When we were students, living from hand to mouth, my husband and I got into the habit of buying the cheapest possible thing to get us by. Our clothing, appliances, furniture, etc. were always dirt-cheap because we couldn’t afford any better, and we knew that they’d wear out or break on a fairly short timescale—but we knew that one day, one magical day, we would have enough money to begin replacing our cheap broken crappy things with nice things that we could enjoy and which would last.
Well, that day has finally arrived. And yet we are finding it very hard to overcome that instinct to zoom in on the cheapest possible thing that will satisfy our needs. This also makes the process of shopping much more difficult, as you actually have to compare brands and features to try to decide which one offers the best quality at a reasonable price, rather than just picking up whatever the lowest price tag.
Case in point: backpacks. I have gone through three backpacks in the last two years becuase every time one of them breaks or rips or otherwise becomes useless, I run to the discount store and buy the cheapest one that has a laptop slot. Which, although it is the most expensive one at Target because it has a padded laptop slot, is still a cheap piece of crap that breaks in less than a year. I’ve spent about $120 dollars on crappy backpacks, when I could have maybe $80 on a nice leather Targus one that would still be good! I could just kick myself.
I also can’t break the habit of buying food at the lowest unit price, which usually means the hugest package, which means that food sits around taking up ridiculous amounts of space while it goes bad when I don’t use it fast enough or discover that I’ve bought a cheap and crappy brand that tastes awful.
Also, I wash and reuse ziplocs. My grandmother (child of the Depression) never threw one away until it started leaking, and by God, I won’t either.
I can’t taste the difference between the $9/1.75 liter stuff and the $35/fifth stuff. Why pay more?
Haircuts. I always hated paying to have my haircut. Finally about 5 years ago I started cutting it myself. Easier, looks better, free. What could be bad?
The Eckerds and the Walgreens in my neck of the woods do a rebate catalogue every month. These usually have free rebates on good stuff like deodorant, toothpaste, and shampoo. So Og forbid I should run low on something in the middle of the month, because I’m going to stretch the hell out of it in hopes of getting it free out of the next catalogue! Of course, sometimes I just have to break down and buy some damn deodorant, but I’ll grumble about it. “What? Two dollars?!”
Ooooh, yes, the Kharmic payback of learning a lesson. Been there - Done That.
Thanks to the glory of the internet, I can now educate myself on the big ticket items that I want and then shop around for the best deal and the fight the inner demons of should I buy it local and promote a local business, but have to drag myself and kids to a store to get said item. and probably end up buying more either on route or at the store because I am a Tool of the Impulse Gods. or * Do I buy on line, pay shipping and just get one thing and one thing only and don’t have the hassle of kids, traffic and berating myself for the impulse purchases. thus leaving me more time to surf Dopeville and cure everyones insomnia? *
This inner battle can go on forever, but Dope always win in the end. There should be a restraining order against me or something.
What slays me is the monthly checking/banking fees. What exactly are they doing? Taking my money out for a walk or something? Farkers.
I refuse to buy CD’s anymore. I haven’t bought anything of remote interest in about two years and if I do buy something, it is possibly once a year. After I read an article in Maxim that explained where the money went too, I just want to strangle the entire pop culture industry. I will beg/borrow/steal off of friends rather than support this industry. Or I buy indie stuff, being the new-vo person I am. Har. Besides, you can listen to it free on the radio or net.
**And who in their right mind would pay for satellite radio? ** * Are they nuts? * Naturally, since I think this is one of the greatest scams evar (!) and should just fade off like a pet rock, it will prove to me that people are truly sheep (baa) and be wildly successful. GAH!
I refuse to pay full price for a book. Between Half.com and Amazon and all my local used book stores, I get it from them for 1/3 the price, if not from the library for free.
Any over the counter medicine I buy is usually generic. If the active ingrediants are the same, what possible difference is there? Does “real” Pepto Bismal really taste that much better?
I used to use worn out socks as wash rags in the shower. This seems horrifically disgusting to me now, but I actually did it.
I went for years without paying for toilet paper. I had mastered every dispenser lock that the scientific community could offer. I’d even make off with those big gignatic rolls from McDonald’s.
Yet I’ll pay six dollars for a five ounce jar of green olives. Big ones, stuffed with blue cheese.
Heh…lucky stiff. I can. The only alcohol I can stand the taste of is screwdrivers, and screwdriver mix for me has been a slow progression from $9 rotgut to Ketel 1 to Belvedere. (And in a screwdriver, too!) Now I can’t drink it with anything less than 50/50 Ketel 1/Belvedere.
And, (and here comes the irrational part,) now that I am accustomed to expensive vodka, I only drink once a month or so, or even less, because it’s become so expensive for me! :eek:
Ziploc bags and tinfoil. I only use tinfoil to cover bowls I put in the fridge so I can reuse a square a gazillion times with only a little washing. And I always save my ziploc bags from lunch and reuse them at least 10 times. They jsut seem really expensive.
Clothes too. I mostly shop at Target and Old Navy and rarely buy anything over $30. And I only buy machine wash stuff because I will not pay for dry cleaning ever. But, I do spend a lot on good shoes (I love expensive, impractical shoes) and workout clothes.
I used to be really cheap about fresh fruit and vegetables. I’d think I can’t buy something out of season because it’s too expensive. BUt then I started thinking about how much other things (like candy bars) are per pound and even out of season, the fruit is much cheaper. So now I don’t worry about it and just buy what I like…
Go to the 99 cent store before anywhere else. You can get toothbrushes, toothpaste, 3 liter bottles of soda, sometimes good lunchmeat, paper plates, hair gel, deoderant, bathroom cleaner, scrubber pads, eggs, antacids, good rags, car mats, candy, bread, the list goes on.
I’ve often just pulled out the junk from the vacuum bags. The vacuum I have is old enough that I’m scared of running out of bags permanently, and plus, I’m cheap.
I haven’t bought an album new for years, I think. It’s ALWAYS on ebay or half.com.
I tear paper towels into smaller pieces for small spills.
I never put towels or jeans in the dryer. They’ll be just fine hanging somewhere.
I put in about half the recommended laundry detergent. Detergents are for grease, and most of the clothes just need a good rinse, really.
Oh, and yes, I can read the list of active ingredients. You’re not getting more from me just because you have the famous name on your label. I’m going with the cheaper generic.
I sometimes catch myself putting $x of petrol in my car plus TWO CENTS. Since we don’t have 1c and 2c coins in Australia, the price is rounded down to the nearest dollar–which means you can get $0.02 of free petrol.
Ha! Take that, multinational oil company!
I’m really trying to wean myself of this habit though. I think it’s a hangover from my days of student poverty. :o
Another vote for haircuts… I went from paying 5 bucks as a student at a barbers to 75 bucks at a posh haridressers for basically the same service (ok maybe a free coffee)… and it always bugged me. Now ms somnambulist does it for nothing and I’m a lot happier.
Shoes. Can’t get my head round paying big money for em. Will shop around for cheap ones and wear em till they fall apart.
I have trouble forcing myself to replace shoelaces. I hate paying for them. I don’t know why. I wash and reuse ziploc bags, and I buy the store ones, not the brand names.
I swish water inside my shampoo and conditioner bottles, too.
I have the central heating set to come on at 4.40pm. If it’s really really freezing bastard cold, I’ll maybe put it on at 3pm. I’m too stingy to heat the house duing the day, when it’s just me at home (I work at home). I let the temperature get to about 13°C - 14°C indoors before I think about putting the heat on.
On the other hand, I have more clothes than I need. (especially fleeces, to kep the cold out…)
So it’s totally irrational. a) I’m not actually that poor and b) I waste money on other stupid frivolous things. Je suis un idiot.
As I stated in a previous anti-WalMart post in The Pit, I believe that those who whine about" no place to go in this town but WalMart" probably did this to themselves by not comparison shopping while they still had the chance.
The only two things I consistently buy at WalMart are cat litter and laundry detergent. I shop around for everything else ( I still sneak peeks at other retailers’
cat litter and detergent just to be sure that WalMart is still cheapest).
I freely admit to cherry-picking the weekly specials at high-priced grocery stores like Kroger and Albertson’s and buying the rest at local bag-your-own stores. I bought a lot more groceries at the local Kroger outlets when the local Baker family owned them(Baker sold out to Fleming; Fleming to Kroger. Both took the chain upscale and lost a lot of us blue-collar folks in the process).
Yesterday, I was in WalMart for detergent and tried to use their “one stop convenience” for the rest of my shopping. Every grocery item I needed was cheaper elsewhere.
Driving all over town for a bargain does seem irrational in the short-term (especially at today’s gas prices), but the payoff in the long run is the preservation of greater variety and selection of goods.
I was TOLD! Oh well, marg still has lower overall fat. I will buy the non-trans-fat stuff now. (Provided I can find it, and provided it doesn’t cost $5 more!) I don’t each much of it anyway. It just bugs me when people go on about how butter is so much healthier than marg. Hello! How can something made of 85% fat be at ALL healthy?
I’m sure someone will come along and find something healthy about butter now. Eh.
Haircuts - I refuse to spend more than $6.00, yet I will always tip $2.00. Salons are for morons.
Groceries -
Start at Big Lots (the old Pick & Save) to get the dirt cheap overstocks on bags, cleaners, detergents, and any general ‘doesn’t go bad, brand doesn’t matter’ products, THEN go to the grocery store
For large purchases (like before a party) beg a local military person to take you to the commisary where food is 30-50% cheaper than the grocery store for all the same brands!
Clothes - Costco, Ross, or Marshalls first and then the mall ONLY if they are having a HUGE holiday sale. If I’m wearing shoes that cost more than $25, it better be because someone got them for me as a gift!
Entertainment - hiking is free and great exercise…and to all the idiots who buy $150 hiking shoes at REI…please refer to the $25 shoe comment above. Movies - buy the pre-paid group activity tickets for $5.00, wait two weeks, and see the $8.75 movie without having to fight the crowds. The crowds also serve as my real ‘reviewers’. Are people still clamoring to see the movie two weeks later (like Lord of the Rings) or is all the hype gone after two weeks (like Tomb Raider).
Dry cleaning - Unfortunately my job requires professional dress, which means dry clean only clothes. Shop around or find coupons. I have a place about two miles from my work that charges $1.35 an item. Others I work with go to the dry cleaner in the strip mall next door - where it is $3.50 an item!
Photography - digital all the way. No longer am I wasting money to develop pictures with eyes closed/ blurry/ poor lighting, etc. I can’t tell you how useful this is when you are trying to photograph children, animals, or other subjects that can’t sit still for half a second.
Travel - plan ahead and go through the Internet where the deals are. My wife and I are taking a cruise this year to Bermuda for the first time. Our tickets were literally 50% of the regular price because we got a super saver deal and an inside cabin. If you want to spend $800 more a ticket to get a one foot wide circular view of the ocean you can see from your bed, go for it…
Wait. It is supposed to last less then 3 months? I don’t try to make mine last a long time, and normly mine last from 2-4 months! One thing I will absolutley not spend money on is magazines. I don’t need to know the “in” boy toy or how big J. Lo’s ass has gotten. If I want to read a magazine, I’ll read it while I am waiting in a doctors office.
Oh well, marg still has lower overall fat. I will buy the non-trans-fat stuff now. (Provided I can find it, and provided it doesn’t cost $5 more!) I don’t each much of it anyway. It just bugs me when people go on about how butter is so much healthier than marg. Hello! How can something made of 85% fat be at ALL healthy?