Some things are simply worth spending money on; a pillow that doesn’t break your neck every night, for instance, or comfortable hiking shoes that make hiking… well, bearable. And while splurging might not be the right way to go about everything, most of us likely have things we consider worthy of a higher investment.
The ‘Ask Reddit’ community discussed what things they wouldn’t go cheap on, and their answers go far beyond pillows and shoes. While some appreciate the longevity—they say ‘buy cheap, buy twice’ for a reason—others simply enjoy the feeling such items entail, be it the softness of quality toilet paper or the satisfaction of using a good set of headphones. Scroll down to find the redditors’ answers and see if you’d spend your hard-earned money on any of the same things.
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For example, mine is a bed. I’ll never buy a cheap bed again.
I love my Saatva bed…pricey but the sides will never collapse under my fat a*s. Worth $3000.
Knives.
I stayed with my brother and sister-in-law briefly between apartments. I brought my set of Wusthofs. She has a congenital birth defect that affects her fingers. She was worried about having sharp knives in the kitchen because she didn't want to slice off what was left of her fingers. She had always bought cheap knives for that reason. But she found using good knives, she cut herself much less because, shocker, the knives cut better so they were easier to control.
Plus, these knives will last forever. It's one of those things that you can buy crappy knives every few years, or spend a little more and never have to buy them again.
I think everyone should buy a decent chefs knife. Unless you are super rich, the one thing you will do on a daily basis is prepare food. Your don't have to buy a 300 dollar hand forged Japanese knife, just a good quality one from a known brand. And also, get some sharpening stones. Every knife eventually gets dull and being able to sharpen them every couple of months keeps them at peak performance. My personal favorite knife brand is Robert Herder. The only western knife company that grinds their knife very thinly, just like expensive Japanese knives. They can get crazy sharp, are easy to sharpen and cut very nicely because of their thinness.
My cats. Whatever they need they got
My dog, she's on special dog food because she has a bowel condition, it's expensive but she is worth every penny!
Maple syrup
Cheese. You don't know bliss until you have tasted parmigiano reggiano. It is worth every extra penny + it is so satisfying to grate it yourself.
Ice Cream.
GTFO of here with that Blue Bunny Chemical Cream polymer or that Nicotine yellow Walmart Vanilla.
We're not big ice cream eaters, but when the mood strikes, I've got the ice cream attachment for my kitchen aid. Not to most conventional way to get ice cream, but it works for an infrequent snack, and we can control the ingredients & make up our own flavors 😋
I knit as a hobby, and I always buy the best materials I can afford. I have a budget for the year, and I try to choose projects that will last a while. It's just no fun to knit with crappy materials, and a hobby is supposed to be fun. I also want to be proud of the finished object.
Wait, so I'm not supposed to just have an endless stash of yarn that I'll never actually use just waiting for the perfect project to come up??!
Pillows. My neck thanks me every morning.
The most important thing is to not buy pillows that are higher than your shoulder height. If your head is on an angle either up or down, you are bending your spine. This shows up as headaches and spine, back/neck problems.
Winter clothing, when you are going to be outside for a while, trust me, it is a life saver.
Pay to not see ads. My quality of life has significantly increased not being exposed to them
Someone told me once you spend most of your life on your feet or on your back. Always buy good shoes and good bed.
Boots. I have my work boots, my hunting boots, my deck boots I wear when on my boat fishing, even a pair I call my “town boots” which are just a square toe I wear out of the house to run errands or go out. It saves your feet, back, and knees so much over a cheap Walmart pair.
Toilet Paper (Cottonelle Ultra); Hiking Boots (Columbia or other good brand); Boxers (Poly Satin); Car Maintenance (Spend the money on the "extra" thing your trusted mechanic suggesting getting done when you bring it in. Get the good oil.); Home repairs (Same as the car. Get it done right so your f*****g wall doesn't cave in.); Wife (Get her what she wants and you will be happy.); Ancient weapons of warfare (Just kidding. I'm not sure if anyone will actually read this.)
Bed sheets. A nice set of cotton percale sheets will help you sleep better.
Food, my father always told me we can cut this or that but never cut on the food
There’s a common wisdom that says you should never cheap out on anything that goes between you and the ground for long periods of time.
Shoes, tires, mattress, and desk chair if you sit for hours a day. There’s probably some others as well.
Oh yes desk chairs! Don't buy the $100 one off [favourite e-retailer] if you can avoid it. Most chairs at that price point are shoddy and if you're using them more than a few hours a week the foam compresses to nothing, the "leather" wears and tears and they get rickety so fast. Or do buy them, just expect to replace them every 12-24 months.
SCUBA gear. It's life support equipment and I'm taking it into caves. Cheap is suicidal.
Steak. A bad cut of steak can always be made good with proper preparation and seasoning (within reason), but a good cut of steak is something else entirely with or without seasoning.
Legos. They are pricy, but the quality is worth it.
Laptops. Never buy a cheap one. Those €500 things tend to age like milk. Double the budget and you'll still enjoy it after 6 years like you bought it yesterday.
I disagree. People spend 2-3 times the price of a basic one thinking they’re future-proofing but by next year it looks slow compared to new models. Plus most are only used for email and surfing. Not to mention they are not hard to drop or damage. I always recommend low to moderate price and save the money for the replacement.
Socks! Athletic socks (I like Balega Silver) in particular. There's no going back. But there's also no blisters.
Headphones
Note: this post originally had 69 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
This thread just shows how expensive it's to be poor.
I prefer: Splurge on items that are going to last 50 years. Be miserly on everything that's going to be gone within a day and a half.
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This thread just shows how expensive it's to be poor.
I prefer: Splurge on items that are going to last 50 years. Be miserly on everything that's going to be gone within a day and a half.
Load More Replies...