The cheapest thing you can buy is “quality”. It is much more ecomical in the long run to buy quality items.

We have a set I bought when I was single; 15 years later they still look like new. And trust me, once you sleep on 300+ threadcount, you REALLY don’t want to go back.

One thing that caused us a lot of thought was buying our car. We had the issue that my husband had a long commute. We sat back and debated the buy North American ‘brand’ have cheap but frequent repairs but lower initial cost versus buy foreign ‘brand’ (but made in Canada) and so on.

We just had our most recent ‘debate’. Our sofa set was very shabby. I decided to spend the $’s on a very good slip cover set and keep the set since the frame and structure were very, very solid instead of buying a set we could afford that would look very pretty and new but likely end up garbage soon.

My husband was very astonished to see how much my ‘cheap’ fix cost. Naturally he didn’t participate in my pre-buying shopping and had no clue I actually did very well on my purchase. All he saw was the bill and …

I’ve had a few mixer stories too… lol Live and learn!

Pizza cutters – get the kind with a big wheel, 3 inches across. The big ones work so much better than the small ones that are easy to find, which I learned when I worked at a pizza place.

Reebocks last me about three times as long as the Kmart sneakers I used to buy (and they only cost twice as much). I got my first Reebocks as hand-me-downs.

Tools are another thing you should research high quality on.

Bore bristle hair brush – I recommend it if you have long, fine, dry hair.

Jewelry that doesn’t change colors on me, and hypoallergenic earrings for pierced ears.

I buy only reliable cars, no matter how boring, though they are not expensive because I buy them ten years old.

Whole wheat pastry flour – tastes more like white flour in baked goods than regular whole wheat flour does, but it has more nutrients and fiber than white flour. It’s more expensive than both.

Braun alarm clocks – last longer than cheaper ones. I discovered this from a roommate.

Our daughter is allergic to nuts. There is only one kind of name brand cookies she can have to the tune of $3+ a package. It was such a pain to make cookies before with the hand held mixers I rarely did it. The Kitchen Aid makes it so easy. I don’t make all our bread but I enjoy using it for dinner rolls, pizza crust, etc.

There are several other things we pay more for initially but works out cheaper in the long run. For instance, I only buy sheets from Lands End or LL Bean. They last *forever*. I also buy most of my husband’s work shirts from Lands End. They wash and wear well so we don’t have to replace them very often.