a week, Seriously. I always buy it by the 20 roll pack too. If I get a coupon, bonus! I have 3 kids and all their friends and a husband that always eats what he shouldn’t:)

Love my FoodSaver vacuum sealer. Around $120 to purchase the system but has more than paid for itself. I buy family packs of meat (on sale) and then package them in meal-sized portions. We never have to throw away expensive meat due to freezer burn anymore. Works great for leftovers, too. I always make extra rice or beans and vacuum seal them for easy meals later. You can drop the bags into a pot of boiling water or place on a plate in the microwave (snip a small steam vent when microwaving). Cuts down on going out or ordering take-out when there are easy meals in the freezer. Saves us money!

We love baked bread. To make the best baked bread you really need to buy bread flour. This is more expensive then regular flour but it is well worth it to have higher rising bread that tastes so much better. We usually buy bread flour on-line as it is cheaper especially if you wait for the sales and buy at least four ten lb packages at a time. I store them in my freezer in heavy duty freezer bags and it works great.

Shoes and paper towels!
Cheap shoes are just plain bad for your feet and worse for your wallet. I used to work with a woman who wore cheap KMart shoes for waitressing. She’d go through about four pairs a year and eventually had to quit because she’d ruined her arches and knees! My rockports would last about a year and a half per pair and I was still able to walk when I quit!
Also, paper towels! The cheap ones take 2-3 times as many to clean up spills a the “good” ones.

Kitty Litter and Petfood.
If you feed the better they eat less because they get more of wehat they need. In return they get rid of less. With the nutro they shed less, litter smells better is smaller, less hairballs and very few trips to the vet. Chitty Kitty Litty is a big no way with 6 cats. No slimy nasty smellies stuck to the bottom. All nice firm clumps for scooping! And you do not have to empty as often. Beleive it or not mine makes it about a month with daily scooping and 4 litter boxes.

One important thing to remember when paying more for brand name clothing is to not take the name brand to seriously mean better quality clothing. Nearly every brand of clothing are made overseas in the cheapest manner possible, so unless you are purchasing clothing for the specific purpose of reselling them through a consignment shop or online, paying more because you expect better quality is useless. If you do know about sewing a bit, you will know to check the seams & be sure they are properly finished, and look for loose threads, check the quality of the buttons, things that actually make a difference in the wearability of an item. A previous commentor hit the nail on the head when she said to use Tide. That has made the biggest difference in keeping our clothing looking good. If you use cheap detergent like I used to, the color fades, everything shrinks, and the fabric loses its ability to stay in shape. I am allergic to the regular Tide and never used Tide because of that until I was given a box of the Mountain Scent Tide. I’m not allergic to the particular scent of the Mountain scented Tide, and once I started using it, our clothes are cleaner, brighter, softer, and they look good longer. When I switched back to the cheap detergent all of the problems reappeared. Yes, you can sometimes get the best name brands cheaper on sale at Dillards, Belks, Macy’s and that quality of store if you shop their sales where you get like 75% off of the lowest marked price. Just don’t fall into the trap of spending a lot for brand names- it isn’t always better quality. With purses for example, it used to be that Coach, Dooney & Bourke were the best quality leather purses. Now they are often made of cheap crappy vinyl & fabric with their brand all over them. The leather purses lasted a lifetime, the others do not. Good luck!

Paper towels, Scott toilet paper and good garbage bags. Love taking out the garbage in a cheapie and having kitty litter trail down two flights of steps! Has anyone tried the sham wows? I have been thinking of going from viva to them to save money. Also Asics tennis shoes. I get them from ebay when I need them. I go for the kayano’s or better, have to be at least a duomax worst case scenario. Better on the back, bones and body! When your feet or body hurts from chepie shoes you are done. Kswiss would be my second choice as they are made better and last for years.

Tide HE. I’ve tried cheaper major brands and store brands of HE laundry detergent and I always go back to Tide. My clothes (mostly designer labels purchased at thrift stores or new clothes purchased at a major discount store) always come out cleaner with Tide. The other brands either don’t remove the stains, or requires me to throw back in the hamper for next week’s wash.

I really hate to say this because I try to buy American. All my cars last 10 years and just break 100,000 miles before the rust and everything else falls off to make it too expensive to keep. I now buy only Japanse cars. I have one now 6 years with 60,000 miles and son has his car 5 years with 80,00 miles. Neither one has ever been in a shop for repair other than tires, battery and oil change. Next time you rent an American car, look in the glove box. It will contain several things that fell off like the emergency brake handle, etc. These are all new cars. Don’t think of buying one used.

I find Consumer Reports and Angie’s List just about useless. By the time CR reports their findings, that product is no longer made “but we have a similar one, Sp2 instead of Ps1.” and the designs don’t even come close to looking like one another. Angie’s list, among others, count on clients to give f/b. You can go to Angie’s list right now and leave f/b for a plumber in Ca. when you live in NY. It is not like eBay where only the one that purchased an item can leave f/b. Price does not determine an item’s worth. The price indicates what they can get for it.

When my washing machine finally cost more to fix than to replace , I decided to purchase , after consulting consumer reports , a front loading washer with a front loading dryer .At first I didn’t want to pay more after all many generations have been happy with top loaders however :
1. Less wear on the clothing
2. Less water used
3. Less detergent used
4. Less drying time
5. Less energy usage for both
I am happy with my purchase !

I drive a lot with my job. My Honda Odyssey lasted me 187,000 miles and I could have driven it more, but it was so beat up. I now have a Honda CRV that is 2.5 years old with almost 30K miles. Before that Honda Accords or Civics, which I also drove into the ground.
Solid, study, reasonable gas mileage, not bad looking. I also have found a Rowenta iron to last longer than other brands. I iron almost every day and when I finally messed up the cord by pulling it out from a distance instead of at the plug, my husband repaired it and it is still going strong. I’ll never buy a cheap iron again. At least 6 years now, when before I went through one every couple of years (at least).

I second the comment about the Food Saver. I’m kind of a gadget junkie and I’ve bought more than my share of doodads that weren’t worth the money. My Food Saver isn’t one of those — I use it all the time. After three years I’m still finding uses for it. Last week I bought a very large bag of almonds at Costco and packaged them up in Saver bags in one cup servings. They should last just about forever in the freezer.

Apple computer products. I have an 8 year old desktop that runs almost as fast as my 2 year old laptop. I have one of the first generation iPods that is still going strong. Most PCs are out dated after 2 or 3 years. Not macs. Much more user friendly, too

Don’t overload your equipment. Stay well within the duty cycle. My first hand held power saw that I had was a Craftsman. It was used for very light work and lasted for years… however, when I started to build my house it died a quick death. I replaced it with a Skill brand worm drive saw, that was four times more expensive. Twentyfive years later, this saw has finished the house, built a barn and two small out buildings.

This analogy should be applied with anything you buy or rent. I rarely ever need more than a 2000 watts of power, but I have 5,000 watt generator. It is still going strong after 25 years. I have two cars: for big loads I use my 4 Runner (19 years old, 155,000 miles, 18 miles mpg), for commuting I use my Echo (6 years old, 95,000 miles, 43 mpg). Both these vehicles are used below their duty cycles and therefore will last a lot longer than overloading a small car with too many people.

This article fits the concept of “you get what you pay for”. For instance, I bought a refurbished laptop and it lasted about 9 months before it died completely (multiple things wrong and then the board went). I decided I would never buy a refurb computer due to lack of warranty. I bought a new laptop, paid less for it then the refurb, and sprung for the 3 yr warranty. Laptops should not be disposable!

Also I agree with the quality clothing comments. I save money by looking for sales at stores I know have quality clothing. I have bought lots of clothing from Target for instance and certain brands there just last and last…Merona, C9 (for my running, saves me hundreds a yr), etc. I have clothing I bought from there that are at least 7-10 yrs old, classic cut and still show no wear or fading. My running shoes I also bought full price because I had my gait analyzed and needed the right kind. Now that I know what kind I need, I shop for them NEW ONLY on sale online. If I can’t find a deal, then I buy them full price because I can get 600 miles out of a good pair and only got maybe 150 miles out of a junkie pair from walmart that weren’t fitted for me and gave me injuries! Again, sometimes you get what you pay for. I am believer also in buying a only slightly used car (maybe 1-2 yrs old) with a hefty warranty if possible. You don’t get that initial big pricetag that loses value the instant you drive a new car off the lot yet you still have warranty left and a good amt of mileage to use.

Dawn dish soap! After helping my husband in his transmission shop. I used three different top name brand dish soaps to wash my hands. The first two didn’t get my hands clean. The third soap ( Dawn) cut it immediately. And that’s what I want when I clean my dishes. Also if you go to Dawn dish soap’s web site you will find many other uses for Dawn dish soap.

I agree on the front load washer and dryer and the benefits listed above. They also save time as I still wash the same amount of clothes but instead of having a load of whites, a load of towels, a load of jeans, a load of light colors and a load of dark colors three times a week I have a load of towels once a week or so, a load of whites once every two weeks and a load of jeans and colors once or twice a week. I’m not constantly running to the laundry room to load and unload the machines.
Sham-wows work great for some things, (soaking up spills on the carpet or otherwise – drying the dog) but I’d recommend the microfibre cloths if you’re wanting to replace a roll of paper towels. For about the same price as the sham wows you can buy a dozen or more of the microfibre cloths and they are good both wet and dry. You can’t use bleach products with either, can be machine or line dried, but don’t use fabric softener on them either. I love the microfibre clothes to wash mirrors, use them to dust (with or without Pledge), they’re great for windows, washing dishes, scrubbing down counters and appliances (especially those textured doors on the fridge), scrubbing floors (I’m picky, I scrub mine on my hands and knees) They will also clean using only water and will remove things that even cleaning products won’t- you don’t need windex or other cleaning products, not even soap on a lot of things, and they make chrome SHINE, SHINE, SHINE. I’ve also used them to polish silver, clean TV’s & computer monitors.
As a painter ~ don’t buy cheap paint. If you hire the painting done, you’ll spend twice as much in labor. If you do it yourself, you have to work twice as hard to get it to look nice, not to mention it will need more coats and take longer. Don’t buy “ceiling paint”, buy a good scrubable paint that you’ll be able to clean when the kids smear peanut butter on the wall. Buy a GOOD brush to do the cut in work and take care of it ~ It’ll last a very long time. 1 Purdy brush would last me a year or more when I was painting all the time. The more feathered and soft the tips, the better job it will do. Don’t skimp on coats. You can get away with one if you’re painting with the same color of the same brand of paint that was already there or they’re extremely close ~ plan to do at least two if you’ve changing the color. It’s easier to cover a dark color with a light than a light with a dark which will likely require 3 coats. Yellow is extremely hard both to cover and to get to cover and can take muliple coats either way.

in addition to all the good coments, esp about buying quality items from thrift stores which is a great budget saver, i ALWAYS look for a GoodHousekeeping Seal of Approval. they stand behind the items they endorse and will get you a full refund if the item does not perform as indicated. items don’t always cost more too. i use the thrift store as a ‘barometer’ to determine what brands are worth popping for at full price if i must. for instance, i now have no fear of spending on a garment from Talbot’s if i must because i have many thrift store garments from them that wear like iron. looking at a company’s guarantee is also a money saver. if they stand behind their guarantee, like land’s end, you’ll get your money’s worth.

I love my 1972 Dodge Dart and 1971 Plymouth Satellite s.w. I bought the Dodge for $1500 with my dad’s help in 1982 at 31,000 miles and had the engine rebuilt at 376,000 miles. I’ll never do that again because it is rusting and has had some body work to fix it. The Dodge has been through alot, like a Jeep. In 1996 I got the 1971 Ply. Sat. s.w. because one of my co-workers wanted her husband to get rid some of his “toys”.

One thing I recently considered to be a whopping, but worthwhile, investment was a paid of SAS shoes that I paid almost $100 for. I still look at them at think “What was I thinking”, but being diabetic I know that caring for my feet is very important. The only other pair of close toed shoes I had, had long ago died and I should have quit wearing them long before I did. I am now having to deal with the callouses from my old shoes, but I have a wonderful pair of shoes that will be long lasting and taking care of my feet.

Also, as much as I probably shouldn’t admit it, but there are some things that I am just a label snob about. One of those things is Tide laundry detergent (liquid). I didn’t realize until several years ago when my mom was out of town for a few weeks and I was helping my dad with things that one of the things I missed was the smell of clothes after mom had washed them. One day I was helping dad do laundry and realized she uses Tide and I have used it ever since because it reminds me of good memories.

As for the person talking about the American made cars my thought is that probably the reason you find those things in the glovebox of the cars is because the cars are not taken care of. I have a 93 Ford Mustang which I bought brand new (yes it was an expense) but I have kept up the oil changes and tires as well as a few minor repairs (alternator (2) found out the mechanic was ripping me off and he lost my business, batteries (2) – always in the summertime for some reason, a radiator and a few things like that) but I have had very few problems. Granted, even at 15 or so years and having only about 78,000 miles I’m darn proud of my little Mustang and it always makes me smile when I get compliments on how good it still looks.

Teeg

You only get what you pay for.

I have had to cars since I started driving. My first car was a Chevrolet Camaro. I had that car for 22 years and it had more than 130,000 miles on it and it still ran very well when I sold it. My second car is a Chevrolet Malibu. It is now 12 year old and it has approximately 120,000 miles on it. It is still running great, the interior and the outside paint still look new. If you take care of your vehicles you will most likely have them for quite a long time no matter who the car manufacturer is. I know people who have had bad cars made by Toyota, Honda, Kia, Ford, GM (Just so you don’t think I am picking only on foreign car manufacturers) etc. You can get a bad one sometimes because they are made by and inspected by imperfect humans. The same goes for clothing, cosmetic items, cleaning supplies etc. I have used both name brand and store/non name brands. Some are very good quality (sometimes made by the same manufacturer as the name brand is) and others are not so good in taste or in quality of material.

I LOVE Lock n’Lock food containers. Found them in Canada LONG before they showed up here. Never pick up odors, don’t leak, don’t stain, don’t do anything bad. I’ve had some for eight years. Still almost new! Look in KMart, Target, some grocery stores.
Gail

SHOES. Cheap shoes that don’t fit right or aren’t comfortable out of the box are a false economy. If your feet hurt, you hurt all over. I’m not talking about dressy designer shoes–rather everyday workhorse shoes. Your athletic shoes that you work out in and the shoes you wear to work and the shoes you shop in and the shoes you do house/yard work in.

SAS shoes are the best. I have 5 colors of the Free Style. Have had them for about 10 years. I take them to the shoe repair to get them redyed when the toes get scruffed up, which is usually once a year.

I agree about the:

energy efficient appliances (my power bill is $100 a month less, on average, with my new heat pump/AC and new refrigerator – granted the previous ones were VERY OLD) – I would add compact flourescent bulbs to the list. I replaced all of my regular bulbs 3 years ago and have yet to replace a bulb (I know – sometimes there is a bad one but I haven’t gotten any)

Dyson (the “Animal” model is a God send to pet owners)
Rowenta irons
fresh vegetables

I’ll add good luggage to the list.

Also, I’ll add organic to the list. Especially milk. Who wants to drink hormones and antibiotics? (If you really can’t afford to buy fresh, organic produce, check out the frozen foods department. I’ve bought some excellent organic frozen vegetables and fruits there. It’s cheaper and can be more nutritious – less time from farm to table. Also, visit the Farmer’s Market if you have one. Produce is unbelievably cheaper at mine. Organic still costs more but considerably less than the store.)

I disagree about the comments above about Consumer Reports being useless. While a particular model may no longer be available when you read the review, the real value – to me anyway – has been in the depth of details of what you should look for in your purchase. Not every model of every appliance, for instance, is going to be available where you happen to buy an appliance. But, if you have read the reveiws of similar appliances, you have a good idea of what to look for and which brands do best overall. I’ve relied upon Consumer Reports for guidance for many purchases and have never been disappointed. I also use Angie’s List. All the reviews I’ve read have been “verified” as authentic. I found the best plumber in town through Angie’s List.

Also, everyone in my family drives “American” vehicles. The Ford vans and pick ups take a hard beating in the family business and last decades and through hundreds of thousands of miles. My Dodge Intrepid has 210,000 miles and has never had a major repair. My sister’s 1994 Jeep is going strong with around 180,000 miles. Mom’s Buick has been an awesome car. I don’t think it is fair to say not to buy American cars.

I am a very enthusiastic cook, and used to be caught badly by buying all the latest cheap gizmos, which generally performed badly and didn’t last for long.
During the last two years I’ve been saving madly (I live on a pension in Australia), and each time I have enough money I trawl the net for the best buys on Scanpan. I have a huge wok, a really big saute pan, which is a fusion of copper and stainless steel, a stockpot which which makes a pot of soup to last for 8 meals, and a largish saucepan which always seems to be on the stove. All these items can be used in the oven as well as stove top, and clean with just a swish of hot water and a minimum of washing-up liquid.
My crowning glory was a set of 3 Scanpan knives, paring, general, and a heavy duty large knife. They are beautifully made, well balanced, sharp as a razor, and look good too. All these items are a pleasure to use, and only need medium heat, so some gas saving too.
These items cost a lot of money, but they’ll be heirlooms – I can pass them on. Worth every cent, when I look at them compared to some of the battered, peeling, not so old things I’ve bought in the past to “save money”. I wasted it.
I always buy the best of everything I can afford now, and if lasting well is what I’m looking for (and it is) I find that that it is money well spent.
Leah from Australia.

I worked an internship my sophomore year of high school and was given a Coach Laptop bag as a thank you. That bag still looks like new!

I don’t know that I would have ever shelled out that kind of cash for a laptop bag without this experience, but it has been around the world, beaten and abused and still looks like new!! I highly recommend coach to anyone who needs something functional. Doesn’t hurt that it’s awesomely stylish too!

Thanks again to Sandy who gave it to me in 1997!! 12 years I’ve had that bag!

I agree with all of the above except Organic. Organic produce is not any more nutritious, overall, then regularly, well-grown vegies. No, I am not a farmer, Iam a pharmacist that happens to read alot.

Thrift Store can be a bargain, being able to sew and rework or mend something (replace buttons, zippers, and simple alterations) can land me something still quite useable and serviceable.

Cookware… go for the best. I invested in stainless 18/0 or heavier almost everything, and a friend turned me on to Calphalon and All-Clad cookware. I about faint at the price but most everything should outlive me with a little care. And you will so appreciate the difference. Even serving spoons, scoops, etc, are all heavy stainless where possible.

Feet and certain foundation garments, spend the $ to have something that fits properly and will last. Have a few cheap pairs for the muddy and ugly chores, but invest in good shoes always.

Learn how to vermiculture, compost, and run a 4 season harvest coldframe. These will both help you deal with some kitchen waste, and grow more and healthier food for your table. Even an apartment dweller can do SOME of that with very little space.

The shade trees and feature plantings here are ‘working fruit trees and bushes’, giving a fresh bounty in turn. Strawberries can make a delightful bulb bed cover if you don’t use harmful chemicals on the bugs and weeds. Vines can add visual accent to a fence and also be able to produce something for your table…

Buy well, buy carefully, and look for longevity and versatility.

1) Good quality(yes more expensive too) shoes, they last longer and are more comfortable and will save you costly MD/Chiropractor visits for foot/leg/back pain – believe me on this one! Some brands you can even be resoled.
2) More “classic” good quality clothes…classic clothes are timeless and good quality adds to the life span…trendy clothes/shoes are only as good as the trend continues which is usually very short.
3) Anything electronic check with Consumer Reports for reliability and customer satisfaction; also check for energy savings and the “energy star” label. In this category, sometimes the more/most expensive items are not necessarily the most reliable.
4) Sunglasses, the cheap ones say they have UV protection but some consumer reviews have revealed it is false advertisement and actually can cause more damage to the eyes.
5) Cars, Toyota/Honda/Scion/Lexus/Acura are tops in reliability and customer satisfaction – as per Consumer Reports most Domestic and some European are on the bottom of the list for reliability and customer satisfaction.
6) Insurance, cheap car/medical insurance is usually subpar…sure you might save on premiums but wait until something goes wrong or you get sick or you are involved in a car accident – your premiums savings will go to sky high medical deductibles, copay, services not covered by the insurance and with car insurance subpar customer service, poor claim turn around and processing, poor repairs done by “cheap” body shops and not enough coverage to cover the accident and all costs involved.

Fresh veggies over canned ones – healthier, yes. But they go bad quicker, too —> money waste.

1. Honda – the best car all-around. Will hold together well over 200,000 miles if cared for.
2. Miele vaccuum – expensive but tough little vacs. Keeps the dust out of the air, and out of your environment.
3. Shoes – save your feet. Rockport for men. Dansko Clogs for women.

I learned this from a class I took at a local low income help center. They taught us that it is better to buy well made things than what is cheaper, because you will wind up spending more in the long run. They said that even things like buying Tupperware brand bowls are better because they are guaranteed for life. So if it melts or has stains you can replace it for free the rest of your life instead of spending more money to replace them.

Wonderful comments, and I totally agree. We bought an Electrolux vacuum cleaner and a shampooer when we got married 19 years ago. Both are still going strong!

As stated in a previous post, I would not part with my Dyson vacuum for anything. I was amazed at what it picked up that my old machine left. My husband is no longer having asthma attacks, and I think this switch has contributed.
Clothing, as mentioned above, is farmed out to third world countries. To purchase good clothing you have to know your fabrics and be able to spot good construction and hopefully you are a bit handy at repairs. You can pay a lot for junk, so the most important thing is to be able to spot quality. The label is not of primary importance.
The same can be said for shoes. I have had expensive shoes fall apart and cheaper ones last. If a shoe looks and feels right but for the arch I will look for an insole that lifts out and place an arch under it.
I shy away from clothing that requires dry cleaning. Really good cashmere can be washed, but there are cheap cashmire garments that sell under exclusive brands that say to dry clean only. In Europe boiled wool jackets recommend washing. In the states they always(in my experience) recommend dry cleaning. That’s just stupid, in my opinion. I think Americans may be more gullible and easily tricked into thinking branding equals quality than do Europeans.
I think the first thing a person should do to be thrifty is not to purchase an item if you cannot pay for it. That means credit card bills are paid in full each month. Also, this is just my personal style, but I never took a vacation until I had enough saved for a new car and could squirrel more away for retirement. The first rule of frugal, to me, is to never pay interest. Oh, and my credit cards are cash back.
If we can walk to our local market, we do – even taking a cart, if necessary. We need the exercise and why waste gas? Some people in my area are starting to ride bikes.
I had a prof who went to a local dental school for extensive work. THey(he said) did a better job because they are inspected every step of the way and are not cutting corners to save a buck the way some local dentists do.
I also keep in touch with friends through email rather than phone where I can.
When I purchase larger ticket items I try to research as much as possible before going to a store.
I have a freezer and buy in quantity and repackage goods in meal sizes and freeze at home.
If I have a small portion of a meal left over I will often nuke it the following day for breakfast or lunch. I rarely throw away food.

Oh, and most sunglass lenses are made from polycarbonate, which means they are all 99% protective from UV even if they don’t say so.
Glass allows UV penetration, but many plastics do not.
The glass in car windows do not allow UV in, but in your home, they do.

The SAS shoes Teeg mentioned are a really good deal. When the insoles get raggy, bring the shoes back and you can buy new insoles that are made to fit the size exactly right. Mine are over 6 years old and the soles are worn, but the inside is just like new.

Oh – the Dyson vacuum has a hepa filter. It cleans the air as you vacuum. It filters out such small particles that it is used in burn units in hospitals.
The filter is washable. There is no bag. I love the thing!!!

Toyota – I have a 1989 Toyota 4×4 with extended cab. Has well over 300,000 miles on it. Not sure how many as the speedometer broke at 270,000 a few years back. No major problems – just regular maintenance.

I have a Dyson Vacume cleaner and it is the best vacume I have ever had. I tested it as a pet vac for a cat magazine and I am so impressed that I will willingly find the extra cash for another when it wears out. It comes to pieces easily and does everything they claim.When my washing machine wears out I am definatly going to go for a Dyson

Buy pots and pans or other kitchen supplies at restaurant supply stores. They aren’t necessarily “pretty”, but they are sturdy and often much cheaper than the Williams Sonoma counterparts.

NEWSFLASH! “You only get what you pay for” is wrong, wrong, wrong AND here’s a hint that even makes thrift shops look extravagant: Go to YAHOO groups and see if there’s a freecycle in your area. I believe it started out as a green movement to keep stuff thatw as useable out of the landfills, but in these times it’s a real Godsend because people who have stuff they don’t need list it as a free giveaway and people who want stuff list their needs. IT’S AMAZING! Last Sunday I pulled up at a beautiful house on a golf course with a mercedes convertible in the drive and the nice couple loaded into my 17 year old Ford station wagon the GORGEOUS TV they had offered; A like-new Toshiba with built in DVD player AND VCR, even had the remote COMPLETE WITH BATTERIES. It had been used like twice in their backup guest room! I never could haev afforded to buy a TV like that! I went on line and found the manual, printed it out and have been having so much fun with it! FREE! Check it out people: freecycle!

I saw a mention above of a front-loading washing machine. Here in Ireland I’ve not seen any other type for about ten years. Do you really still use top-loaders in the States? Wow.

My mother once won an award for being the most frugal woman in Ireland.

TRiG.

NEWSFLASH! You are so tight you squeak when you walk. The title of this article is “Expensive things that save money”.

I like that article, its quite true. I believe in it, but most people I know don’t. They just go for cheap, regardless of quality…

LED lighting is a very cost-effective energy efficient solution which is the going to be replace all existing lighting technologies (CFL, Incandescent bulbs, HID, HPSV, etc.)

Paid a little extra for a Toyota Prius. Gas cost me about half as much as my previous car. With the tax rebate and low operating cost I start saving money after a few years. If the gas prices go up again, I save even more money.

Gore-Tex is well worth the investment for raincoats, gloves, etc. I bought a Gore-Tex raincoat at REI 12 years ago and have worn it frequently ever since and it is in fantastic condition and keeps me very dry. I almost spent half the money for a coat that would have lasted a tenth as long.

Also, I wore a pair of Ariat cowboy boots almost every day for five years in all kinds of weather and they held up — five years may not sound like much, but I wore them almost every day. I’m on my second pair now, and very happy. I don’t ride horses, but I used to walk two to four miles a day in them.

I’ve learnt or rather my husband has learnt that buying cheap washing up liquid just does’nt cut the mustard or rather the grease, so now i just buy Fairy Liquid no other just does’nt do it.

Love the suggestions. I have a ‘95 Nissan Maxima with 250K miles that is still going strong. As for clothes, LL Bean has the best return policy. If you ever have a problem (wear, breakage, etc) they will exchange it with no questions.

I work every day and we dress business casual. I’ve been wearing Lands End clothing since they sold their first parka and haven’t looked back. I will say that the conservative style isn’t for everyone, but it’s really stellar for me. I hope you can find a brand that suits you. I do have to say that their quality is NOT the same since they sold themselves to Sears, but I still buy as the quality is still better than I can get anywhere else. I buy everything there, even my smalls.