<p>College.
Excellent medical insurance. Life insurance. Retirement savings.
Real maple syrup, Breakstone whipped unsalted butter, Heinz ketchup, Diet Pepsi, fruits and veggies at the PYO farm/market.
A decent SLR camera.</p>
<p>Would like to add home repair and yard care to that list.</p>
<p>Also do NOT skimp on good workers to help with work/repairs around our home or that of loved ones. Have found it penny-wise (if that) and pound-foolish. Will only work with folks whom I can trust to do good work without supervision and can be trusted alone on our premises. I’ve no interest in watching over people who can’t be professionals & will pay more for folks who ARE professional.</p>
<p>Auto repair–will go to the best, most reliable shops, even if they are higher than competitors. We want safe cars that work all the time and we keep them forever. The good side of this is when things go wrong, they will make it right & not charge us if it is part of their warranty & something they say they should have caught. :)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I truly wish I could add this to my non-skimp list. Unfortunately, last time I checked, the monthly premium for good coverage would be about double our mortgage payment.</p>
<p>I’m lucky to have married a guy with excellent medical insurance that cover me & our kiddos–now until they turn 26! I would never have been able to afford the insurance he has – fortunately his employer pays the lion’s share. 
It helped us rationalize his low wages that he had for many years while others with his skills earned a lot more.</p>
<p>airconditioning</p>
<p>From reading this thread, I would say that being a hair colorist or stylist is a very recession-proof profession!</p>
<p>I’m with you guitar’s mom: Diet Coke and TP (only Cottonelle is our TP of choice). Also, ketchup and mayo. We just started trying to buy organic too and hard to do with coupons.</p>
<p>I never knew people were so particular about what ketchup they use.</p>
<p>spideygirl- My hair gal said what happens is that people stretch out the time between appointments and some start doing hair color at home if they do single process color.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Or toilet paper. We don’t buy the really cheap stuff but I have never noticed a difference between, say, Charmin and Cottonelle . . .</p>
<p>I buy recycled tp, but it is thin. I figure it is less likely to clog the pipes.</p>
<p>I cut my own hair-& everybody elses except D in Oregon.</p>
<p>Things that affect our health- food, skin care, medical, are the only things I wont skimp on, but you can be frugal about it. I use jojoba oil for my skin & hair, that works as well as dept store products for example.
I don’t buy lotions with mineral oil or petroleum, ( or parabens), but I can still find products at the drugstore- you just have to make sure you have your reading glasses because the print is tiny!</p>
<p>Heinz ketchup, Hellmans mayo, Honey Crisp apples and nitrous oxide at the dentist.</p>
<p>Cat food for my indoor cats. Hill’s Science Diet. Less poop and vomit to clean up.</p>
<p>Cat litter. Have given in on sales and coupons and regreted it. Tidy Cat scoopable the best. </p>
<p>Picky son’s food. Only eats Tyson’s Chicken Tendeers, Welch’s White Grape Juice, and Jeno’s Cheese Pizza. Never store or cheaper brand. </p>
<p>People argue with me that college meal plans are too expensive. They haven’t fed my son!</p>
<p>And totally agree on internet connection. Do not have the patience for dial up or other cheaper options!</p>
<p>My latest splurge, though, when traveling, is to get a GPS in the rental car. So worth it! Worth their weight in gold when traveling such metropolises as Houston and small cities in Alabama.</p>
<p>Montegut, for what you already have paid for renting a GPS ($7/day) you could have bought one! I see that you will be doing more travel this spring and summer, so go ahead and buy a Garmin from Costco - they have some that cost $100.</p>
<p>I’d never had anything but heinz ketcup until recently and then I tried hunts and noticed no difference.</p>
<p>Hill’s Science Diet hairball prevention is the best. My guy has never given me a hairball and seems to love the taste! </p>
<p>I also don’t skimp on Everclean litter - zero, I mean zero, odor. It costs twice as much as any other, but worth it.</p>
<p>Gourmetmom:</p>
<p>It took me an extra second there to figure out you are talking about a cat, lol!</p>
<p>^^^Got to try the Everclean litter.</p>
<p>And BunsenBurner, that would mean I would have to learn how to install a GPS! And, I’d have to bring it along with me! </p>
<p>Just kidding, but not really. </p>
<p>Husband had me ask the question on my last trip to Houston, whether I could bring my own GPS and put it in the rental car, and the answer is yes. So, as long as husband is with me and he installs it, I won’t be tacking on the GPS. </p>
<p>But sorry, when it’s only me, I’m willing to pay the seven bucks a day to not install the thing! I’d be worried I’d screw up something on the rental car and have to pay for that damage!</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>The GPS that we have (a Garmin Nuvi; actually we have two now, but they are the same) is completely portable. You just plug it in to the car’s cigarette lighter and go. H travels and always takes the Garmin if he is renting a car. There’s no installing anything. In addition to saving money, you would already be familiar with how the GPS works, because it would be yours.</p>
<p>After re-reading this thread, it occured to me that I seem to skimp on things that cost less. My family will eat any kind of ketchup, so whatever is on sale is what we’ll buy.</p>
<p>Really good sheets are important to me and worth every penny of the extra cost. Sometimes, you really do get what you pay for.</p>