Most of the time, I am willing to wait for a sale or a coupon (or both) before I buy things. Most of the time, I can do this and stock up so I do not need to pay full price. But there are a few things that I’ll pay full price for no matter what. It’s great to be able to save on those items but not necessary. Here are five of those type of items (and three things that I’ll never pay full price for).
Kitchen staples
For me, these are things like milk, bread, cheese, yogurt, and every day baking items. While many of those things go on sale, milk does not in my state. For the other items, I try to stock up when I can but if we run out and there is no sale in sight, I don’t worry about it. Those are important things for us so I make sure we have them.
Cheerios
Yes, Cheerios. I cannot stand store brand toasted oat cereal. Cheerios is also the cereal my daughter likes to eat. I love it when I can find coupons and deals on cereal but mostly, we just always make sure to have Cheerios in the house.
Car repairs
I do prefer to find a great deal on parts or on labor but I really don’t think car repair is a place to skimp, nor is it a place you can usually wait until there is a better price. We put a lot of miles on in a year between living fairly rurally and traveling for lumberjack competitions. I want to keep my van and my husband’s car in pretty good condition. (Not included in this is tires and oil changes. I can typically find great deals on those so it is rare that I pay full price.)
Good Dishwasher Tabs
These may be a luxury to most. For me, it is very important. I’ve tried making my own dishwasher detergent. It was awful. I’ve tried store brand powder and liquid. It worked but I always had a number of items each load that had to be washed again. Then I received a tub of high quality dishwasher tabs in the mail in exchange for reviewing them. They worked better than anything I had ever used previously. I’ll never go back to cheaper methods.
Work Footwear
This one is for my husband. He is on his feet all day and it around brush, trees, equipment, etc. Cheap work shoes only last him a month or two and tend to not be very comfortable. I do try to buy them on sale but frankly, when he needs them, he needs them. There’s very little waiting until they go on sale.
There are also a few things I just plain will not pay full price for and will wait until the item is cheaper. Here are some of those items.
Electronics
It is rare that we have to buy an electronic item immediately. Instead, we will wait until we find a great deal on the item in store or on ebay. The laptop I am currently using was purchased on ebay.
Clothing
It is seriously quite rare that I’ll pay full price for an article of clothing. Clothes go on sale so often. That combined with consignment and thrift stores means that I rarely ever pay full price. Obviously, the exception is things like underwear and socks.
Fun Items
Anything that is purchased for fun like toys, books, movies, etc. can wait until they can be found cheaper. These are not important enough to pay full price for. Most books are just borrowed from the library and most movies we rent from Redbox. When we find one of those items that we would like to own, we keep an eye out for a great deal.
What items are you willing to pay full price for and which ones do you wait for a deal?
I agree with your list. Definitely Cheerios and I would add Rice Crispies to my list. My husband really likes them but will not eat the cheap store brand – so they are not worth buying.
I enjoyed your post!
Yes, store brand crispy rice is just not the same at all. 🙂
I am with you. I will never, never pay full price for clothing!
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There really is no point since they go on sale so often. 🙂
I’m the same about dishwasher detergent. The brand names are so much better. My husband is stuck on brand name q-tips. I’ve tried the generic and he refused to use them :).
I’m with you on clothes too. It’s crazy to pay full price for something when it will be on sale within a week usually. I’m a big fan of clothing store coupons also.
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Q-tips is a new one for me. I’m not sure I’ve ever used the name brand so didn’t know there was a difference there. 🙂
My husband goes through work shoes a lot too. He keeps buying himself cheap brands and I tell him to buy quality.
Visiting from SHINE.
I have also tried making my own detergents and never found anything I liked for both clothes and dishes.
We’ve had pretty good luck with generics being as good as store brand. Although my husband is a little pickier than me. I definitely don’t want for sales on staples like peanut butter, oatmeal, almond milk, eggs or yogurt.
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We also do not skimp on my husband’s work shoes. One time, we bought a cheap pair because money was tight, and his feet became so blistered it was difficult for him to walk for some time (and he in on his feet for 8+ hours doing heavy lifting in his job). I felt awful! Never again! We will save in other ways, but not on his shoes. Great list!
Aw, man! Blistered feet is no good.
I usually wait for deals and coupons for most large purchases. I try to buy most grocery items generic, but I’ve found it’s not worth it for things like paper towels. We also have our special cereal that there is no generic substitute for!
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I like a next step up from store brand for paper towels. I still use the generic, but I really like that better brand. 🙂
CHEERIOS!! Yes!! There is NO substitute!! But I am STILL on the quest for a dishwasher detergent that works — I think it’s the hard water we have around here. Can you tell me the brand you are using that you like?? P.S. This would be a great post to link up at Frugal Friday on my blog tomorrow. 🙂
I use the Cascade Platinum action pacs. Best thing I have ever used.
Hi Julie, I am with you on not paying full price for certain things, and so agree wit you about shop brand cereals (they are just not the same).
I rarely pay full price for clothes as I’ve got to know when the shops reduce prices and quite happily wait until then. Me and my husband both enjoy running, but I refuse to pay silly prices for running shoes, so watch them online and buy them when the prices are reduced making way for the ‘newer’ model (often buying a couple of pairs each).
We read a lot too (my daughter is a proper bookworm) and I won’t pay silly money for books. I lookout for deals on Amazon and The Book People for real book deals and Kindle book deals. A few years ago I managed to get my daughter twenty Charles Dickens books for £30.00 (that included postage from the UK). She was happy to receive them and I was happy with the price!
I also encourage the children to hang in there for a good price on things they want, it does pay to be patient.
xx
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Good tip with stocking up on running shoes when a new model comes out. I didn’t even know that was something that happened!
I can totally relate. Footwear is something I try to buy discounted, but always end up buying full price. I used to work on my feet all day (I taught 7th grade language arts), and for me it’s better to spend the money on shoes that are actually comfortable than buy cheap ones that won’t last as long and will do so much damage to my feet!
With that said, I don’t ever full price for clothing. A coupon or a sale has to be on before I even consider trying things on. And I’m glad I’m not the only one 🙂
Thanks so much for sharing this piece with us on #SHINEbloghop today, Julie! We’re so happy you were able to join us this week.
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Thanks so much for stopping by! It seems quality footwear is something a lot of people will pay full price for. 🙂
Checking you out through the Link Party-thanks for the article! Great read. I agree on all points-I would probably add toothpaste to the “pay full price” list-I tried to go cheap many years ago. I regretted that rather quickly. lol
I completely agree with car repairs. Typically, when your car needs to be repaired, it’s one of those ‘can’t wait’ kind of things. Like in November, when one of our tires got a nail through it and the tire went extremely low rather quickly. It just wasn’t something I could put off, because it is the only vehicle we own that can fit all of the kids. Without the use of my van there would have been no church, no doctor’s appointments, and really no leaving the house unless another adult could stay home with the kids. That just isn’t doable, so we had to deal with the cost and get the tire replaced (it was too damaged for repair). Another thing I’m not willing to compromise for cost is a totally GF house. Many will tell me that I can save money by buying ‘regular’ stuff for the half of our house that doesn’t HAVE to be GF (due to Celiac Disease), so get regular bread, pasta, crackers, etc. for them and just do GF for those who need it. Nope, not going to happen. We tried it years ago and it resulted in constant contamination and sickness. My health is not something I will sacrifice to save money. So, our whole house is GF for the protection of those who must be GF. Which things are ‘worth it’ will vary from family to family, but everyone has something they aren’t willing to sacrifice for the sake of cost. When you get a chance, I’d love for you to come check out my corner of the blogosphere at
We had to replace all 4 tires on both cars this fall, so I hear you on the tires. I’ve never had to deal with gluten free so I can only imagine that it would be a pain to do half and half on things. Sounds like you have figured out what works for your family and makes life easier (and safer).