There are lots of things that I buy. Well, duh. What a sentence, eh? But with the economy sinking like a body with brick lined underwear, I've had to reevaluate the purchases I make - some of the things that I buy, or have bought in the past, really aren't worth the expense. Things that I thought I needed - lavender scented fabric softener springs to mind - I find that I don't miss at all.
Some of those things are really worth the cash. My Swiffer wet jet, a good razor, having my hair colored by a professional, any electronic made by Sony. My iPod, my BlackBerry - both are used by me daily and while spendy, I've gotten my money worth over and over.
But, there are some things that have been just a waste of money. The Dyson yellow vacuum, the Hoover floor mate,Starbucks coffee - three years ago I never would have said that, as I was a two-a-day drinker, but now the coffee I make is so.much.better. I'm sure that there are other things, but I've sat here in front of the computer screen for ten minutes trying to think.
Help a girl out - what have you bought that was the biggest waste of money, and what do you currently buy that is worth just about all the money in China?
waste of money: more expensive laundry detergent. my mother has been buying hers from Aldi's and it works just the same and smells good too.
worth everything I paid for it: JetStream by American Harvest. it cooks food using hot air and takes less time than an oven. It's the only thing we were allowed to cook with when I was in third grade and have used it ever since. In college, I think I used it every single day. Best part- makes everything crispy without frying, therefore making it healthy(ier) cooking! I highly recommend it.
Posted by: Reinventing Amy | July 12, 2009 at 11:24 PM
Would love to hear more about your coffee - any tips?
Things I would buy... more time, is that available??
Waste: Everything I put on my overcharged credit cards!
Posted by: Glenda | July 12, 2009 at 11:39 PM
waste: eating out...we save literally hundreds of dollars a month now...and starbucks...we bought a 20 dollar espresso machine, and spend about 10 dollars every 2 or 3 weeks on really good coffee...and it tastes MUCH better, with the added bonus of NOT having to explain my hubby's 6-shot iced caramel macchiatto, heavy syrup, to the poor barrista.
GOLD: good toilet paper, dishwasher detergent, and All Free and Clear.
(we are a sensitive-skinned bunch)
Posted by: rebecca | July 13, 2009 at 12:15 AM
Waste: name brand shampoos and beauty products
Worth it: hormone free milk and organic fruits and veggies
I love me some Starbucks but I too have made a recipe for home that is pretty good. Not quite as good yet but I keep trying. I do have to say that 50 cents beats $4.20!
Posted by: Angie | July 13, 2009 at 12:19 AM
I'm not sure but I have that yellow Dyson & the Hoover Floor Mate. I do love my Hoover
selp-propelled vacuum!
Posted by: Debby Pucci | July 13, 2009 at 12:29 AM
Hmmmm- I have stopped buying ritzy hair products from the salon- now I buy hair stuff at Target or sometimes Marshalls. It works just as well and we go thru 5x as much product in the summer with all the extra hair washing from pool and beach days. I also have been deleting the bulk of emails from my fav shopping sites without even opening them.Some things I won't sacrifice are scotts toilet tissue, obagi clenziderm, diet pepsi in cans, and an occasional gno.
Posted by: amie | July 13, 2009 at 07:01 AM
Waste: Spendy bath products, (new) books & magazines, Starbucks, having my nails and toes done, home phone line, name brand OTC medications, name brand kids' clothes (mine are more likely to stain anything long before it is worn out) air conditioning 24/7 (we use fans mostly), the pool club membership
my Suburban (ditched it for a used minivan w/ no payment)
Worth it: the Crackberry, MacBook, iPods for everyone, used books, Retin A, paper to-go coffee cups, trash pickup service, and above all else- the obscenely expensive attorney who protected me and the kids during my divorce.
Posted by: Dawn | July 13, 2009 at 07:08 AM
Waste: buying clothes that are an inch too small in the waist LOL, skillet meals, expensive cat litter, A bedroom set (I would have been happier with junk that I could move in different spots around the room!
Worth it: the camera I bought, ipod, toaster oven, my cricut, my sewing machine, fresh step for multiple cats is the BOMB!!!! Xbox for my son! Costco membership! Even for a single mom like me, I have a friend that we split stuff which saves a ton of money!!!
Posted by: Jessica | July 13, 2009 at 08:32 AM
Worth every penny: a 22-year old off-brand microwave, Photoshop Elements, a little chair on wheels in my bathroom (so I can sit down while drying my hair at 6 a.m.), our new king bed, a fake Christmas tree, aftershcool program for our middle school child, like-new jeans from Goodwill, and good running shoes.
Wishing I didn't spend money: eating out so often, new books from bookstores, the multitude of unplanned purchases at Wallyworld
Posted by: Luckyduck | July 13, 2009 at 08:48 AM
What vacuum do you use? We are really really hard on vacuums with 10 kids in the house and I havent wanted to spend 500 on a dyson if it wasnt worth it, after all it is plastic too!
\
Worth the cost -- definitely my rice cooker!
Posted by: MJ | July 13, 2009 at 09:29 AM
waste: Eating out. When I was working, there were days when we got take out from sheer laziness. And we had a habit with our Friday take out pizza. Now, I have time to plan and cook, and I found a recipe for pizza dough that I like much better, and don't feel so bad about the calories that might be in a third slice!
worth every penny: The small swimming pool we put in the backyard a month ago. We spent under $200 at Target instead of joining the community pool for $350. This is my first summer not working and having my 5 1/2 year old home every day. We have been in the pool EVERY day, and since I'm 7 months pregnant, it feels great for me, too!
Posted by: MelissaS | July 13, 2009 at 09:29 AM
Worth it: Campbell's soup, it has so many more veggies, noodles, rice - whatever, than generic. Huggies diapers, anything else leaks on my kids.
Waste: Eating out, Caribou coffee, fancy cell-phone that I hardly ever use the gadgets on - I only need it to call people.
Posted by: Janelle | July 13, 2009 at 09:38 AM
waste: eating out! method wood floor mop: broke a week after i bought it.
worth every cent: my minivan. the expensive woodstove that now keeps the ENTIRE house toasty in the winter. my blackberry: i thought i'd return it during the 30 day trial but instead i love it. better than my bberry is my hubby's blackberry...i can make sure he never misses an appt and gets all his email (people used to send all his email to ME to make sure he got it!). the new he washer and dryer...way more efficient and does a much better job of cleaning the clothes in a fraction of the time. makes my life sooo much easier. premium dogfood--healthier dogs and far, far less poop to deal with. again with the easier!
Posted by: paige | July 13, 2009 at 09:42 AM
WASTE - Eating out. We cut it out except for occasionally and I personally don't miss it! Other wastes include impulse purchases. If you wait a day and think it through, chances are you don't need it. Doesn't matter how small or cheap, don't buy it on impulse!!!
WORTH IT - My kids tuition to go to our church school. There is no place I'd rather them be and the sacrifices we make to have them there is worth it! Clipping coupons - I've really gotten into it and it's fun and rewarding to save and get some free things along the way! DSL internet - can't put a price on that!!
Posted by: Alicia | July 13, 2009 at 10:15 AM
Waste of money? All of those impulse purchases with the kids at Target that they MUST have right now!!
Best money ever spent? My car...no hassles, the dealer takes it whenever there is the slightest problem.
Posted by: A | July 13, 2009 at 10:45 AM
Waste: holiday serving plates. Pretty glass ones match every occasion! The movie theater, with rare exception.
Worth it: I totally agree with Rebecca up there- good TP and All F&C. Also, REAL jelly, not HFCS in a jar. Lactose free milk. Sunbelt granola bars, also HFCS-free.
Posted by: Anna | July 13, 2009 at 11:04 AM
Waste: This years garden. Between the raccoon and the dogs the only thing I'm harvesting is work.
Worth every penny and more: An excellent mattress. We bought an Obusform bed almost 10 years ago and still, every single night when I slide into bed I love it. Sleep better live better. It's amazing what a good nights sleep will do for your attitude.
Posted by: Monica | July 13, 2009 at 11:12 AM
Not worth it: tide with bleach and $$ fabric softeners! At the nagging of my appliance guy bought the sears powder 180 load bucket for $20. Stuff rocks. Really. I buy 4 at a time now. And I have 5 messy kids and a messier husband. I quit using any kind of fabric softener and NOTHING BAD happened!
Worth it: High speed internet, my awesome digital camera, cable tv, NETFLIX and my Wii Fit I am going to marry someday.
Posted by: mary | July 13, 2009 at 11:16 AM
Worth it: breadmaker and B-I-G bags of bulk flour. running shoes (and socks!).
Totally useless: name-brand hair products. DVDs purchased because they're 3 for $20 or whatever... we still only watch them once!
Posted by: monique | July 13, 2009 at 11:25 AM
worthless: swiffer floor thing for the kitchen. i have never found anything that works better than a broom/dustpan and cloth. name brand kitchen cleaners and bathroom cleaners - i use half/half vinegar/water solution to clean the kitchen... i CAN'T stand the awful smells of the toxic ones. most commercial brand laundry detergent. making mine is just as easy, cheaper and just as effective. rice cooker - use a pan, it is just as easy for me.
worth it: my dyson (purple)!! i have two dogs, a cat, and a baby... it works so much better than anything i've used before. dishwasher detergent and my dishwasher. my phisoderm face wash. LOVE it... must have. the coffee i buy so i don't go to the coffee places nearly as much. good bread. i waste enough calories on junk, i don't like to do it with my bread.. so i always buy real wheat and/or multi-grain breads. my small george-forman grill that i actually bought used... it is great for grilled turkey-burgers and turkey-hotdogs. huge time saver! the biggest splurge... my hair salon appointments....another must have!! :) i'll skimp and save on other stuff, but must have my hair done regularly.
Posted by: melissa | July 13, 2009 at 11:39 AM
Waste: expensive hairdresser - I go to a cut rate place - the guy is great, hair color the best and he charges only $50. for cut/color!(I was spending WAY more). I found him by asking a stranger with a cute haircut where she cut and colored her hair, and then she told me about him. She has saved me literally thousands because I was a lunatic before about my hair. Eating out. Do not miss it at all. Movies. Never miss it and love netflix. New clothes. I am mixing and matching and shopping in my closet. New books - libraries are awesome. My fancy gym - the Y here in town is FINE. I work out just as much.
WORTH IT: My cleaning help still comes weekly. They save my sanity.
Posted by: amy | July 13, 2009 at 12:44 PM
Waste: the $5 lint brush thingie that claimed in the commercial to pick up a bazillion times more hair than a regular lint brush. Its effectiveness is OK but it turns out it's not reusable once it fills up even though it would've been SO easy to have made it so you can take it apart and dump out the lint. Anyone remember what this thing is called...wish I could remember the brand name.
The $10 car vacuum cleaner I got at Wal-Mart but never use because the gas station ones are so much more effective and don't have to be plugged into the lighter.
Also, the $10 mat that was supposed to catch cat litter off my girls' paws as they stepped out of the litterbox, but that one of them instead peed on again and again.
Worth it: the occasional Chinese food/pizza when I am too tired or busy to cook. The small extra cost is well worth saving my sanity. Fluffy bath towels. Sims computer games. High speed internet. My ipod. Busch Gardens fun card season pass (although I don't have one this year).
Interesting that everything that I now deem a waste of money was a one-time purchase of $10 or less, while the worth it things cost more.
Posted by: Megan | July 13, 2009 at 02:22 PM
Oh, one more waste: expensive beauty salon haircuts. My hair is pretty easy to cut and I don't have it colored/highlighted, so I've never seen any difference between $60 haircuts and $12 ones at Hair Cuttery. Same thing for eyebrow waxing. But my same friends who totally love shopping at Target and Old Navy look at me like I have three heads when I say that I go to Hair Cuttery.
Posted by: Megan | July 13, 2009 at 02:26 PM
Those dyson vacuum cleaner is worthless, went back to my Eureka. Love it.
Target, having my hair done, mani-pedi, toaster oven, ipod, blackberry, laptop, and portable DVD player- gots to haves!!
Posted by: Frances | July 13, 2009 at 03:09 PM
Worth Every Cent: Blackberry! THE INSTYLER! (OK, that was given to me, but it works!) Dunkin Donuts Iced Coffee (with cream, a TOUCH of sugar and a TINY bit of mocha swirl)
A WASTE: The stupid pet vacuum cleaner from walmart - it clogs in FIVE DIFFERENT SPOTS! Shouldn't it be GOOD with pet hair?! And from WAY BACK WHEN - the Epilady torture machine. It still sits in my closet, mint condition. LOL
Posted by: Katherine | July 13, 2009 at 04:27 PM