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I'm trying to decide between two floor lamps. One is from Restoration Hardware. It's beautiful, elegant and costs $249 on sale. The other is from WalMart and looks very similar to the Restoration Hardware lamp, but not quite as pretty and not as high quality. But it only costs $40.  

In lieu of today's economic uncertainty, does it make more sense to splurge or skimp? An article on MSN Money gave a few suggestions on when to pay steep or go cheap.

Pay steep:

1. A mattress. You spend 1/3 of your life on it. It must be good.
2. A sofa. Comfort and durability are invaluable. Don't skimp here. 
3. Dressers. What's worse that sticky drawers that don't open? 
4. Cookware (if you cook!). You really will have good pots and pans forever. 
5. Knives. Dull knives are dangerous!

Go cheap:

1. Accent tables. These don't get a lot of wear and tear, so top quality is not a necessity. 
2. Accent chairs. If they are not used for sitting, don't bother shelling out the big bucks.
3. Table linens. Keep your tabletop looking great with inexpensive, trendy items.

So, after much deliberation, I decided to go with the $40 lamp. It may not be the lamp I will have for the next decade, but it looks really good. Besides, I can use the $210 savings toward the fantastic leather couch I've been eyeing.  

What do you think? Where do you skimp? Or splurge?