Money has never been such a sensitive subject as it is now, as we live in times of a cost of living crisis. Most households have been forced to rethink their priorities when it comes to spending and rethink most of their purchases very well before actually buying them.

Meanwhile, we have long heard about investing in more expensive things because it’s more sustainable and the chances are you’re going to use them for longer. In fact, we previously wrote about expensive purchases that really paid off according to people in an article you can find here.

But this is not always the case. Often our tight budget forces us to look for cheaper alternatives and they don’t always disappoint us. Quite on the contrary, cheaper versions of the same products can be very pleasantly surprising if you know what to look for, according to people from this Ask Reddit thread.

#1

Amazon Basics has really good HDMI cables for $6.

Image credits: NickPookie93

#2

Makeup. You can get some really brilliant products for such a cheaper price rather than having the “brand” on it. Kylie’s brushes are dog s**t, for example, and they’re retailed at $318. All of my brush sets have cost me £20 at most, and I’m a makeup artist so I need good quality stuff. Brands don’t make it good.

Image credits: anon

#3

TJ Maxx. Seriously. I get like 3x the amount of athletic gear there, the same big name brands.
Underarmour, Nike, Reebok. All for like $15 each depending on the clothing. Big name sports bras? $7 at times.

Image credits: Hookedongutes

#4

Pregnancy tests. $2 at the dollar store in a panic, or even cheaper if you plan ahead and buy them in bulk online. Never buying a $20 drugstore test again. Cheap enough you can just… take one whenever you need peace of mind.

Image credits: turkproof

#5

For years I paid 35+tip for a men’s haircut at Korean Salons… because Korean women “know how to cut Korean men’s hair”…

Last year I started going to a barbershop that cuts my hair for 13 bucks. Not only does my Mexican barber cut my hair for a fraction of the cost, he cuts it better than any Korean woman I’ve met.

Image credits: CookSux

#6

Glasses. I will never feel better spending $400 vs. $30. Changed my life.

Image credits: FourWindMinstrel

#7

Mascara. Drug store mascara is just as good if not better than any $25+ premium makeup brand mascara.

Image credits: neekeeneekee

#8

Benadryl, aspirin etc. Dollar tree man. Only way to go

Image credits: RubberSoul73

#9

The Home Depot version of the Magic Erasers sponges. They are half the price and work just as well.

Image credits: Kilaelya

#10

Kind of out there, but last year my partner and I purchased a electric meat grinder. It had all these fancy attachments and nozzles, so we assumed it would be able to do a lot.

The very first time we used it, it got stuck several times, sent the mince out with black bits through it even after washing, and was so loud that the neighbours could hear. Eventually, one time we used it sparks flew up the machine and it promptly died.

We got a nice little ‘stick on the counter’ manual one after that and its done everything we throw at it with perfect precision. Would never ever go back.

Image credits: anon

#11

Late but: POPSICLES

I’m a poor college student and I was at the grocery store when suddenly I had the craving for some popsicles. So I stop by the frozen desserts aisle to buy some and find these generic brand popsicles in a plastic bag for $1.79. The bag had 10 popsicles in it and I figured: why not? So I bought it and tried one, best popsicle I have ever had in my life. Now I eat two everyday, only problem is now I’m back home for Christmas and having withdrawls.

#12

How am I the first to mention the Ozark Trail (Wal-Mart brand) knockoff Yeti tumblers? $7, and they might work better. We have one Yeti and four knockoffs…

Image credits: anon

#13

My roommate used to buy chai lattes in coffee shops. Then she noticed they were basically just pouring liquid chai over the steamed milk and being done with it.
So she tracked down the stuff on Amazon, paid 18 dollars for 6 cartons, and will never buy chai lattes in a store ever again

Image credits: Caret711

#14

Eyeglasses. I used to wear Raybans, D&G, Joseph An hour, etc.. and now I wear $15 frames I bought online and I couldn’t be happier.

Edit: just to clarify, I was referring to prescription eyeglasses, not sunglasses

Image credits: StarsBarsandPBRs

#15

Silverware. I can get a giant pack for 3 dollars at Ikea. No need to buy the 200 dollar s**t my mom does so often and just stores away.

Image credits: DRBlast

#16

Most Asian car brands. They may not impress as a status symbol but most Hondas/Toyotas/even Hyundais are more reliable, will take you to a mechanic a lot less, and will hold their value better than many other brands, including luxury options like BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Jaguar, Cadillac…etc.

Image credits: earthismycountry

#17

I’ve been waiting for this thread. About a month ago I was staying at a friends place and forgot a razor.

I needed to shave bad as I was starting to look like hair lip Steve. So I asked my wife to get me a razor from the grocery.

She came back with a pack of 8 top of my usual top of the line Gillette triple double whatever things. $50. But no stick. Just the heads.

The friend I was staying with gave me one of his humble shick duos. $8 for 12 INCLUDING THE STICK.

Friends – it was the most incredible shave. I didn’t cut myself once. It sliced right through my disgraceful hair lip like a dream. Will honestly never ever go back to those 15 bladed wank fest pat rafter shaving con jobs.

Hear the truth and believe it people. Luxury razors are a scam.

#18

Shampoo. I used to spend a fortune thinking maybe THIS time my hair will be silky and beautiful and life will be great. Now I buy a cheap sulphate free bottle and run through the tiniest bit of any conditioner at the ends. Saves me a fortune.

And as already mentioned, all drugs I buy are generic from the supermarket. My 16p paracetamol works just the same as the named brand £1.50 lot.

I buy my moisturiser from Aldi. It’s the best facial cream I’ve ever used.

Bleach for 50p from the supermarket bleaches just as well as the £2 domestos bottle.

Man I’m starting to sound like my granny.

#19

Laundry detergent. My roommate is obsessed with trying out the most crazy, fancy, smell-goody laundry detergent and she let’s me use it. From what I can tell it does the exact same thing the generic detergent my mom used does

#20

I absolutely love candles and recently discovered that Michael’s (the craft store) sells these large yankee-resembling candles that are permanently on sale for $3. It’s way more satisfying to have 6 matching candles burning throughout your house than one nice $20 one in a single room by itself.

* If you’re committed to name-brand candles, check your local TJ Maxx, Ross, HomeGoods or similar store to get them for like half the price.
* IKEA also makes great cheap candles. Their tealights in particular are surprisingly fragrant.
* To the people expressing concern about all the chemicals I’m inhaling when burning cheap candles: Just wait ’til you hear about my coke problem.

Image credits: TheNakedZebra

#21

Towels. Expensive towels are soft, but they don’t absorb water. You keep rubbing them on your body after a shower, and you’re still all wet, and the towel is barely damp.

A $5 towel that’s rough on the skin dry MUCH better than a $40 soft one. “Super absorption” only applies if the towel is in contact with the water. If the towel is soft, it’s because there is little friction and there isn’t much surface contact.

#22

Cables. 99.99999% of people do not need the $200 gold plated HDMI cables.

#23

Thai food. Thai is cheap food, period. People making $30 Thai meals DO NOT understand how to put that meal together and make it work.

#24

french press > coffee machine

#25

WyzeCam is a $20 1080p security camera that I discovered this year. It beats the more expensive Arlo by miles, in price, quality, customizability (local micro-sd or free 14 day cloud recording), and affordability (No fee or subscription for cloud recording). I returned the 720p Arlo camera. I prefer Headphones from Audio Technica over Bose beats. Colour Pop lippie sticks are better quality than any lipsticks you’ll find from luxury makeup brands at a ridiculously low cost. They’re highly pigmented, last longer, animal cruelty-free and made in L.A. not China. Kylie Jenner loved them so much she literally copied them, ingredient for ingredient and makes her lipsticks in L.A. too. I used to buy Warby Parker eyeglass frames but now I’m using Goggles4U.com. Store brands like Kirkland, Up & Up, Equate and Great Value make comparable products in almost every category that are less expensive than the more recognizable branded ones.

#26

Watches – my $10 quartz watch is absurdly precise compared to my ex-roommate’s rolex, doesn’t require winding, and doesn’t need to maintained.

#27

Plates.

I had always bought fancy plate sets that looked good in the past and they always ended up chipping and breaking on me. One day I decided to just get the plain white 10 dollar Canadian tire pack. I’ve never had a better plate. No chips, no b******t, the bottom doesn’t scratch my table. Very satisfied.

Image credits: Chris266

#28

My washing machine.

back when I first moved out of home, my father went with me shopping, and kept pushing me to buy the basic model. its got no electronics that you can see – just two knobs you turn and click into place. let it do its magic.

that was …god… 2001? 2002? it’s still going. my dad didn’t get a choice and my mum wanted all the bells and whistles. since then they’ve gone through three. my sister moved out of home a few years later, her husband is a snob when it comes to home appliances. they’re up to machine two themselves. mine is still going strong.

Image credits: tmofee

#29

When I was a new mom, I tried all kinds of fancy bottles with my baby. The best ones were evenflo – cheap, glass, babies liked them, easy to clean.

Image credits: UtterDisbelief

#30

A lot of Target brand stuff like their basic groceries and cleaning products. But most notably Target brand Nyquil tablets actually has decongestant in it unlike regular Nyquil. It makes a lot of difference.

Image credits: tea-and-solitude

#31

I got a safety razor handle and use double edged razor blades. Way cheaper than Gillette/Schick and still get several weeks out of a blade. Also doesn’t clog on my double thick whiskers.

Image credits: porcelainvacation

#32

Domestic sewing machines. The more money you spend, the more time and money you’ll be wasting on repairs. Keep it simple, Sally. You’ll often find that something ancient, beat to hell, and dirt cheap outclasses modern computerized machines that cost thousands of dollars.

Image credits: Mortifer

#33

Mid range Android phones. Just got a moto g5 plus for $200 on Black Friday. Never paying for a flagship ever again. This phone has everything I need plus the battery still has 50% left at the end of the day.

Image credits: cloud9ineteen

#34

boxed mac and cheese. no one believes me that i think it tastes better than any homemade, baked, 6-cheese, 2-noodle delicacy. i just want my neon orange powdered b******t, alright?

Image credits: eleawhorerigby

#35

I paid full price for Fraps (game recording software), and didn’t really like it but made it work because it cost a lot and I was going to get my money’s worth. Eventually tried Shadowplay, which comes free with GTX graphics cards, and I loved it. It has way more functionality and I still use it to this day, never looked back.

Image credits: TheRealPascha

#36

Tuna, the name brands are now just cans of some tuna-like puree whereas the off brands have nice large chunks (shout out to Aldi).

Image credits: GentlemanHeathen

#37

Bath towels. We’re a beach towel family, now. Bonus is they are much larger and wrap around bodies better, with more area for drying and covering your bits. The different designs make it easy to keep track of whose is whose, too.

Image credits: SelfRefMeta

#38

Clothing from second hand. Now I can not buy expensive clothes.

Image credits: CapableJack

#39

Pop tarts. The store brands have more icing, are softer, and generally taste better all around.

Image credits: im-a-little-ocd

#40

2 buck chuck Pinot Grigio. Even cheaper and just as good….Aldi’s Winking Owl

Image credits: jlan78

#41

Fruity and coco dino bites instead of fruity and coco pebbles. Cheaper cereal in larger quantities and (in my opinion) better taste.

#42

Don’t hate, but chocolate. I’m not talking about everyday cheap candy bars vs. high end sweets, I’m talking about the mass produced cheap-as-dirt chocolate. Easter and Christmas are my favorite because that’s when you can find the chocolate I’m talking about. The little package of like 3 chocolate Santa’s mixed with puffed rice for $1, that chocolate.

Is it not that chocolately? Sure. A little dry? Yep. Kinda chalky? Definitely. But it’s just the perfect combination that tastes delicious to me. It also somewhat reminds me of my childhood when I got cheap old Crunch bars from the nearby gas station as a treat and I cherished them.

#43

Saline solution for contacts. 2x 16oz bottles for less than 1 12oz bottle? Yes, please!

Edit: I’m talking about typical multi-purpose disinfecting solution meant for contact lenses. Not pure saline solution.

#44

Arm & Hammer deodorant – doesn’t have aluminum or parabens and works amazing for me. Never have smelled bad after using it.

#45

Went from north face to Carrhart, not necessarily the cheap brand but marginally cheaper, it’s warmer and more suited to what I do for work as well.

#46

Bread. In my area the brand name is literally the same company that bakes for the store brand.

#47

Those knock off brand cereal bags. They are bigger cheaper and I usually can’t taste the difference.
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