What's Your 'Expensive but Worth It' Item?

A lot of people are shrewd shoppers. They buy generic, browse the sale racks and always hunt for a good deal. But there's often one product that they just can't live without.

A Reddit user recently posed the question, "What's your 'it's expensive but it's worth it' product?" Within less than 12 hours, there were more than 23,000 comments.

Probably the most passionate discussion was about pillows.

Many people said they have searched forever for the perfect pillow and would gladly spend just about any amount if they found it. People discussed everything from memory foam to buckwheat, water-filled to down. Some raved about inexpensive IKEA pillows while others said they've paid $300 looking for the perfect place to rest their head.

"Our spare bedroom is a graveyard of barely used, yet expensive pillows. It kills me," said Redditor Packyadacks.

Similarly, in a hunt for an elusive good night's sleep, many people said springing for an expensive mattress was a game changer.

Once the discussion moved beyond the realm of sleep, several people extolled the virtues of a high-quality shower head.

"To celebrate getting into law school, I bought myself a $150 Hansgrohe overhead rain jet shower head," wrote epgenius. "I’d spent so many years just dealing with shitty shower heads but now wake up and get to feel pampered before facing the day. So worth it."

And then you need high-quality towels when you finally manage to tear yourself away from the shower.

"I had to beg my wife to get the $25 towels. She was so mad when we left the store," says Melsother. "She thanks me every day."

From socks to sunglasses

There's also an entire thread about socks and underwear with people swearing by certain brands (like some compression briefs that sell for a whopping $27 a pair). ElectricCharlie suggests having an occasional "sockpockalypse day."

"Every couple years I throw out every sock of my daily wearers and install a new sock regime."

Some other suggested favorites worth the splurge include:

• Tires
• Eye surgery
• Massage
• Kitchen knives
• Polarized sunglasses
• Noise-canceling headphones
• Backpack
• Bedding
• Haircut
• Shoes
• Electric toothbrush
• High-quality food

Militree breaks things down simply, "Spend your high money on two things: Anything that separates you from the ground: shoes, mattresses, tires. Anything that keeps you healthy: skincare, therapy, healthy foods."

A lot of people said they were getting great ideas after reading people's must-have items.

Said user cruncyRocks, "By the end of this thread, I will be in deep debt."