I am a self imposed tight wad. ( For all my skin flinted ways, I am still not a dollar ahead…maybe seventy five cents a head…<rimshot> but I digress.)
But there are items that I will not compromise and break out the bucks without any remorse.
Shoes. Even before I decided to be a domestic tyrant I primarily wore Birkenstocks,which are as ugly as sin and as comfortable as heaven. They range in price from $65 - $200.Extremely well made and excellent quality. I still have my first pair bought in 1990, though they are now my house slippers.I own seven pair of Birks and they have paid themselves off more than my overpriced reboks. I’ve learned the cheaper shoes ( Payless, as an example) kill my feet and are not worth the $20, the foot cramps or the blisters they give. I’ve bought maybe 7 or 8 pair of really good basic wardrobe shoes (average price about $75) and have had them for years and they feel great and still look good. If your feet aren’t happy, you aren’t happy. ( My wedding shoes were not the standard lacy white stiff as a board fashionable but painful as all hell shoes that most brides torture themselves with for their special day. I purchased a pair of designer ivory italian shoes (normally $200, marked down to $30 because they were mis-sized. I dunno, but they fit my feet perfectly and I’ve gotten more wear of them than anything.–oh, after the church wedding, I switched to cowboy boots, much to my Mother’s chagrin.)
2)Underwear. No more cheap stuff for me. Victoria’s Secret must have the right formula for non-wedgie regular undies and they are worth their weight in gold. (That, or I highly recommend wearing men’s underwear, it’s wide elastic band is very comfortable. Great for preggo ladies and non-preggo ladies.AND you can share with hubby ) I am the same way about bra’s. ( Althought I can’t share these with hubby.) No more cheap bra’s that ride up or the straps rub my skin raw. I’ll spend $18-35 for a bra that is going to hold the girls all day, every day for quite some time.
I buy the store brand for all foods and most Rx stuff, but not toothpaste or deoderant. It just doesn’t seem to work the same way as the big name. ( Besides, I usually have a coupon.)
I can totally sympathize about the shoes. I have five pairs of Dac Martens and they’re the only shoe I will wear(other than sports shoes).
Also, as a cooking fanatic, I must have all the best: Knives, pots and pans, appliances(Cuisinart is Nirvana), etc…
Umm, why can’t you share your bras though? Stingy.
“I would far rather be ignorant than wise in the foreboding of evil.”
I totally agree; every pair of cheap shoes I’ve ever worn were an exercise in pain. And, as a 46F, I have no choice but to spend money on bras – cheap ones are a disaster. There’s no pain exactly like the pain of an escaped underwire chewing on the flesh around one’s armpit.
Other things I splurge on? I don’t wear cheap coats – it’s always better to spend the bucks and get something good that will not only keep you warm, but will look good and hold up to daily or almost-daily wear.
Well, first off, I’m into voluntary simplicity which is a real nice way of saying I’m a major tightwad. I live on 400.00 a month (and yes, my home is paid for). But, as like you, there are certain things I will not compromise on.
Shoes – I second this. I have HUGE feet for a woman. I wear a 9 ½ EEEE. In MEN’S! So I don’t skimp on shoes. But then again, once the weather is nice I don’t wear them much so a good 70-90$ pair of tennis shoes can last me about 4 years. I also run. I spend about the same on a good pair of running shoes but they only last about a year. They become river shoes once they have passed their prime.
Glass – I will only work with great quality glass on my projects. I have bought seconds and cheaper runs but they never break right and end up costing me more in the long run. Good glass is worth the price.
Photographic supplies – same thing. I buy the very best paper, chemicals and film I can. Same reason.
Certain household items – most notably toilet paper (Scott’s) and toothpaste (Crest) and dish detergent (Dawn) and animal food (Purina). I’ve bought cheaper but it never lasts as long or doesn’t do the job. And the only laundry detergent I’m NOT allergic to is Tide.
Cooking items – I have a set of knives now worth almost 1000.00 they are worth it. So are the several hundred dollars worth of pans and other kitchen items. I cook a lot and they are worth the price.
Almost everything else I’m fairly chinchy about. Those are my big things that I won’t compromise on. I can see your point about the underwear and bras but I get the seconds from Hanes and have never had a problem. I wear mostly french cut panties and sports bras so the fit is easy. Never tried men’s underwear though… I’ll have to borrow a pair from Steve and give it a whirl!
I agree on the coats. I have two winter coats, a long wool one that is good for dressing up or looking scary, and a shorter one. I spent probably 300 for both of them and, as long as I keep them clean, I’ll be able to wear them forever. Byron bitched about it, but he calmed down when I reminded him that they’re a little bigger than they need to be so that I can wear them if I get pregnant again, and they can be altered if I ever lose any weight.
Books. I never care how much money I spend on books, especially when I’m buying for the boy. I figure they’re books, not drugs or candy…if he grows up thinking it’s ok to blow his allowance at B&N, where’s the harm?
Pop, cigs, ice cream, and salad dressing. It has to be Coke, Camels, Breyers, and Marie’s Chunky Blue Cheese. Anything else is crap.
“Excrement. That is what I think of J. Evans Pritchard, PhD.” --Robin Williams, Dead Poets Society
Saline Solution - I only buy name brands after a really bad bottle of some cheapo stuff made me feel like my eyeballs were melting.
Car washes - It’s silly, but I HATE going to those do-it-yourself places. I’d rather turn my car over to some guy who runs it through a machine and details afterwards.
Cigarettes - Generic smokes are horrible. I’ll pay the extra bucks for a smooth toke.
Soda - Once bought a 12-pack of some generic cola. Erk. Never again…
ChrisCTP – as a major bibliophile I can honestly say you can get great books at less than 1/10 the cost by going to used book stores and yard sales. Obviously, if something has “just come out” and you want it this isn’t an option. I have a 20$ a month entertainment budget and most times, it goes for books. Usually a major author in hard back that I just can’t wait for. But I’ve found classic children’s books for about a dollar a piece. In the store you can get hit for 7-13.
I get most of my books now in paper back. Used. And I do have to wait. But I kinda like that anticipation thing. Now, you are talking about a woman (me), that at the major points of her “working in the real world” career, spent around 3000.00 a year on books. Some years I spent almost 5000.00. I get the same kick, the same thrill, but I only spend about 300.00 a year. I work harder to find things but the thrill is still there.
All in all, yeah, books are cheaper than drugs. Getting your kid “hooked” on books is way better than getting him hooked on TV or computer shit! Big kiss to you on this!
I’ve found that by the time you’ve plugged all those quarters into the thingy, you’ve probably spent just as much as an automatic car wash. The differences being that if you do it yourself, you’re wet, cold, and out of quarters for the soda machine.
I wish I could buy the packaged undies for women by Hanes or Fruit of the Loom, but ( or is it butt) it always causes major discomfort.
As for the car wash. Because of living on a dirt road, our cars always have a two tone color to them. I hate paying $4-7 for a car wash when in 24 hours my car will start mutating back to it’s Green and dirt road brown color. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve washed the car then cannot find it in the parking lot of a store because it’s clean. Our next car(s) will be brown.
Democritus: I would share my bra with hubby except I am a 34 or 36 chest ( depending on preggo status). He is a 52. I’ve always thought his chest and back hair would look striking with the lacy inserts and floral patterns
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[li]cooking utensils, tools[/li][li]food (both restaraunts and ingredients for cooking. Yes there is a difference between the $2 oilve oil and the $8 olive oil)[/li][li]clothing (I may not be a fasion plate, but when i buy the clothes i like i want em to last.[/li][li]alcohol (Bombay gin is worth the price[/li]</bl>
#1) Rare martial arts books. I paid roughly $2000 to acquire all of Oyama’s books. Every penny was well spent. If I see a good martial arts book (rare or otherwise) I am willing to go all out to get it.
#2) My computer. Every two years I buy the best (roughly) computer system available within a certain degree of reason. I mean I don’t go out and buy a $1500 dollar racing car chair with steering wheels and pedals! Rather, I find the best cpu, video card, sound card, hard drive, memory, etc put them together and voila! Every year I upgrade any of the base cards (network, video and sound) that have been signficantly improved upon. I usually do this around Christmas time because that is when alot of the real hot stuff comes out (this year I don’t need to upgrade my network or sound card, but I am going to get one of those new nVidia GeForce GPUs, although I haven’t decided which manufacturer to go with).
Of course, both of these are in a sense work related. I need the best computer available for my company and I teach martial arts so I need to learn everything I can about the martial arts.
What more could you expect from somebody who lets people kick him to the head?
) I am the same way about bra’s. ( Althought I can’t share these with hubby.) No more cheap bra’s that ride up or the straps rub my skin raw. I’ll spend $18-35 for a bra that is going to hold the girls all day, every day for quite some time.