Things you should never go cheap on?

Parchment

Deleted User wrote: »

Because the cable is simply a means of conducting electricity from a socket on the wall to the phone? I don't see why you need to spend a lot of money on the cable just because the phone was expensive?

Most of this thread is testament to what a fantastic job the modern marketing industry does. People insisting on heinz ketchup as if it is some artisan product and not slopped together by the ton in some industrial estate. They are owned by Kraft foods - they would cut any corner going in pursuit of a buck.

Things like condoms and sun lotion are regulated by the EU. You can't buy sun lotion that 'doesn't work', no matter what price it is the SPF is a rating that is regulated.

The things worth spending money on are what you put in your body and what you spend your time doing, all the rest is nonsense imho.

Cheap SPF wont have the PPD that more expensive ones have, it also wont be as cosmetically elegant.

I dont buy cheap SPF as they are formulated from cheaper ingredients that will clog your skin, ball up when you wear them and generally look like sh!t.

Winterlong

Parchment wrote: »

Maybe it came across as that but i dont really see it that way. The watch i wear the most is a Swatch so im not a watch snob.

When i met my boyfriend he had a really techy watch on and i guessed he was into outdoors stuff....turned out he was.

Its just my take on it really. I like watches so they hold more significance to me - others probably dont give them a second thought!

I agree that you can tell a bit about people from their watches. But what you can tell is really a reflection on your own opinions.
Eg, if I see someone with a glitzy rolex I tend to think they are flashy but tasteless. But someone with a pre-moon speedmaster - full on respect.
But that is just me. Another person will see the rolex guy as classy and to be respected and the pre-moon speedmaster person as out of touch and pretentious.

I do love watches though.

Jack the Stripper

An escort.

CruelCoin

Shoes
Chair
Bed (nothing less than Superking will do. Trust me, you've not lived untill you've owned a Superking)

At any one time, you are sitting, sleeping or standing.

These 3 give you the greatest bang-for-buck in terms of comfort.

sozbox

Bread
Mattress
Laptop/Phone
Shoes
Coffee
Whiskey

topper75

Musical instruments.

Instead of buying that cheap guitar, go home and meditate for an hour on whether you really want to learn.

If no, fine. If yes, get a good one that you wont' have to fight and hate.

mikeoneilly

Parchment wrote: »

storker wrote: »

What does it say? Ditto for the shoes. Apart from giving a clue about the person's sense of style, not much else I suspect. I'd say that more important than the shoes themselves would be how well they're maintained and polished.

I would agree though that a decent pair of shoes is worth paying a few bob for.

Well im into watches so i think you can tell a lot about someone by their watch. Same for shoes. Most women are funny about mens shoes and always check them out to give a "guide" on what the guy might be like!

Where did you hear that nonsense

Bambi985

Skincare, winter coats and sunglasses are probably the only items I won't cut corners on. Skincare because it pays in the long run and plays into how your face will look in ten years, coats because a good one should last you a decade or so and sunglasses because vanity. I just like my designer sunnies.

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

Parchment

mikeoneilly wrote: »

Where did you hear that nonsense

From my female friends.

Beasty

Bikes - if it doesn't cost a few grand it's not worth showing off....

storker

Deleted User wrote: »

Most of this thread is testament to what a fantastic job the modern marketing industry does. People insisting on heinz ketchup as if it is some artisan product and not slopped together by the ton in some industrial estate. They are owned by Kraft foods - they would cut any corner going in pursuit of a buck.

I doubt that there are many people who would be so naive as to imagine that anything Heinz is an artisan product. In our house we usually find the generic brands fine for ketchup, but not for baked beans. The reason isn't marketing; it's the taste. The best ketchup that ever came into our house was some organic brand from Lidl. Lovely stuff. Again, not because it was organic (an organically grown tomato is still just a tomato), but because it tasted nicer than anything else. Unfortunately, as is often the case with now-you-see-it-now-you-don't stocking at Lidl, it's not there any more.

We get Hellmans for mayonnaise and again the key difference is taste. Other low-fat mayos taste more like salad cream. Nothing wrong with salad cream and I like that too, but if I buy mayonnaise I expect it to taste like mayonnaise. Again marketing doesn't enter into it.

masculinist

ted1 wrote: »

Food? Haha most is just marketing, had someone rabble onto me about gluten fre porridge and how it's worth spending money on. I pointed out oats don't have gluten.

Try an organic steak . Or organic rashers . No water in the pan and no shrinkage during cooking . No chemicals . And interestingly organic grass fed beef also contains omega threes. Organic vegetables are also in a class of their own and so are organic eggs for nutrients .
At the very least I'd suggest to stay away from really cheap processed food , TV dinners etc . Your body your choice . Just remember when bacon was recalled a few years ago because farmers were feeding them with engine oil . Well ...that's the risk with cheap food . It's less regulated . They said officially that you could eat it then in small print said there was some tiny risk of cancer -. It was risky enough to recall the meat and Well I'd suggest it's not going to be tiny for whoever wins that unlucky lottery .

I agree many things such as Gluten free are a scam . Unless you happen to be one of the rare people who are actually gluten intolerant. Otherwise it's a beneficial protein .

Smile111

Clothes
Shoes
Shampoo
Shower gel

ted1

nice_guy80 wrote: »

Sun Lotion

If you're going somewhere hot, buy the decent stuff (not Aldi, lidl or boots)
It spreads better, gives proper protection and lasts longer.
You'll end up spending more money on the anti burn stuff afterwards with cheaper products

Aldi's suncream is top notch and comes out trumps in many consumer tests. As pasty red haired Irish male who spends plenty of time in Africa and the Caribbean , I can confirm it works perfectly well.

ted1

masculinist wrote: »

ted1 wrote: »

Food? Haha most is just marketing, had someone rabble onto me about gluten fre porridge and how it's worth spending money on. I pointed out oats don't have gluten.

Try an organic steak . Or organic rashers . No water in the pan and no shrinkage during cooking . No chemicals . And interestingly organic grass fed beef also contains omega threes. Organic vegetables are also in a class of their own and so are organic eggs for nutrients .
At the very least I'd suggest to stay away from really cheap processed food , TV dinners etc . Your body your choice . Just remember when bacon was recalled a few years ago because farmers were feeding them with engine oil . Well ...that's the risk with cheap food . It's less regulated . They said officially that you could eat it then in small print said there was some tiny risk of cancer -. It was risky enough to recall the meat and Well I'd suggest it's not going to be tiny for whoever wins that unlucky lottery .

I agree many things such as Gluten free are a scam . Unless you happen to be one of the rare people who are actually gluten intolerant. Otherwise it's a beneficial protein .

Agreed , but spending money doesn't always mean quality. I read the ingredients and form my own opinion.

masculinist

ted1 wrote: »

Agreed , but spending money doesn't always mean quality. I read the ingredients and form my own opinion.

If you shop around it doesn't have to significantly increase your budget . I found a way . I know when organic steaks and veg are going to be reduced or on special offer etc . In fact I've often.ended up with organic for the same or cheaper . TV dinners are very expensive for the crap in them .And this thread is about what you shouldn't go cheap on , not about what to avoid that's expensive which is a different set of data

Bridge93

tattoos. If the price seems too good to be true, it's because it is. And you then have to live it with.

Jimoslimos

masculinist wrote: »

Try an organic steak . Or organic rashers . No water in the pan and no shrinkage during cooking . No chemicals . And interestingly organic grass fed beef also contains omega threes. Organic vegetables are also in a class of their own and so are organic eggs for nutrients .
At the very least I'd suggest to stay away from really cheap processed food , TV dinners etc . Your body your choice .

Do you even know what "processed food" is? Adding salt, curing, smoking, pasteurisation, and even cooking are all different ways of processing.

Most of the health benefit and increased nutrient claims for "organic" food are spurious. That omega-3 study was funded by an organic food lobby group I believe.

M5

Shoes, tyres or a mattress, you're always on one of them!

Brendan Bendar

Rumpy Pumpy wrote: »

Haircuts.

You see lads coming out of those 8 euro barbershops looking like they've been assaulted by a drunken sheep shearer.

Totally agree, friend of mine uses them and whether the barber knows any 'cuts' other than the one he uses,I do t know, but every clumper coming out of the shop looks like a cross between a pup after being spayed and sheep after getting a cheapo shear in East Galway or somewhere mucky like that.

Disasterville Central.Ok for the 'pattern day' in Loughrea but not for a progressive upwardly mobile executive.

Chuchote

Jimoslimos wrote: »

Durex must have the greatest marketing department in history. Seriously, condoms are hideously overpriced for what they are - a simple cheap piece of latex that costs next to nothing to manufacture.

Now I'm not advocating using an old crisp packet, but any generic brand that meets the relevant CE standards is perfectly fine and no different to the more expensive ones.

Daddy!!!

nice_guy80

I've never worn a watch
Rarely late for anything

Erik Shin

nice_guy80 wrote: »

I've never worn a watch
Rarely late for anything

So?

JamboMac

nice_guy80 wrote: »

I've never worn a watch
Rarely late for anything

How do you know your late or not with no watch?

masculinist

Jimoslimos wrote: »

Most of the health benefit and increased nutrient claims for "organic" food are spurious.

Right - you obviously don't have a bulls notion .

Jimoslimos

storker wrote: »

Hmmm...old crisp packet, eh? Do you have to wash it out first?

Nah, just turn it inside out. Be grand!

masculinist wrote: »

Right - you obviously don't have a bulls notion .

Eh? You were the one extolling the virtues of "organic bacon" whilst in the same paragraph warning people off "processed food". But yeah obviously I haven't a bull's notion :rolleyes:

"Organic" is mostly marketing bull with no evidence to support its over-exaggerated claims. It works because there are gullible fools who fall for it.

masculinist

Jimoslimos wrote: »

"Organic" is mostly marketing bull with no evidence to support its over-exaggerated claims. It works because there are gullible fools who fall for it.

Its higher quality food which is regulated, checked and supervised an awful lot more. Its not sprayed with chemicals which could turn out decades later to be killing people. Look at the lessons from the almost annual food scandals. A few decades ago doctors were in advertisements promoting cigarettes.

Its your choice. I'm not ramming it down your throat dude.

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

masculinist

Patww79 wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Nonsense. The regulations are very stringent. There is oversight here which reduces hugely the possibility of a food scandal affecting your health and tight EU and Irish regulations. Organic food is non GMO for a start.
Organic food is real food. Its the food that was on plates decades ago. What you call ''food'' is low quality rubbish treated with antibiotics, injected with water and gelatin to bulk it up etc . The quality of the meat depends on how you treat the animal. And what you feed the animal. And dont confuse this with free range. Free range is not organic. Organic is as close to nature as possible.
Feel free to choose what you want to put in your body. I'm not happy that not everyone can afford it but that doesnt make it anything but the best. The front line in your body in terms of your immune system and overall health is in your diet. Go cheap on food and someone will end up paying later whether its you or the health service.