What is worth spending more on, and what is not

Everyone has a budget. The trick is not spending less on everything. It is spending more in a few places and less in the rest.

Work out the cost per use

A $120 pair of boots worn 300 times costs 40 cents per wear. A $20 pair that falls apart after 10 wears costs $2 each time. The cheaper price tag was the expensive choice.

Before you buy, ask how often you will really use it. If the answer is "most days," paying more usually makes sense. If it is "a few times a year," it usually does not.

Spend more on these

• Things that touch your body for hours: shoes, mattresses, pillows, office chairs and bags you carry daily.
• Things that keep you safe: helmets, smoke alarms, car tires and anything that carries weight.
• Tools you will use for years: a good kitchen knife or a solid drill beats a drawer full of weak ones.

Save on these

• Trend items. If it will look dated in a year, buy it cheap or secondhand.
• Gadgets you will use twice. Borrow, rent or buy the basic version.
• Anything where the cheap and pricey version do the same job. Plain basics like kitchen towels or phone stands rarely need a premium version.

Three quick checks before you pay more

1. Does the higher price buy something you can name, like better materials, a longer warranty or a better fit?
2. Do reviewers who have owned it for a year say it lasted?
3. Is there a mid-priced option that gets you most of the way there?

If you cannot name what the extra money buys, it is probably not worth it.

Make it a habit

Pick the one or two categories where quality matters most to you and set a higher limit for them. Set a tight limit everywhere else. Over a year, that does more for your budget than hunting for deals on everything.