Totally agree. I was given this advice also and it has served me well.

Someone else mentioned Mora knives. I think thats one example where price is NOT a good indicator of quality. I'll take my Mora over a $50 knife any day.

I saved up and purchased every tool with Plenty of homework and advice from my father who knows a bunch about tools. I now have a respectable Toolbox of high quality tools and a few High quality power tools.

Somtimes waiting for a sale works too for quality items. I purchased a 24 volt Black and decker set of a Cordless drill, Circular saw and flashlight. for 30$ so minus the flashlight i never used I obtained a high quality 24 volt drill when the standard is 18 volt and a circular saw for 15$ each.

Just a caveat about those shears. They're great for medium or heavy materials, but the ones I got tend to make a mess out of the plastic wrap, thread, paracord, and other very mallable materials. Ironically, the cheap braided fishing line scissors (Rapala super line?) from Sports Authority works best for those.