In my guest post on Simple Mom last week, I talked a little bit about how there are situations in my life where quality trumps price.

“Sometimes – in fact, many times – quality trumps price. I’m willing to spend more on a well-made item that will last for many years than buy a cheaply-made item that I’ll use for a short period and then dispose of in some environmentally unfriendly way.

Isn’t this the true meaning of frugality – knowing where you’re willing to cut corners, and which things are important enough to you to pay more?“

More often than not, items that I’m willing to spend more on revolve around my children. While couponing and drugstore shopping are a necessary means to make ends meet with my husband currently laid off, when he’s working they’re a tool to give us the extra wiggle room in our finances that gives us the freedom to spend more on areas that are important to us.

To expand on these thoughts, I thought it might be useful to provide some specific examples of items that I am willing to pay more for quality and, more importantly, why.

:: Car Seats

My children’s safety is important to me, so I didn’t hesitate to purchase the very best in car seats and boosters for them over the years. After much research, we chose the Britax Marathon Convertible Car Seats and Britax Parkway Boosters for our kids.

Yes, it was a pretty penny to spend up front (and thankfully we’ve never had to put them to the test), but the peace of mind in knowing that we purchased some of the highest rated models on the market was worth the price.

:: Quality Shoes

A second area where I don’t like to skimp is quality shoes. Yes, I could walk into Payless or any big box stores and purchase a pair of shoes for a fraction of the cost, but these shoes tend to be cheaply made and will probably fall apart quickly or pinch and hurt my kiddos feet.

A proper shoe fit is especially important for toddlers learning to walk, and for this reason, Stride Rite is the first store I take my kids to to purchase shoes. Their certified fit specialists ensure that I’m buying the proper size and style, so I leave the store confident that I’ve got the proper size shoe for my child’s foot. Busy moms may want to take advantage of their E-fit sizing system. It makes ordering shoes from home easy by walking you through the shoe fitting process step by step.

:: Well-made Strollers

In all honesty, I’ve spent far too much on strollers over the years to figure out what works best for our family. If I could pick just one stroller that works well in almost any situation, it would be my InStep Ultra Runner 2 Double Jogging Stroller. It works just as well in a crowded mall as it does when walking around our neighborhood, and it folds up surprisingly compact when you remove the front wheel (which is SO easy to do). It’s lightweight enough for me to hoist in and out of the car on my own and fits through any standard doorway.

So what are some things that I’m willing to skimp on or find alternatives?

Children’s clothing – Hand-me-downs, yard sales, consignment stores, and Target are our shopping venues of choice for the kids. Old Navy and the occasional trip to the GAP outlet are about as high end as we get, and I never buy anything there that’s not on sale or clearance priced.

Diaper Genies – Perhaps they’ve changed since I received mine, but the Playtex Diaper Genie is one item that I definitely could have done without. The inserts are exceedingly expensive, and it really didn’t do that fantastic of a job containing odors, especially since we’ve almost always had two, if not three, in diapers at one time. Wrapping them up in a grocery bag and taking them straight outside to the garbage can is what works for us.

Full-size highchairs – These have always been just a nuisance for me. They take up way too much space, and there’s just not a good place to store it between uses in my house. We purchased a Fisher-Price Space Saver High Chair and have been nothing by pleased with it from infant to toddler use.

Whether I scrimp or splurge, I do always search for the best price on an item. One of my favorite resources for baby and kid deals is Baby Cheapskate. Angie’s always in the know on the latest and greatest!

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this topic. What baby and kid items are you willing to spend more money on? Is there anything that you wish you hadn’t purchased or would have looked for a less expensive version?