When you SHOULD pay full price.

Shocker.  There are times when paying full price or paying more may be in your best interest.  Here's when:

When you are paying for better quality.  Now, just because something costs more that does not mean it is better quality.  But there are times when paying more may save you money in the end because it was good quality.  For example, paying more to have a decent winter coat while living in the city of Chicago makes perfect sense.  If you pay less to have a coat that isn't going to keep you as warm or stand up to the weather and fall apart after a few weeks, it is not worth the money you saved because you'll have to buy another one.  If something will last longer and make your life easier...spend away!  But don't waste your money on name brands unless you know for sure that it is actually better quality.  After all, no one is going to care about your fancy Ralph Lauren jacket in the dead of winter as you're freezing your behind off.

Perfect example.  (Photo: http://www.foreignperspectives.com)

When you are spending for a good cause.  Anytime you can spend money and some of the proceeds go to a good cause, I think it's worth it...as long as you have the few extra bucks.  It's when those extra few bucks are going to a large corporation instead of staying in your wallet that we have a problem.

Not tempting enough.

Photo: http://www.google.com

When you will get something free that you actually need.  Lots of places offer you a future discount at their store or some free cheap gift to go along with your purchase.  Most of the time, it's not worth the money because either a) you had no intention of returning to that store; or b) the free gift is something useless that you will never use.  However, there are those few times when a store is offering a very nice and useful gift along with a purchase. I have found this to be the case when I buy perfumes from department stores.  Often times, they will give you a makeup or travel bag with items in it that you will actually use.  So instead of going to Kohls to get your perfume for just a couple dollars less, check out Macy's or other department stores to see if your brand has any free gifts or specials at the time.  Office supply places often have deals like this too.  You can get a free office chair with the purchase of a good quality desk or free office supplies with a purchase of electronics.  So be sure to do your research first before just running to the cheapest store possible.  You never know what you could be missing out on.