Save or splurge: Wardrobe

To get the most for your money, you need to know two things: when the good stuff is worth paying extra for and when the economy choice is plenty good enough.

Jos. A. Bank Business Express suit separates | Jacket $395; pants $155
Everyday suit
Jos. A. Bank Business Express suit separates | Jacket $395; pants $155
Save or spend: Save
A suit you wear often has to hold up under frequent cleaning. Because of the fineness of the fabric, high-end suits can't.

So for an everyday suit, choose coarse wool, around Super 100. This lasts longer than a poly blend, since polyester and wool deteriorate at different rates.

With Jos. A. Bank, you'll get 100 percent merino wool, and you can build the suit yourself - from jacket style to fabric.

Everyday suit

Special suit

Diamonds

Pearls

Women's jeans
The office If you're going to take your work home, shell out for a decent seat. (more)
Leisure stuff Don't handicap your wallet by paying too much for the latest gear. (more)
The kitchen Bring home the bacon and fry it up in a stainless steel, aluminum-core pan (more)

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Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.