In today’s economy, we’re often looking for the best deals, the biggest sales, the most worthwhile coupons.
But sometimes there are things you just can’t skimp on.
Sometimes good quality comes at a higher price than we would like to admit to paying.
What makes it worth the extra cash?
We went to AskReddit to find out what they think is always worth paying extra.
Redditor biancalin asked:
“What’s one thing you’re always willing to pay the extra price for?”
Here’s some things you might want to put some savings towards.
You’ll just pay more in the long run.
“A good plumber, water damage f*cking sucks.” – midnight-genius
“We had an issue in our house, where the pipes would occasionally do a loud BANG and then no hot water for 20 min to 4 hours, until another bang and it came back. We called the water heater guy as that’s what I figured was wrong. He walked in, looked at our water heater and said, ‘Nope, not the water heater, I can tell from here that it’s fine, that is some other issue. Best you call a plumber.’”
“Called one plumber, who wasn’t sure, but replaced a valve that was a bit leaky and hoped for the best, didn’t help.. called a second plumber, and I was able to recreate the issue with him. He said, ‘That’s got to be the hot water tank, probably a valve issue.’”
“Called the water tank guys back, new guy came out, I explained it, and without even looking at the tank, he told me what’s wrong and what he had to do to fix it. Fixed a bad valve, and we never had an issue since.”
“First guy should be fired, his cocky attitude cost me two plumbers.” – G8kpr
The extra airfare.
“Currently sitting in the airport for an egregiously complicated over-night layover, all to save $80. I’ll always pay the extra $80 moving forward.”
“I flew out of an airport that I had to take a greyhound bus to (instead of the local one). That bus left at 5am, and my flight wasn’t until 1pm. My itinerary is Oregon > Wisconsin, but they decided to have me overnight in Dallas for god knows what reason. I have a tough time sleeping on planes, and in airports, so I’m effectively spending 2 whole days traveling, and zero of those hours sleeping.”
“If I had paid a little more, I would’ve had a single-day trip, from the local airport, without starting at an obnoxiously early hour, and without flying south only to fly back north.” – Trappist_1G_Sucks
“Dude I was trying to fly from Seattle to San Diego a few days ago and found it cheaper to take a train from Seattle to Portland, then get a flight from Portland to Seattle to San Diego. Not sure how that even made sense but it was cheaper.” – smick
“Try living in Canada. It generally costs more to fly from Vancouver to Toronto than it does to fly to Europe, Asia, or Australia.”
“I know many people who drive to Seattle and fly from there to wherever because it is so much cheaper, even with the currency conversion.” – HOLEPUNCHYOUREYELIDS
Safety is worth the price.
“Motorcycle helmets.”
“You don’t need the most expensive helmet, but you should pay what it takes to get something with a decent certification (SNELL*, ECE, FIM) and not just DOT. Some technologies like MIPS are also well worth the extra spend.”
“*maybe.” – Bicameral_vtec
“Everyone made fun of me when I got my shoei helmet because of the cost and them saying I don’t need it and that I was paying for equipment that was made for racing. Sure enough a lady pulled out in front of me and I ended up in her backseat. Helmet saved my brain from going mashed potatoes. All my friends have shoei helmets now.” – Dookieie
“I was a motorcycle journalist and tester in the UK for magazines. I got invited to Amsterdam to visit Arai’s European research and testing location and to see how the helmets are made, tested and improved.”
“I’ve personally taken an Arai helmet shell (with nothing inside) and jumped up and down on it sideways and top to bottom. It didn’t crack or crush. They also took an Arai helmet and dropped it three times one after the other onto a metal ball, with a head-weight inside it and lots of G sensors. Three times that helmet fell 3m onto a metal ball and absorbed enough energy to make it a very survivable impact.”
“So did the cheap alternative helmets they let us test it on. The first time. At some angles.”
“I used to buy, and then choose to test (free in return for coverage) Arai and Shoei helmets. After that experience I’d seen first hand why you pay the extra for a good crash helmet. In my experience, Arai, Shoei, Shark, BMW, Caberg and Nolan/X-Lite are among the only ones I’ll either trust to wear or recommend.” – Miraclefish
For longevity.
“Anything I’ll use for years. Like computer or clothes.” – Th0mas1
“A good mattress.” – not_a_drip
“I agree. My dad always said, ‘Look after your mattress and your footwear because you spend most of your life in both.’” – Outside_Tradition972
“Don’t cheap out on stuff that separates you from the ground. Mattresses, shoes, and tires.” – maverickaod
“Lots of people don’t realize this. If you buy a nice computer (like a gaming computer) and you buy a separate monitor for it, go the extra mile and get a good monitor. Why?”
“Monitors usually last (if you take care of them) for 2-3 actual computers’ lifetimes. You may replace your computer every couple years, or even after 5-6 years, but your monitor you’ll probably use for a decade, especially if its a really nice one.”
“I paid as much for my current monitor as the entire gaming computer behind it. I’ve had it for about 5 years and will probably keep it another decade. My mom still uses a 40 inch TV I bought over a decade ago and that thing has zero dead pixels. I’m still amazed by it. (Toshiba).” – Bluegobln
Specifically, tires.
“Winter tires or tires in general.” – Whit-Batmobil
“Tires are so under rated. They will make an older normal car feel like it’s newer and safer to drive and handle on the road. It wont make it feel nicer inside, but going around a corner, stopping quickly, and taking off from a stop on sh*tty roads will be so much better.” – Propulus
“Especially if you live somewhere with rough winters.”
“You’ll make your life so much f*cking easier. Like obviously winter tires are a bit of a luxury but even regular mid tier+ regular tires will make your life so much easier.” – de_jim
“I don’t get why everyone doesn’t understand this. It doesn’t matter how expensive or cheap your car is, the tires are the most important part of the vehicle, it’s the one thing that contacts the ground, and the one thing that keeps you on the road!”
“Doesn’t matter how you drive or what you drive, buy better tires. They’ll last longer, you’ll be MUCH more confident on the road, and you’ll be much happier in all road conditions.” – intashu
A quality coat for the winter.
“A really good quality winter coat or jacket. To me, it’s definitely worth the investment if you live in a country that gets cold winters. Here in Ireland it doesn’t snow much in winter due to us being a small island, but we get very cold winters and very wet ones, so you get really cold rain.”
“Paying extra for a really good quality, warm and waterproof coat makes SUCH a difference if you’re out and about a lot like I am. It pays for itself because it can last you years.” – LasRua
“I went through a couple winters with an inadequate winter coat and the long down coat I bought when I could finally afford it was one of my best purchases ever. It’s super heavy so I now have a lighter weight one that comes to mid thigh as well, but the difference that coat made in my life… truly game changing. Even with layering, I could still never get quite warm enough with the old inadequate coat.” – theexitisontheleft
Your behind is worth it.
“Toilet paper. Nothing worse than cheap toilet paper.” – MentalHygienx
“I went my entire life using Scott 1000 single ply. It’s what my parents bought for us 3 boys growing up. When I moved on my own, I thought I knew some neat budgeting trick — use the cheap Scott single ply and save tons of money.”
“COVID hit, and I had very few options. The only thing left was a 4-pack of Charmin Ultra. I’ll never buy another toilet paper again. I was using the wrong tp until I was 35. Never once before that did I even consider it might be worth it to buy a more expensive one. I just figured, ‘Who cares? It’s just getting flushed anyway.’”
“Jesus, I’m an idiot.” – ishkobob
“Take it to the next level with a bidet.” – craigmorris78
“I got a $35 bidet from Amazon. It has changed my life. Like the box says, there is life before bidet and life after bidet.” – DirtyLSD
An entertainment experience.
“I live in Mexico. The national cinema chain (Cinépolis) often has two whole movie houses in each location. One is your standard, run-of-the-mill movie theater with 30 rows of stadium seating, while the other theater is “CinépolisVIP” which features reclining leather seats, USB charging ports, heated seats, around 30 seats total, and table service (food and alcohol). Reminds me of Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas in the USA, but these are nicer in my opinion.”
“Husband and I always pay the extra pesos for the VIP theater for comfort, plus there are rarely issues with other patrons who also pay for the VIP theater – quiet people who really want to see the movie and won’t be chatting or constantly getting out of their seats through the entire movie.”
“The price difference between the two theaters really isn’t that much so it’s a small thing we always pay for.” – CourtClarkMusic
So much less stress.
“Movers. Having them put your furniture in a truck, drive it to your location and put it in your new place. It’s great not having a sore back when it’s stressful enough to move.” – Zolome1977
“Oh yes! Definitely. I moved to a building, 7th floor, no elevator. Told my girlfriend i am not moving by myself. So we got a van and 2 movers. All we had to do is be there . I helped of course with the carrying but within an hour we were done. Everything was in our apartment.”
“Gave then a super nice tip which they loved and I felt good afterwards knowing I didn’t have to break my back or worry about 5-6 trips myself.” – JJHookg
I’m crying, my last move was so bad, I got a truck too small and had to return it before we were done. We finished moving near midnight and almost had a fire. Never again, we’re gonna pay someone else to do it.” – poutine-destroyer
For your listening pleasure.
“Headphones. Never going back to anything cheap.” – Moeman101
“I got Sony WH-1000XM4 and discovered I like music a lot.” – You_are_a_towelie
“I got the XM3 when it was new and I was deployed. I definitely slept through an incoming alarm with those on. They also mostly blocked the noise of F16s taking off right next to my little bunker.”
“10/10 would unknowingly get rocket attacked again.” – Judoka229
Though you might not want to pay for some of these things because it seems like a waste of money, it might be worth the peace of mind or the reduced stress.
Money comes and goes, but your happiness is worth every penny.