As I’ve gotten older I’ve come to recognize that there are luxuries in life that are actually worth the money. When I was single I made the conscious decision to always buy real butter. The difference in taste is extreme (sorry “I can’t believe its not butter” you don’t taste like butter). In addition it doesn’t have any chemicals and is only a few pennies more. Totally worth it. I’ve never regretted that decision. It took a lot longer to give up the tiny, thin, cheap and nearly absorbent bath towels. For years I begrudgingly bought towels that were seconds. I felt that it was just a towel that you would use and eventually (when it was too thin and too ratty looking) become either a gym towel for the boys or a towel to use on the dog. I eventually came around to the bath sheet camp. They were big. Big enough that you could dry off, wrap your hair, and still have some absorbency left. And they were soft. Oh the softness! I realized that I had been denying myself and others a simple pleasure. I now have bath sheets. Granted they have come down in price but they do wear like iron. I still have all the original ones I bought. They reside in the laundry room for rolling sweaters to blot out residual moisture before air drying… But the biggest switch has been the hardest. I used to buy generic toilet paper. I mean it is used to wipe and then flush it away! It is like flushing money down the toilet, right? Well, when the boys were young I swear they would go through a roll a day. Now that they are gone Sparky has demanded a better quality. I was not convinced. Sure I despise hotels and public restrooms where the toilet paper is so thin that it disintegrates in your hand but that doesn’t mean I want to use TP that costs $20 a roll either! So I acquiesced to the purchase of some Great Northern for Sparky to use in the hall bathroom. It was very thick – like you only need 2 squares thick! I noticed that it was lasting longer. The next trip to the grocery netted me some deluxe Charmin toilet paper. It really isn’t paper but more like wiping with felt! I settled on Cottonelle brand. It is thick and is usually on sale. In true Midwest frugality I purchase whatever is on sale and when I have a coupon. Thus I have a growing stockpile of TP in my basement. When the apocalypse comes I WILL HAVE TOILET PAPER!! And it will be the good stuff!
Today is the first day of vacation! Hip Hip Hooray!
A Different Perspective 
Hooray for vacation!
I’m totally with you on the toilet paper. I like to take care of my heiney.
Your stockpile reminded me of a woman I rented a basement apartment from. She insisted that we pay a share of supplies, such as toilet paper. There was a shelving unit in the storage area that was completely filled with toilet paper.
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Sparky has called a moratorium on TP purchases. I suppose when I get down to one jumbo pack I’ll start buying again…
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LOL Thanks for sharing. yes, I’m the same way about toilet paper. I do NOT like the cheap stuff. It’s a waste of money, too, because you have to use so much of it for the job.
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I suppose there is a balance somewhere between quality and price that evens out to 3 squares…
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Good butter, yes! Good Greek yogurt, yes! Good moisturizer or a well known makeup brand, yes.
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I wrote a critique of Greek yogurt – I guess I’m picky. Sparky is the moisturizer guru. I have very sensitive skin and he hates perfumes so we end up buying the expensive stuff…
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Wow. I totally agree. We too are finding out that getting “the good stuff” has it’s rewards. We switched to real butter a few years ago and have never looked back. We buy sheets that are way more than 200 thread count, and opt for the more expensive oil change that has a blend, rather than barrel recycled oil you get in a $14 oil change. There are still several places we economy shop, but as we get older, the lean the other way is intensifying and at an exponential rate. You can bet that when our current stock of towels bites the dust and become garage rags, we will get super plush, feel good, wrap after a shower towels.
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I suppose that now that the income is not supporting 4 people and we are down to just the 2 of us we do splurge on some things. Son#2 came over and stayed for dinner. His question was “why didn’t you feed us like this when we were living here?” It was mostly because we couldn’t afford to feed 4 with rib eyes. Now 2 steaks will be 2 meals each instead of having 4 steaks with no leftovers!!
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Wow. You just described our way of thinking. A $17 lb of shrimp is good for 2-3 meals with just the two of, but when it was 4, with two of them bottomless incinerators, no way shrimp was on the meal docket!
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Exactly. We couldn’t afford to feed them the good stuff.
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I know I’m not a super frugal person – except when budget demanded it! Which it often does. Many years ago I figured out the little better brand of toilet paper was worth the price. Less squares per use. I still compare how many sq ft per package when price comparing though. My towels are usually middle of the road quality but I have snatched up some real nice ones on sale :-). I have a strong dislike for thin towels – they don’t absorb as well and don’t last as long. Sometimes you just really deserve the better quality item – if it’s what you want & your budget can handle it. peace & smiles
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I’ve found the big thick towels last much longer than the little thin ones. And I only get them on sale! I am frugal and make every penny count. That is why the switch to the better TP was so hard to do. But now that I’ve made the switch I don’t think I’ll ever go back!
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I always get towels on sale too when needed but the really nice ones I have were at TJ Maxx so already cheaper than they would have been then on clearance so yay! And good towels last a long time. We have some pretty old towels in this house. I think the oldest are around 18 – 20 years old that we still use for towels although the color has faded somewhat.
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I agree with you, Val : quality at first and above all !
I wish you great holiday .
And thank for your very interesting comment about Crystal night
Love ❤
Michel
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I can’t say I found ttissue I really like. Some are so hard to find the beginning. I’m using one called Homebase right now from local commissary. Doesn’t last long though.
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So glad you are off on a good vacation, enjoy!
I am totally with you on butter and loo paper …. as I live tiny I prefer the smaller towels!
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Have a good vacation. Every time I buy toilet paper it seems like it went up fifty cents.
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I agree! There are some things that are worth splurging on. I don’t care about butter (can’t stand the stuff, so I buy the cheapest I can get solely for cooking), but soft towels and soft toilet paper make life much more pleasant!
Enjoy your vacation!!!
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Real butter, yes please. I agree with you on TP. When we had a houseful of Kids, all I could afford was cheaper stuff. Now I buy good TP and Puff tissues. My youngest son claims he never tasted steak until after he was grown up and on his own. I cooked a lot of casseroles, and chicken. Have a great vacation.
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Hooray for vaca..Enjoy.
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I love your posts and your practical side. I love the thicker toilet paper too but since I have a funny kind of toilet down here in the basement apartment I have to use the thinner type according to the plumber who installed the toilet, so I use the Scott tissue but I do have to use twice as much of it. But always prefer & purchase those extra large bath towels or bath sheets….. And all cotton also.
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Hehe! Yep. I think the bath sheets in all cotton are superior to the synthetic fiber towels – hands down!
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I bought recycled TP, in a fit of frugality. Next purchase: Cottonelle.
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hahaha! I was so glad to get back to my own bathroom and my special TP. You would think that with the cost of the tickets to get into Universal Studios that they’d have better TP!!
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