MoneySaving Poll: What wouldn't you downshift on?

A question about : MoneySaving Poll: What wouldn't you downshift on?

Poll started 8 Apr 2014

Our Downshift Challenge is all about trying dropping one brand level, as the savings can be huge. Often, you can’t notice the difference, but that’s not always the case. And if the quality’s worse, going cheaper can (on occasion) be a false economy.

Which of these 18 common downshifts WOULDN'T you skimp on?

Vote in this week's poll

Did you vote? Why did you pick that option? Are you surprised at the results so far? Have your say below. To see the results from last time, click this

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Best answers:

• I already skimp (very happily) on pretty much everything, from tinned pineapple to computers. But I do insist on eating good quality bread.
• I'm surprised how many people will skimp on bin liners. I find cheap ones tear so quickly and easily they work out more expensive
  Also I put skimp on toilet rolls, but the Nicky ones we get are three ply, cheap and better than andrex.
  Sometimes price and quality don't match!
• Alcoholic Drinks
  Quality counts, though the most expensive isn't always the best, the cheapest isn't always the worst. I often buy cheap brandy as I like it better than Martell, I often buy decent vodka (or the cheapest for cocktails with lots of mixer) don't touch Smirnoff unless it's on super cheap offer.
  Baked Beans
  Like low sugar and salt ones best (on taste not for health reasons) not over fussy which brand but usually not available super cheap.
  Cola Drinks
  Cola Zero by Sainsbury's is the best sugar free cola on taste and cheap.
  Fruit and Veg
  Skimp away in terms of I'll buy the basic/value/savers lines, I do also buy exotic stuff too which is more expensive.
  Haircuts
  I have a friend who's a hair dresser, she's brilliant at a middling price for most people, she does it cheap for me so I get cheap and good quality.
  Pain killers
  Skimp away, the active ingredients are the same.
  Pet food
  Not got pets
  Razors/razor blades
  Buy cheap unless good quality are on any kind of offer, this makes them better value as they last longer.
  Sausages
  I'm vegetarian. I buy the vegetarian sausages that I like best unless there's an offer on.
  Shampoo/Conditioner
  Has to be Original Source for me - I bulk buy when it's on offer.
  Shoes
  Quality counts - https://www.vegetarian-shoes.co.uk regular.
  Socks/Tights
  Quality counts (I don't wear tights!!!) the cheapest tend to be thin and not last as long, simply a false economy.
  Tea Bags
  Cheapest are fine for normal tea, I like Red Bush and Earl Grey as well and pay for quality here.
  Tin Foil
  The lovely other half buys this, wouldn't know :-)
  Toilet Roll
  Skimp away for me but we don't, nobody else thinks the same as me!
  Underwear
  Don't wear any.
  Washing up liquid
  Buy the cheapest unless dearer stuff is on cheap offer, the cheap ones tend to be more watery and you need to use more, if the expensive stuff is on offer it works out better value.
• Absolutely could not skimp on hairdressers/shampoo & conditioner! Although I think my hairdresser is pretty reasonable. I have waist length hair and a full head of highlights, cut and blow is Ј70 which I think is really good value consudering how long I'm in there! I suppose I do skimp in terms of how often I have it done though; 3/4 times a year rather than every 6 weeks.
  Also cannot use cheap shampoo/conditioner. I use Lush or Liz Earle which I know are ridiculously priced but I find most cheaper brands (pantene, etc) leave me with an itchy scalp and horrible greasy looking hair. Some things are absolutely worth paying for!
  Also baked beans; never tasted any beans as nice as Heinz. Just not worth the savings!
• I went into a walk in hairdressers a few weeks ago, had a cut and blow dry. Cost Ј10. BIG mistake, it looked ghastly. I went back to my usual hairdresser to tidy it up.
  Cheap foil, bin bags etc total waste of money as you need more.
• It would be interesting to know if people skimp because they are short of money or if they believe that own brands aren't worth paying for, i.e. if you won the lottery, would your opinion change ?
• After Eights. There are no substitutes.
• Interesting, and most of my answers matched up with the rest!!! I'm a stickler for Heinz baked beans!!
• I am amazed that so many people are paying far more than they need to for quality - in their opinion.
  I've bought the cheap version of everything and with most things I've found them to be very nice and excellent value.
  I won't skimp on sausages though after finding out what is put in the cheap stuff that grossed me out big time!
  I think you just get used to cheap stuff - if you haven't got the money for the expensive stuff, you can't buy it if you want to eat! After a while you get so used to it, you like it!! lol
• I think for an awful lot of things it is a false economy to buy poor quality, as you end up having to use larger quantities, or replace things more often. But as Gordon says, most expensive is not the same as best quality.
  I am not interested at all in brand names and happily buy and use own brands provided that the quality is OK.
  And with some things (things like meat and wine) I make a conscious decision to have better quality but to have it less frequently (which probably has health, as well as financial benefits!)
• Faulty poll (surprise, surprise).
  It should have three options corresponding to:
  a) Supermarket value
  b) Supermarket standard
  c) Supermarket finest/branded goods
  I buy 'value' canned tomatoes because they are just as good as branded but I wouldn't buy 'value' teabags, although the supermarket standard ones are fine. Sausages have to be the very best quality.
  So my responses are a bit hit and miss because I couldn't be sure whether 'supermarket standard' should go into skimp or not. In the end I decided: not.
• Totally agree about bread. I buy Burgen which is only a Ј1 in Iceland and, even at that price, has some actual nutrition in it. Alcohol is a funny one. I will buy the super cheap 2% lagers in the summer because they are very refreshing but won't buy at all if the ginger wine isn't Crabbies and gin has to be good too - Bombay Sapphire is my favourite. Don't buy sausages very often, all too fatty. Really don't care too much about loo rolls and buy my bin bags in the market, thick but unbranded. I too go for the low sugar, low salt baked beans - apparently good for lowering the cholesterol. Shoes have to be leather and comfortable unless they are beach shoes.
• Supermarket own brands aren't necessarily downshifting.
  I'm an Aldi convert and there are many things they do better than their branded counterparts.
  I prefer their Jaffa cakes to the McVities ones, their Fruit and Fibre has twice as much fruit/nuts as Kellogs and is half the price.
  But my real area of expertise is the booze!
  Their Gin is better than most of the named brands, as is their tonic water. Shame they don't do the small cans though as the bottles go flat.
  The sherry doesn't appear to be based on another brand but is very nice. Their port less so, except the posher stuff they get in at Christmas.
  The Irish Cream they do is just as good as Baileys (get the special edition stuff though, the standard isn't as good).
  The Archers (peach schnapps) equivalent - I think it's called Oscars is indistinguishable from the 'real' stuff.
  I prefer their own brand Bourbon whiskey to jack Daniels but others may not agree.
  Their Southern Comfort equivalent tastes nothing like southern Comfort. Still an OK drink though.
  Although I've not tried it yet, their version of Pimms (Austins) is supposed to be nicer than Pimms.
• I'm an Aldi and Iceland shopper. And I use Macro to get cheap brands like loo roll, dishwasher tabs and laundry products, so quality counts I just bulk buy to get it cheap. Using Aldi I save about Ј30 a week on shopping, I have a mate I converted who saves Ј45 a week. I'd rather have the cash than points. Anything I use brand names for I compare the supermarkets on line then get the best deal.