The Money Mustache Community
General Discussion => Welcome and General Discussion => Topic started by: John Galt incarnate! on April 04, 2019, 06:35:49 PM
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I have never purchased trash bags of any kind.
I use the paper bags from the grocery store for household/kitchen trash.
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I have never paid for a haircut. Ever since college I've used my own buzzer. My wife and I have gotten pretty good at DIY-ing this for each of us. I don't miss the awkward small talk with the hairdresser, nor the extra time out of my day. Plus it never turned out the way I wanted anyways.
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Bottle of water
Beef from the grocery store
Lottery ticket
Haircut
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Antiperspirant or deodorant. I know I had a couple sticks in high school that I rarely used but I'm sure I've never bought any.
I know that I eventually stink but I've asked multiple people over years that I'd trust to tell me and none have ever had any whiff or problem in daily life, even pretty active life.
I recall jokes about Europeans never using them in high school and I was a little self conscious about it but just never got around to buying them. I admit this here pretty sheepishly even today!
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Lottery ticket
I've never bought a lottery ticket either not have I ever made a single paid bet. The closest I came was two years of very low stakes fantasy football.
I also lived in New Orleans for a decade and never tried a daiquiri even though the idea of drive through daiquiri lanes intrigued and appalled me.
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Hmm...central AC, a dishwasher, and premium cable channels (I used to pay for basic cable but we got rid of that years ago).
I would have said diapers (no kids), but I've bought those for charity drives and occasionally when my niece and nephew were babies.
I honestly can't think of anything else. I can, however, think of a list of things I bought once, wondered what the hell I was thinking, and vowed never to buy again.
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Lottery ticket.
Food/drink from a drive-thru.
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Chicken from the store. I only buy home grown chicken from people when I find.
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A car -never owned one although I had the use of a family member's car for a few months at one point.
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A McDonalds hamburger. Someone bought me one a few years ago which I abandoned after 2 small bites. Not nice!!
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A phone that cost more than $80.
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Bottle of water
Beef from the grocery store
Lottery ticket
Haircut
I think I purchased 1 lottery ticket ~15 years ago.
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Hmm...central AC, a dishwasher, and premium cable channels
I've never purchased them either.
Also, I never bought an electric can opener.
I prefer a manual one that I can easily clean after each use.
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A smart phone.
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Ziplock or general plastic bags - I really don't get the point of those. If I want to stuff things in the freezer I have some tupperware-type boxes.
Same for me.
I use the Rubbermaid plastic containers for storage.
They seal exceptionally well.
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A smart phone.
My life is so simple and I live at such a remove from everyday hustle and bustle that a landline, push-button phone is my ONLY phone.
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Smartphone
Microwave
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Smartphone
Microwave
I MUST and do have a microwave oven.
I've not done the calculation but I believe I use considerably less electricity by usually using my microwave instead of my electric range/oven.
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This isn't NEVER, but I haven't bought a razor, disposable or otherwise, in about 7 years. In situations where ~groomed feminine body hair~ is considered appropriate, I pluck or epilate, otherwise it's no-shave-forever for me! Razors are fscking expensive, yo.
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This isn't NEVER, but I haven't bought a razor, disposable or otherwise, in about 7 years. In situations where ~groomed feminine body hair~ is considered appropriate, I pluck or epilate, otherwise it's no-shave-forever for me! Razors are fscking expensive, yo.
I cannot recall the last time I bought razor blades.
I do know it was very long ago because when I touch my chin to the top of my chest my beard (~14-inches long) reaches below my navel.
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Can't remember the last time I bought razors either...But that's only because I kept forgetting if I had any so I would buy a bag "just in case." Finally, I told myself no more razors! I have a lifetime supply.
Plus, I just don't shave as much anymore. I used to shave my legs all the time, especially when I swam. For whatever reason, my leg hair stopped growing out thick. Or maybe they're the same and my eyesight has worsen. Now, I may shave my legs once at the beginning of summer and that's it.
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Not never, but I did stop buying dryer sheets and clothes softer. One, because they aren't great for clothes. Two, I hate scented anything when it comes to detergents. Three, I mainly line dry my clothes and even when I do use the dryer, who cares about a little bit of static. I use vinegar in place of clothes softer.
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I've never had a Starbucks coffee, or anything from starbucks for that matter.
Also, never bought a video game or video game console
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Any sort of fast-food burger.
Any sort of cola/fizzy drink.
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Never:
- haircuts
- fabric softener
- feminine hygiene products (at least not since finding safe and reliable reusable alternatives!)
- fancy handsoap
- home air fresheners
- make up (except for a couple of special occasions)
Very rarely (probably at 3 year intervals or more):
- ziplock bags
- razors
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Coffee, thanks to a dad who chain-smoked and pounded coffee every morning when I was growing up, I'm disgusted by the smell of both.
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Man, I'm seeing a whole lot of *infrequently* or *used to* in here. The question was what have you NEVER bought.
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Kids... more specifically, the associated costs/things to buy due to having kids.
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Apps - if it isn’t free, then I don’t need it.
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I've never bought a smartphone or a microwave.
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Kids... more specifically, the associated costs/things to buy due to having kids.
I'm glad you went with "more specifically" because i'd say most people have definitely not bought kids. It's extremely illegal.
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A television. All of them were freebies (cast off) by family and friends. We're up to a 42" 1080p!
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I have never bought or owned a television or any TV-related appurtenance.
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- Anything related to gambling or betting
- Petrol (don't drive at all)
- Dishwasher or dryer because I've never had those
- Washing machine because so far I've only had free ones
- Liquid soap or fabric softener (powder based in much better for the machine)
- Duvets or pillows for the bed (inherited and gifted)
- Anything from a drive thru
- On demand movies (also never rented any back in the days)
- Cable TV
- Kitchen equipment - I love cooking and have been lusting after a KitchenAid for years but I've never even bought as much as a blender. Every single gadget in my kitchen was someone else's castoff or a gift
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Like most of y'all: Lottery tickets. Dryer sheets. Drugs (recreational). Cigarettes. Pets. Vitamins/supplements. A boat (in my home state of MI, boats are common). Audio books (library). Apps. Sewing machines (my two were inherited or gifted/donated to me). Most power tools (neighbors on our block share). Lawn mower (never had a lawn in adulthood).
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A wristwatch.
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It was services of any kind, but then the time cost finally change that. The first thing was probably changing my own oil, once you could have someone change (and dispose of) your the oil in your car for $9.99 I started doing that (granted that was years ago but its still cheap timewise)....last year I was so swamped with (a very profitable) business I finally paid for both a plumber and an electrician...though I do look forward to taking those jobs back over as no one cares more about your home and car than you do...(well, I do hate plumbing...so I'll have to be retired before I take that up again)
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I prefer a manual one that I can easily clean after each use.
Am I alone here..... I have never in my life even considered cleaning a can opener.
My list:
A Big Mac
An App
An oil change
A brake job
Can't think of another never
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This isn't NEVER, but I haven't bought a razor, disposable or otherwise, in about 7 years. In situations where ~groomed feminine body hair~ is considered appropriate, I pluck or epilate, otherwise it's no-shave-forever for me! Razors are fscking expensive, yo.
Use a safety razor - cuts well and the blades can be bought in bulk for cents on the dollar.
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This isn't NEVER, but I haven't bought a razor, disposable or otherwise, in about 7 years. In situations where ~groomed feminine body hair~ is considered appropriate, I pluck or epilate, otherwise it's no-shave-forever for me! Razors are fscking expensive, yo.
Use a safety razor - cuts well and the blades can be bought in bulk for cents on the dollar.
Man, this idea terrifies me. It's already hard to do behind my ankles without cutting myself. I worry I'd slash myself!
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Bottled or canned beer. Bought it by the glass a couple times. Other than that, never.
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This isn't NEVER, but I haven't bought a razor, disposable or otherwise, in about 7 years. In situations where ~groomed feminine body hair~ is considered appropriate, I pluck or epilate, otherwise it's no-shave-forever for me! Razors are fscking expensive, yo.
Use a safety razor - cuts well and the blades can be bought in bulk for cents on the dollar.
Man, this idea terrifies me. It's already hard to do behind my ankles without cutting myself. I worry I'd slash myself!
Safety razor is very different from a straight razor. Safety razors have more of a learning curve than a modern razor, but after a couple shaves you're no more likely to cut yourself.
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Bottled or canned beer. Bought it by the glass a couple times. Other than that, never.
Home-brewer, or just not a beer drinker?
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Bottled or canned beer. Bought it by the glass a couple times. Other than that, never.
Home-brewer, or just not a beer drinker?
Just don't drink. I'm very boring at parties.
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I've never owned a clothes dryer. It wasn't planned that way - I just have always done what my grandma always did, which was to hang clothes outside or on racks. It doesn't really take much more time and the clothes last a lot longer.
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A gaming system of any kind. I've never even played a video game.
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- a haircut. The last professional one I got was in high school, insisted on by my mom. I've cut my own (curly and long) hair for the past 10 years
- a TV
- Cable
- Fake nails, a manicure or pedicure
- makeup
- a lottery ticket
- vacuum cleaner
- cigarettes or marijuana (these are most definitely every day things for the people in my town)
- tickets to any sporting event
- movies. I've bought maybe 3 movie tickets in my lifetime. But I've never bought a movie on DVD to watch at home. Just would rather read.
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- Cable TV
- a DVD (I download everything)
- Tobacco product
- Lottery ticket
- Extended warranty
- Any insurance that is not life, disability, home, medical, or car. Why people buy insurance for plane tickets, electronics, mortgage payments, credit card payments and other easily controllable items is beyond me.
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I definitely have never bought tobacco or marijuana products. I’ve also never bought a Big Mac or coney dog (local thing).
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I have never purchased a brand new car.
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Never bought...
Clothes dryer - grandmother got me a extra large drying rack for graduation present - still use it 35 years later.
Dishwasher - Who's afraid of using their hands?
Haircut (even as a kid - mom is a hair dresser)
An App - Free or not happening
Tobacco (need I explain????)
TV cable service (Possibly best choice I ever made - will be issue when GF moves in and wants it - hmmmm....)
Garbage bags (I have so many grocery bags that do the job, why would I pay for that?)
I could add lots more if we restricted it to the past decade. Maybe someone will ask that in the future?
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I prefer a manual one that I can easily clean after each use.
Am I alone here..... I have never in my life even considered cleaning a can opener.
Nope, not alone. Unless I somehow manage to splort tomato sauce or something on it, it opens the can and then goes straight back in the drawer.
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I have never purchased a brand new car.
Same. Actually I make a point to buy cars right after they come out of warranty (3 years). There's a noticeable hit to prices right on 3 years. Yet all you have to do is to have a good visual/mechanical inspection of the car beforehand and you're sweet. If something really bad happens after, say, 4 years, you're backed by our Australian Consumer Law warranty, whatever the manufacturer happens to say. Most people don't know that. Hence the low selling prices @ 3 years. (I also say to the seller, 'Mate, it's got no warranty, I have no assurance it won't be a bomb' as a negotiating tactic.)
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A hairdryer
A lottery ticket
An iPad or kindle
Never paid for an app
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Coffee, tea, alcohol, or birth control. It’s a mormon thing.
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A rice cooker. Rice is so easy to cook in a pan on the stove I can't imagine why I would need a specialized appliance for it.
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Coffee, tea, alcohol, or birth control. It’s a mormon thing.
I knew that Mormons didn't drink coffee, tea or alcohol but birth control? But birth control? How come Mormons (well, most Mormons anyway) don't have 18 kids?
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Sneakers.
I've had running shoes for actual running, but I've never worn sportswear outside of the gym. I really hate that look.
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- microwave
- vacuum cleaner
- kettle
- hair drier
- straighteners
- dishwasher
- tumble drier
- TV
- laptop/computer
- paintings/art
- a house (and actually because I have always lived in fully furnished flats there are a hell of a lot of house related things I have not bought - to name but a few: curtains, bed, mattress, sofa, coffee table, chairs, oven, cooker, fridge, freezer, washing machine)
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Sex
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Sex
While I very much like the humor, I believe this one fails the "most people" test.
When I posed this question to my wife, the first thing she blurted out was "ball gag". I didn't add it to my list for the same reason. Maybe its time to go shopping:)
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Never is a long time so to the best of my knowledge-
Apps -That is a never
Kids haircuts
Sushi
school Lunches
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This isn't NEVER, but I haven't bought a razor, disposable or otherwise, in about 7 years. In situations where ~groomed feminine body hair~ is considered appropriate, I pluck or epilate, otherwise it's no-shave-forever for me! Razors are fscking expensive, yo.
Use a safety razor - cuts well and the blades can be bought in bulk for cents on the dollar.
I just don't shave in general (don't like the 'freshly shaven' feel and also don't like the plastic/metal waste it produces), but that's definitely good to know for those who do.
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Never bought:
A car
A TV
A microwave
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Paper towels.
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Restaurant takeout, other than pizza or Chinese
Airline upsell (early boarding, extra legroom, $7 snack, etc.)
Premium cable channel
Lottery ticket
Video game
Extended warranty
TV dinner or similar (hot pockets, frozen sliders, etc.)
Any item on a store’s own credit card
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Coke or Pepsi. Ever, in a restaurant or grocery store.
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Lottery tickets
Paper towels
napkins (I just use toilet paper)
Body lotion (somehow people just gift those to me and I have a huge stash that I slowly use)
Baby monitors, glider, sliders, swings and other baby nonsense, like a binky, for my kids. Though, I had those items at home when my kids grew up, because I picked up "broken" ones, fixed them and sold. In some cases the items were just dirty and the owners were just too lazy to clean, or were afraid they won't assemble them back correctly. Not the binky, you can't fix and sell those.
Same with video games and consoles, never purchased, but sold what other people got rid of.
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Hmm,
Paper towels/napkins
Apps
A television
A major appliance (fridge, washer/dryer, etc -- people give these away when all they need is a tiny, cheap part)
Stereo or home theater system
New, off-the-lot car
Boat with a motor (kayaks a resounding yes though!)
RV (These and boats are common around here)
Sex- to include porn, strip clubs, prostitutes, what have you. (A huge industry, so to say it isn't a common purchase for a huge swathe of the population is naive at best ;)
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AC.
Never lived in a place with air conditioning.
Also lottery tix, brand new car (is that “everyday?”), etc. Like many others here.
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TV
Tobacco
Alcohol
Lottery tickets
Air fresheners
Dryer sheets
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A cell phone plan. I've always done pay as you go minutes, and always averaged $10/month or less. It's not even because I was a late adapter, as I was one of the first to get one of the regular, small cell phones. Then a had a few years with none, then got a tracphone.
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I have never purchased trash bags of any kind.
I use the paper bags from the grocery store for household/kitchen trash.
OK, I think I love you for this. Great one.
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Here are the things people mentioned which I have bought :D
trash bags <-- 9 large bags at dollar store for bulk cleaning / moving, still have 7
haircut <-- feel like I should quit, but ... I can quit any time I want. Really!
Bottle of water
Beef from the grocery store
Antiperspirant or deodorant <-- but I got a sweet tip on MMM about deodorant stones, which are the bomb
dishwasher <-- makes my property more valuable as a rental tho
Food/drink from a drive-thru <-- not for at least a decade
Chicken from the store
A car
McDonalds hamburger <-- as recently as last fall when you could get them for $1 with the app
gas <-- oh yeah all the time
Meat
Fast food
Ziplock bags
A phone that cost more than $80
A smart phone
Microwave <-- I would definitely buy one if not present
razor <-- (electric)
Starbucks coffee <-- a few times a year, to stay awake while driving or to try adjusting jet lag
Any sort of cola/fizzy drink
Coffee
Apps <-- this is value is growing
Streaming music services
Anything related to gambling <-- My life total is positive, but DW needed a demonstration of why gambling is dumb
Liquid soap
Duvets or pillows for the bed
Kitchen equipment
power tools
Lawn mower <-- cheapest reel mower
wristwatch
oil change <-- every December
Brake job
Bottled or canned beer
vacuum cleaner <-- I really hate these things though
movies
Clothes dryer
brand new car <-- worst. financial choice. EVER.
kindle
tea <-- Lots! I lived in China for 2 years and like tea anyhow
Sneakers
kettle
hair drier <-- not for me
laptop/computer
a house
bed
mattress
sofa
coffee table
chairs
oven actually no
Sushi
Paper towels
Anything online
Home internet
I-anything
DVDs or CD
subscriptions for any type of media
Video game
Any item on a store’s own credit card <-- Amazon
Coke or Pepsi
A cell phone plan
Further, we have bought pretty much all those (obviously not the new car, among others) in the past five years after learning of MMM, and still saved 2/3 of gross five figure income.
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This was interesting to read! Mine:
- Daily morning/whenever coffee, especially purchased from a shop
- TV
- Couch
- Conditioner, won the hair genetic lottery
- Lottery tickets
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Kleenex (I use cloth hankerchiefs), deodorant, lottery tickets, factory warranty insurance.
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I have never purchased a brand new car.
The last vehicle I purchased (pickup truck) was brand new because I wanted new-vehicle reliability.
I'll keep it at least 30 years.
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Bottle of water
Beef from the grocery store
Lottery ticket
Haircut
I buy bottled water only when I travel by train for a long distance.
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a tv
a lottery ticket
a manicure or pedicure
factory farmed meat
a microwave
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Conditioner-why make your hair greasy again right after shampooing?
Scented candles
Massage and/or chiropractic services. Maybe I’m missing out on something good but I doubt it.
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This thread is making me feel good, but not for the intended reason. Spouse often says I'm too cheap and I can honestly say I've purchased almost every single thing mentioned in this thread at one time or another. Minus sex. Everyone needs a ball gag, though....
The only thing that comes to mind is Apple products; I've never purchased an Apple product.
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I've bought all the "normal" things but less or not at all as I got a little more aware of the opportunity costs of such spending.
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Services of a car mechanic (except tire changes and alignments)
Cable
Tobacco products
A newspaper.
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Fabric softener. Never. No dryer sheets either.
Air freshener. Ugh.
Room service. I think I would quite like too though.
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Antiperspirant or deodorant. I know I had a couple sticks in high school that I rarely used but I'm sure I've never bought any.
I know that I eventually stink but I've asked multiple people over years that I'd trust to tell me and none have ever had any whiff or problem in daily life, even pretty active life.
I recall jokes about Europeans never using them in high school and I was a little self conscious about it but just never got around to buying them. I admit this here pretty sheepishly even today!
My deodorant use has drastically reduced since FIRE.
I have made my own coconut oil based deodorants in the past, but since I have reduced the need for deodorant I haven't made a batch in a while.
Most of the time, if I am sticking around the house most of the day, I see no need to use deodorant. I don't stink after 24 hours either, so that's a plus. I figure by the time I start to stink a little, it's time for my daily shower anyways.
I do use deodorant when going out and meeting up with others, but since I noticed I don't stink much sometimes I skip that too.
Maybe eating a healthy diet helps to reduce the toxins/stink? I don't know...
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I've never bought:
a new car (just one second hand - and no car since 2011, once kids had grown up)
a dishwasher
an electric can-opener (I heard about those on here for the first time!)
dryer sheets
fake nails
fake tan
fake hair
cosmetic surgery
boat/caravan/trailer
ladder
light fittings
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This thread is making me feel good, but not for the intended reason. Spouse often says I'm too cheap and I can honestly say I've purchased almost every single thing mentioned in this thread at one time or another. Minus sex. Everyone needs a ball gag, though....
The only thing that comes to mind is Apple products; I've never purchased an Apple product.
I have similar thoughts, and heartily second your final sentence.
In my lifetime, I have purchased the majority of the things on this list, because I found value in them. Who says I always bought new or paid retail? I somehow managed to get to FIRE, which is the win that counts.
Living frugally isn't a contest to see how much we can deprive ourselves, it's a game to see how much we can save while not being a cheapskate, living like a hermit, or being a burden on others.
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I'm a female. I've never had my nails done, a pedicure, facial etc.