Author Topic: Expensive things you've tried that just aren't worth it (add to the list!)  (Read 46295 times)

jengod

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Eyebrow waxing! Turns out the shape of my eyebrows is just fine, dammit, and if I want to divide the unibrow back into two parts, I can just shave it for free.

Crusader

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Off the top of my head it would be expensive drinks and meals. Though as long as it is very occasional I am not too worried about it. Though I still try to avoid paying too much for food or drinks.

Redstone5

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Stainless steel appliances. God, I hate our fridge. Maybe there's a way to not have it look gross immediately after wiping it but I don't know what it is. I've just given up. For the new house I strongly prefer black or white appliances.

I was kind of excited when I moved into a rental with a stainless steel fridge because it looked so cool and modern... right up until I tried to stick my fridge magnets on it. How the hell did someone invent a fridge that is both made of steel and non-magnetic? And more importantly, why??

And the fingerprints!! Such a nightmare. Why?

YogiKitti

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I bought pretty weck glass jars for pantry storage. I researched and read lots of reviews on them, so I thought I was well informed. They are a huge pain to use! The rubber falls off every time you open the lid and the lid chipped within the first use. I'm pretty sure all the reviews I read about them were from people who never actually used them.

Cannot Wait!

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That wanker might wear a $25,000 watch, but he's still a fucking wanker.

I love this line.

RetiredAt63

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Built-in appliances.  I am thinking ovens and microwave ovens. And especially combination oven/microwave oven.  Hard to get out when they die, and they usually have an expensive motherboard.  I had that in one house, never again.
Front-load washing machines.  They don't work well, don't get clothes clean, they tend to smell.  The newest ones are top-loading, but they somehow swoosh the clothes around without an agitator so we shall see how they do.  I'm holding on to my old washing machine, my old dryer (and the clothesline), my old stove with it's nice easy-to repair oven.  All of which are nice easy-to-clean white enamel.

SoccerLounge

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Recently reminded of this: Very expensive kitchen knives for occasional home use. Yes, if you cook a lot you probably need a decent chef knife, paring knife etc. But 'decent' enough for home purposes means say $30 per knife, or even $10. But not $300! (Fortunately, it cost me nothing to learn this lesson, as the super-pricey knives were borrowed.)

lifejoy

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Expensive shampoo. Not worth it!!! I've tried $60 shampoo and $1 shampoo :)

They're practically identical (in my experience)

PMG

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ExOfficio Panties.  Full retail at REI is $24 a pair.  I got mine on clearance for $9(?) when I was buying other things.  No extra shipping.  I was headed out for two months of backpack traveling.  Moisture wicking. Quick dry.  Odor resistant.  Sounds great.  Sheesh!  It's not true. 



MicroRN

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Posting this because I just saw it and it seems relevant:

http://nypost.com/2016/07/10/the-truth-behind-how-were-scammed-into-eating-phony-food/

In other words, just give up on trying to source your food, buying authentic etc, and just get the cheapest meats/seafood possible. Or go vegetarian. Why pay more to be duped?

Or buy in bulk directly from the farmer, which is cheaper (depending on where you are, obv) AND sustainable and well-raised. And if you're cooking tomato sauce in bulk, don't go to the farmer's market and pay 80 cents/lb for tomatoes. Drive out to the farm and spend an hour picking, and they're 10 cents/lb. Makes a difference when you're making a year's worth.

Yup.  I don't care about organic - none of the local farms are certified organic, though some are no-spray.  They have farmstands with a hodge-podge of whatever's in season at the time, in whatever quantity they have.  Prices are competitive with the grocery store, sometimes quite a bit cheaper, and it supports our neighbors.  We're eating sweet corn, tomatoes, and yellow squash almost every day right now.  Eggs are $3-4/dozen vs. commercial "free range" eggs at $5.50+.   

Stuff that wasn't worth it:
- A sailboat.  Between depreciation, maintenance, upgrades, slip fees, and being too busy to sail it we probably paid over $500/hour that we actually sailed. 
- An expensive "skincare regimen."  I just use a wet washcloth now, and protect my skin from the sun.
- Makeup.  I even skipped it this most recent interview (and still got the job).  Plus, it saves a ton of time in the morning.
- Haircuts.  I've been cutting my own hair for 16 years now.
- Expensive clothes.  I'll make an exception for moderately expensive shoes, because it makes a huge comfort difference.  My $100 Ariat clogs have kept me comfortable for 3 years, while the cheapie $30 clogs would start hurting 4 hours into my shift. 
- That goes double for expensive clothes for kids.  They just destroy them anyway.
- Wine glasses.  Our Riedels have broken one after another.  The no-names hold up just fine.

esq

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Facials - a friend gave me a $100 gift certificate that she wasn't going to use.  It was to a fancy pants spa with lots of different services.  I chose a facial just to see what all the fuss was about.  It was ok, I suppose, but after I was done I walked out, thinking to myself, "people spend A HUNDRED DOLLARS for that??????"

Basically everything at Sur La Table, a fancy pants French version of Williams Sonoma in Houston.  It was fun to go in a look around; my daughter and I found a display of coffee machines that started at $1500, going up to about $4k.  There were cups/stirrers/sugar/creamer out, so we made ourselves some coffee from the display.  I chose the most expensive machine, of course.  Sales lady wasn't too happy with us - apparently you're supposed to ask, although there was no sign saying as such.  Yes, the coffee was good.   But not that much better than my $30 one at home.

Years ago on Oprah, I saw a group of stars talking about experiences that changed their lives.  Julia Roberts talked about how she visited Tibet, lived with the people in their huts, ate their food, helped tend goats, care for babies, etc.  Oprah turned to Billy Crystal and asked him to share.  Without missing a beat he replied, "I shopped retail once".

Every time I'm in a nice store and I see all the full price, expensive displays of whatever, I wonder who on earth pays full price for this stuff?  I've done it on occasion for loved ones,  not for me, and just don't do it any more.

I have a friend with connections who got me and three friends one night in a beautiful suite at the Waldorf in NYC.  Cost us about $80 apiece.  I'm glad I did it, will never in my life forget this breathtaking hotel with it's art deco ambience, but would never pay the full price for it.

pancakes

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False eyelashes, the type that they put one by one and lasts about a month, it costs around $26 and you have to pay for maintenance later on.
$26 is a bargain. The ladies I work with pay $130 every 6 - 8 weeks.

For me:

Expensive shampoo
Scented toilet paper
Le Creuset cookware (vs cast iron cookware from Aldi) 
Perfume


aperture

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I used to work in a high-end liquor store and the owner's son opened a bottle of french champagne at the end of the shift on Saturday nights.  I have had Dom Peringon, Veuve Cliquot's Grande Damme, Crystal and etc. They are wonderful wines, but at $125 - $185/bottle (in 1984) they were certainly not worth it.
-Ap.

lifejoy

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I used to work in a high-end liquor store and the owner's son opened a bottle of french champagne at the end of the shift on Saturday nights.  I have had Dom Peringon, Veuve Cliquot's Grande Damme, Crystal and etc. They are wonderful wines, but at $125 - $185/bottle (in 1984) they were certainly not worth it.
-Ap.
Good to know!!

slowsynapse

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I used to work in a high-end liquor store and the owner's son opened a bottle of french champagne at the end of the shift on Saturday nights.  I have had Dom Peringon, Veuve Cliquot's Grande Damme, Crystal and etc. They are wonderful wines, but at $125 - $185/bottle (in 1984) they were certainly not worth it.
-Ap.

I also have tried many high end champagnes through my job and agree that they are all good but probably not worth it.  Crystal is by far my favorite but at about $300 per bottle is, pardon the pun, hard to swallow.

What I learned when selling wines is that many of the producers have lower end versions that many people cannot tell the difference from their higher end cousins.  For example, Moet Brut, made by Moet and Chandon makers of Dom Perignon, is a very good sparkling wine at 1/3 of the price.  My wine rep used to bring me bottles of wines that he said "were similar to XYZ brand" and I would have them with oenophile friends and they would almost always say the choice was really good.  Like with all mustachian ways, a little knowledge can sure save you money.

lifejoy

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I used to work in a high-end liquor store and the owner's son opened a bottle of french champagne at the end of the shift on Saturday nights.  I have had Dom Peringon, Veuve Cliquot's Grande Damme, Crystal and etc. They are wonderful wines, but at $125 - $185/bottle (in 1984) they were certainly not worth it.
-Ap.

I also have tried many high end champagnes through my job and agree that they are all good but probably not worth it.  Crystal is by far my favorite but at about $300 per bottle is, pardon the pun, hard to swallow.

What I learned when selling wines is that many of the producers have lower end versions that many people cannot tell the difference from their higher end cousins.  For example, Moet Brut, made by Moet and Chandon makers of Dom Perignon, is a very good sparkling wine at 1/3 of the price.  My wine rep used to bring me bottles of wines that he said "were similar to XYZ brand" and I would have them with oenophile friends and they would almost always say the choice was really good.  Like with all mustachian ways, a little knowledge can sure save you money.

Great pun! And good point: a little knowledge goes a long way. I'm hoping this thread will educate me on all the things I don't need to buy :)

chesebert

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I used to work in a high-end liquor store and the owner's son opened a bottle of french champagne at the end of the shift on Saturday nights.  I have had Dom Peringon, Veuve Cliquot's Grande Damme, Crystal and etc. They are wonderful wines, but at $125 - $185/bottle (in 1984) they were certainly not worth it.
-Ap.
Champagnes are over priced. I have migrated from French to Italian sparkling wines. I in particular like Ferrari. You should try their Perle line.


HPstache

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Snap-on tools

Seems like the people that buy them are forced to convince you to pay 4x for your tools too just to  justify their purchase

secondcor521

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I know many people who like them (including my parents), but for me, cruises are not worth it.  It's a decent hotel bolted on top of a barge and you get to pay for the privilege of sailing with 2,000 of your closest friends and pay more for the chance to go on pre-packaged shore excursions.  Did it once in about 1993, haven't even been tempted to go on one since.

My parents probably went on forty of them though, so different strokes...

Kitsune

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A bread maker.

I either use my stand mixer, or do a super-long rise with very wet dough (artisan bread in 5 minutes-style). A loaf of homemade bread is under 25 cents and doesn't need me to store a clunky piece of single-use gear.

SoccerLounge

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A bread maker.

Right? I know they're convenient, but last I checked, I still had two working hands, and haven't succumbed to RSI or arthritis yet :)

JeffS

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Snap-on tools

Seems like the people that buy them are forced to convince you to pay 4x for your tools too just to  justify their purchase

When I worked for the Honda dealership, there was a guy who had probably spent close to $60k on Snap On. Top of the line tool box was $15k, locker was another $12k, every piece of diagnostic testing and electric tool and hand tool. If it had the Snap On name on it, he probably had it.

mustachepungoeshere

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Snap-on tools

Seems like the people that buy them are forced to convince you to pay 4x for your tools too just to  justify their purchase

When I worked for the Honda dealership, there was a guy who had probably spent close to $60k on Snap On. Top of the line tool box was $15k, locker was another $12k, every piece of diagnostic testing and electric tool and hand tool. If it had the Snap On name on it, he probably had it.

My dad has a bit of Snap-On gear. Some of it purchased, some of it gifted from a loving daughter or generous bosses. He has a road chest that he bought before I was born, after going through half a dozen cheap versions in a couple of years. The Snap-On chest was expensive, but it was BIFL. The same with his tools. He's done a lot of work in places where replacing a certain socket set would take weeks.

That said, he's also the first person to tear strips off anyone who wastes money on tools they don't need or don't know how to use.

Oh, and just don't ask to borrow them. :)

elaine amj

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Expensive shampoo. Not worth it!!! I've tried $60 shampoo and $1 shampoo :)

They're practically identical (in my experience)

+++1

A couple of years ago, I was having terrible dandruff issues that lasted for years. It improved when I cut out conditioner (yay to saving money AND time!) so I was doing generic dandruff shampoo only (then using hair oils instead of the conditioner). One day, my hairdresser convinced me to try a $30 bottle of shampoo (my previous "most expensive shampoo" was about $8). In a weak moment, I bought it. I ended up REALLY liking it and bought it twice more. But noticed by the 3rd round it wasn't working as well and my dandruff was still driving me crazy. I used the cheap bottle of Suave I had bought for my daughter and had awesome hair again!

Lesson learned - switch shampoo brands about every bottle or so and my hair will be just fine. Now I had two kinds of Suave shampoo (one for $1 and one for $3-4 that I keep buying for the pretty bottle and fancy words).

lifejoy

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Expensive shampoo. Not worth it!!! I've tried $60 shampoo and $1 shampoo :)

They're practically identical (in my experience)

+++1

A couple of years ago, I was having terrible dandruff issues that lasted for years. It improved when I cut out conditioner (yay to saving money AND time!) so I was doing generic dandruff shampoo only (then using hair oils instead of the conditioner). One day, my hairdresser convinced me to try a $30 bottle of shampoo (my previous "most expensive shampoo" was about $8). In a weak moment, I bought it. I ended up REALLY liking it and bought it twice more. But noticed by the 3rd round it wasn't working as well and my dandruff was still driving me crazy. I used the cheap bottle of Suave I had bought for my daughter and had awesome hair again!

Lesson learned - switch shampoo brands about every bottle or so and my hair will be just fine. Now I had two kinds of Suave shampoo (one for $1 and one for $3-4 that I keep buying for the pretty bottle and fancy words).

Sauve is my fave!! And long hair forums support it :)

tomatops

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Chain restaurants, in my pre-MMM days. They're awful when you compare to what you can make yourself or what you can get from nice independent ones.

Kitsune

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Chain restaurants, in my pre-MMM days. They're awful when you compare to what you can make yourself or what you can get from nice independent ones.

Seconding. And thirding, just for the hell of it.

I'm a big fan of city-based (Montreal is my reference, here) 'ethnic' fast food. Shish Taouk sandwiches for 4$, souvlaki pita for 3.50$, etc, all of it amazing (could I feed the family for 2$ cheaper than buying 4 excellent pitas? Sure. But some days, 2$ extra for reasonably healthy and super tasty food is totally worth not cooking). Or excellent and decently-priced restaurants, for a nice occasional night out.

But chains? TGIF-type, or Mikes, or whatever? 15$ for substandard blech. No thanks.

elaine amj

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Chain restaurants, in my pre-MMM days. They're awful when you compare to what you can make yourself or what you can get from nice independent ones.

Seconding. And thirding, just for the hell of it.

I'm a big fan of city-based (Montreal is my reference, here) 'ethnic' fast food. Shish Taouk sandwiches for 4$, souvlaki pita for 3.50$, etc, all of it amazing (could I feed the family for 2$ cheaper than buying 4 excellent pitas? Sure. But some days, 2$ extra for reasonably healthy and super tasty food is totally worth not cooking). Or excellent and decently-priced restaurants, for a nice occasional night out.

But chains? TGIF-type, or Mikes, or whatever? 15$ for substandard blech. No thanks.

I do agree that ethnic fast food is awesome if you find them at the right prices. Dirt cheap lunch specials are right up my alley! We lucked out once with a decent cheap lunch of gyros in super $$ Switzerland. On the other hand, while I love the whole idea of them, we don't eat at food trucks often because they are usually pretty expensive (I assume because they are trendy).

Still, being an independent restaurant does not mean u have amazing food. Even if you do use locally-sourced everything. Recently, we were visiting a tourist town known for its good food and I decided we should splurge on dinner in one of the town's cool urban locally-sourced restaurants. I found one with good reviews that offered small plates so could be done relatively affordably. It turned out just OK and frankly, the food wasn't worth the price. On the other hand, we all loved the vibe so that was worth something!

I will say that the one time I ate in a restaurant (that was thankfully very reasonably priced) with a Michelin-starred chef, every single thing we ate was the stuff of dreams.

abiteveryday

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AWD vehicles.   I can tell the difference and appreciate it, but winter tires are a lot cheaper and don't come with a fuel economy hit.

SoccerLounge

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On the other hand, while I love the whole idea of them, we don't eat at food trucks often because they are usually pretty expensive (I assume because they are trendy).

THANK YOU! A big, resounding second for food trucks. The gentrification of food trucks has resulted in some truly comical price-vs-food ratios out there. The only food trucks I now go to are the kind where they only sell Mexican food, the trucks are shabby, all the writing is Spanish, nobody speaks English, and everything is cheap. And delicious.

elaine amj

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Expensive things you've tried that just aren't worth it (add to the list!)
« Reply #230 on: July 25, 2016, 07:24:37 PM »
DH still cannot wrap his head around food trucks lol. He cannot stand the thought of paying $10-15 per person to eat with our hands standing up. I drag him to some here or there, but he's not a fan.

While we are on the subject, what is with food festivals? You pay $10-30 (or more!) to go in the gates for the privilege of paying at least $7-10 each for small plates from food trucks. The last one we attended was a cultural festival and the food was overpriced and terrible. Ugh. Even worse if u pay for overpriced wine/beer (we don't drink much so rarely do). I much prefer the one price all u can eat style of food festival (DH and I scored a crazy good Groupon to a local one recently and had a blast)


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pachnik

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On the other hand, while I love the whole idea of them, we don't eat at food trucks often because they are usually pretty expensive (I assume because they are trendy).

THANK YOU! A big, resounding second for food trucks. The gentrification of food trucks has resulted in some truly comical price-vs-food ratios out there. The only food trucks I now go to are the kind where they only sell Mexican food, the trucks are shabby, all the writing is Spanish, nobody speaks English, and everything is cheap. And delicious.

I would love to check out a food truck like the one described above. 

I used to work downtown and one of the more popular food trucks was one that made grilled cheese sandwiches.  They cost about $6 or $8 each and no sides included if I recall correctly.  I just couldn't bring myself to pay that much for a grilled cheese sandwich though my former co-workers said the sandwiches were great. 

Metric Mouse

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On the other hand, while I love the whole idea of them, we don't eat at food trucks often because they are usually pretty expensive (I assume because they are trendy).

THANK YOU! A big, resounding second for food trucks. The gentrification of food trucks has resulted in some truly comical price-vs-food ratios out there. The only food trucks I now go to are the kind where they only sell Mexican food, the trucks are shabby, all the writing is Spanish, nobody speaks English, and everything is cheap. And delicious.

I would love to check out a food truck like the one described above. 

I used to work downtown and one of the more popular food trucks was one that made grilled cheese sandwiches.  They cost about $6 or $8 each and no sides included if I recall correctly.  I just couldn't bring myself to pay that much for a grilled cheese sandwich though my former co-workers said the sandwiches were great.

Mmm... the little family owned-ones, where the kids help out making the food or taking care of the truck. It's truly an experience.  We have a great Thai one here; it's always exciting because I don't read thai so I'm never quite sure what I'm getting and for some reason the pictures don't look anything like what I thought I ordered. :D Just gives another excuse to go back.

Kitsune

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While we are on the subject, what is with food festivals? You pay $10-30 (or more!) to go in the gates for the privilege of paying at least $7-10 each for small plates from food trucks. The last one we attended was a cultural festival and the food was overpriced and terrible. Ugh. Even worse if u pay for overpriced wine/beer (we don't drink much so rarely do). I much prefer the one price all u can eat style of food festival (DH and I scored a crazy good Groupon to a local one recently and had a blast)

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This is basically EVERY city-based food festival I've been to. 100% not worth it.

I'd advise looking at the country-based ones, though. A town near me (Compton, Quebec) does the Comptonales every year, where 7 food 'locations' (cheese factory, apple orchards, etc) open up and set up booths with 6-7 other organizations (meat producers, restaurants, etc) in each spot. No entry fee, and bites of food are 2-3$ per. At last year's prices: 2$ gets you a small plate of amazing cheese fondue, or a hand-held apple pie. 3$ gets you, say, a lamb meatball kofta with an amazing salad and sauce in a mini-pita. Unless you have an appetite of doom, you can't eat more than 15$ worth of food without being full, and it's a great way to get introduced to local food producers (who sell direct-to-consumer, usually cheaper than the grocery store, but you have to know where to find them.) Totally different experience and different goals. :)

rockstache

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Expensive shampoo. Not worth it!!! I've tried $60 shampoo and $1 shampoo :)

They're practically identical (in my experience)

+++1

A couple of years ago, I was having terrible dandruff issues that lasted for years. It improved when I cut out conditioner (yay to saving money AND time!) so I was doing generic dandruff shampoo only (then using hair oils instead of the conditioner). One day, my hairdresser convinced me to try a $30 bottle of shampoo (my previous "most expensive shampoo" was about $8). In a weak moment, I bought it. I ended up REALLY liking it and bought it twice more. But noticed by the 3rd round it wasn't working as well and my dandruff was still driving me crazy. I used the cheap bottle of Suave I had bought for my daughter and had awesome hair again!

Lesson learned - switch shampoo brands about every bottle or so and my hair will be just fine. Now I had two kinds of Suave shampoo (one for $1 and one for $3-4 that I keep buying for the pretty bottle and fancy words).

This is me! Please help! Do you use any conditioner or hair oil now, or just shampoo and go? I do have long hair and I switch shampoos all the time/have tried all the dandruff shampoos/asked experts etc.. and I am so self conscious of the flakes. It is absolutely awful in winter, but it still happens in summer too.

Lunasol

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False eyelashes, the type that they put one by one and lasts about a month, it costs around $26 and you have to pay for maintenance later on.
$26 is a bargain. The ladies I work with pay $130 every 6 - 8 weeks.

For me:

Expensive shampoo
Scented toilet paper
Le Creuset cookware (vs cast iron cookware from Aldi) 
Perfume

If I made $150+ per day, it might seem cheap, but I'm in Mexico where we make around $30-$40 per day

Cranky

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I bought pretty weck glass jars for pantry storage. I researched and read lots of reviews on them, so I thought I was well informed. They are a huge pain to use! The rubber falls off every time you open the lid and the lid chipped within the first use. I'm pretty sure all the reviews I read about them were from people who never actually used them.

You can get plastic lids for them! I have two boxes of assorted Weck jars that I bought at the thrift store, and they came with both the glass lids and plastic snap on lids.

Cranky

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Chain restaurants, in my pre-MMM days. They're awful when you compare to what you can make yourself or what you can get from nice independent ones.

Seconding. And thirding, just for the hell of it.

I'm a big fan of city-based (Montreal is my reference, here) 'ethnic' fast food. Shish Taouk sandwiches for 4$, souvlaki pita for 3.50$, etc, all of it amazing (could I feed the family for 2$ cheaper than buying 4 excellent pitas? Sure. But some days, 2$ extra for reasonably healthy and super tasty food is totally worth not cooking). Or excellent and decently-priced restaurants, for a nice occasional night out.

But chains? TGIF-type, or Mikes, or whatever? 15$ for substandard blech. No thanks.

I do agree that ethnic fast food is awesome if you find them at the right prices. Dirt cheap lunch specials are right up my alley! We lucked out once with a decent cheap lunch of gyros in super $$ Switzerland. On the other hand, while I love the whole idea of them, we don't eat at food trucks often because they are usually pretty expensive (I assume because they are trendy).

Still, being an independent restaurant does not mean u have amazing food. Even if you do use locally-sourced everything. Recently, we were visiting a tourist town known for its good food and I decided we should splurge on dinner in one of the town's cool urban locally-sourced restaurants. I found one with good reviews that offered small plates so could be done relatively affordably. It turned out just OK and frankly, the food wasn't worth the price. On the other hand, we all loved the vibe so that was worth something!

I will say that the one time I ate in a restaurant (that was thankfully very reasonably priced) with a Michelin-starred chef, every single thing we ate was the stuff of dreams.

Small local restaurants do more of their shopping at Gordon Food Service than a lot of people realize. ;-)

Dollar Slice

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This is me! Please help! Do you use any conditioner or hair oil now, or just shampoo and go? I do have long hair and I switch shampoos all the time/have tried all the dandruff shampoos/asked experts etc.. and I am so self conscious of the flakes. It is absolutely awful in winter, but it still happens in summer too.

Did you ever try Nizoral? It's expensive-ish (you can get it online for like $12/bottle, but the bottles are not that big) but it worked for me. It comes in a prescription strength version too. There are multiple causes for flaky scalp problems, so solutions are not always one-size-fits-all, unfortunately.

rockstache

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This is me! Please help! Do you use any conditioner or hair oil now, or just shampoo and go? I do have long hair and I switch shampoos all the time/have tried all the dandruff shampoos/asked experts etc.. and I am so self conscious of the flakes. It is absolutely awful in winter, but it still happens in summer too.

Did you ever try Nizoral? It's expensive-ish (you can get it online for like $12/bottle, but the bottles are not that big) but it worked for me. It comes in a prescription strength version too. There are multiple causes for flaky scalp problems, so solutions are not always one-size-fits-all, unfortunately.

Thanks, I have it on my wish list but haven't tried it because of the price. Do you have to use it always now, or did it clear it up altogether?

Dollar Slice

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Thanks, I have it on my wish list but haven't tried it because of the price. Do you have to use it always now, or did it clear it up altogether?

I honestly haven't tried switching back to anything else. It was such a relief to have a happy scalp, it never occurred to me stop doing whatever made it happy in the first place.

Sailor Sam

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This is me! Please help! Do you use any conditioner or hair oil now, or just shampoo and go? I do have long hair and I switch shampoos all the time/have tried all the dandruff shampoos/asked experts etc.. and I am so self conscious of the flakes. It is absolutely awful in winter, but it still happens in summer too.

Did you ever try Nizoral? It's expensive-ish (you can get it online for like $12/bottle, but the bottles are not that big) but it worked for me. It comes in a prescription strength version too. There are multiple causes for flaky scalp problems, so solutions are not always one-size-fits-all, unfortunately.

Thanks, I have it on my wish list but haven't tried it because of the price. Do you have to use it always now, or did it clear it up altogether?

Hey Rockstach, have you ever ask a dermatologist if you have psoriasis? It's very common, frequently affects the scalp, causes flakes, and needs a coal tar shampoo instead of a dandruff shampoo. I've got psoriasis, and using the right shampoo is a game changer.

rockstache

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This is me! Please help! Do you use any conditioner or hair oil now, or just shampoo and go? I do have long hair and I switch shampoos all the time/have tried all the dandruff shampoos/asked experts etc.. and I am so self conscious of the flakes. It is absolutely awful in winter, but it still happens in summer too.

Did you ever try Nizoral? It's expensive-ish (you can get it online for like $12/bottle, but the bottles are not that big) but it worked for me. It comes in a prescription strength version too. There are multiple causes for flaky scalp problems, so solutions are not always one-size-fits-all, unfortunately.

Thanks, I have it on my wish list but haven't tried it because of the price. Do you have to use it always now, or did it clear it up altogether?

Hey Rockstach, have you ever ask a dermatologist if you have psoriasis? It's very common, frequently affects the scalp, causes flakes, and needs a coal tar shampoo instead of a dandruff shampoo. I've got psoriasis, and using the right shampoo is a game changer.
That didn't occur to me since I don't deal with it anywhere except the scalp, but it's a good thought, thanks.

elaine amj

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@rockstache I tried a very expensive coal tar shampoo and it worked pretty well. But the dandruff battle continued. Then I bought the $30 shampoo (Living Proof) It worked even better. One day I tried some Suave clarifying shampoo (the $1 stuff) and it worked just as well as all the other stuff! Now I use the $3 extra moisturizing Suave with keratin, etc and every few weeks, wash with the Suave clarifying shampoo. Haven't had any dandruff problems since :) its amazing considering it was so bad that I'd pick out giant flakes several hours after washing my hair.

Instead of conditioner, I use hair oils/creams. I like a macadamia oil or an argan oil (get them from Sally's Beauty Supply) for pretty cheap. Nowadays though, I found a miracle hair cream - Frizz Ease by John Frieda. Just a few bucks and controls the frizz better than all the expensive oils/creams/serums I have tried before. I skip the hair oil step and just go straight to this now.


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mikefixac

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A boat. It worked for me being that it was a cheap home, but soon got over it. Lots of upkeep and expenditure.

A cabin. Fun for the first couple of years, but the law of diminishing returns soon punishes a long term owner.

Golf club membership. I wanted to be a big wig and see what it felt like. Don't mean to be mean, but many of the patrons were spoiled brats.


Playing with Fire UK

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Basically every single thing sold in Sephora.  I bought (after debating for years) a "YSL tout éclat" (at Sephora!).  It is a concealer for around the eyes.  Every makeup artist and article I read swore this was the "best". 
Yeah, no so much.  Didn't seem to be any better than the cheap stuff I bought at Walmart. 
That is $50 I will never seen again. 

Sephora makes me crazy. 

Sephora is a rip off. Uncontested.

But using or selling YSL TE as a concealer is even worse.

It's designed as a face-coloured highlighter, not a concealer. For concealing around the eyes it will often do a worse job than a $1 concealer, because it will highlight the uneven skin. If you are going to use TE, use it for contouring your face, not as a concealer. And if you are wearing it for photos for a special occasion, check it out with the flash first. TE reflects light in a weird way, so with some camera set ups it will look like you have day-glo paint on your face.

StarBright

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Basically every single thing sold in Sephora.  I bought (after debating for years) a "YSL tout éclat" (at Sephora!).  It is a concealer for around the eyes.  Every makeup artist and article I read swore this was the "best". 
Yeah, no so much.  Didn't seem to be any better than the cheap stuff I bought at Walmart. 
That is $50 I will never seen again. 

Sephora makes me crazy. 

Sephora is a rip off. Uncontested.

But using or selling YSL TE as a concealer is even worse.

It's designed as a face-coloured highlighter, not a concealer. For concealing around the eyes it will often do a worse job than a $1 concealer, because it will highlight the uneven skin. If you are going to use TE, use it for contouring your face, not as a concealer. And if you are wearing it for photos for a special occasion, check it out with the flash first. TE reflects light in a weird way, so with some camera set ups it will look like you have day-glo paint on your face.

Ahh! I love Sephora and consider it one of my frugal secret weapons. They are great at giving large samples so you can try something multiple times before you buy it and make sure it really works for you. I went through three large sized face sunscreen samples before I found the right one for me. Now I know exactly what works and I buy it during the yearly sale. I also love their free birthday presents and haven't had to buy lipstick in two years due to the annual birthday gifts. I even went ahead and joined Play! and it is my single subscription box but I have enough make up for the next two years and for some gifts too and it is only 10 dollars of my fun money every month.

Is there an expensive things that are worth it thread? Because expensive face care and sunscreen would go on that list for me and I buy them at Sephora  :)

On the not worth it side of things I'll throw my hat in with the wine and champers folks - I had an ex that was really into high end super tuscans for a while and while they were good, the definitely weren't 200-300 dollars good. And for me personally - technology. I don't need gaming systems or fancy TVs, or high quality sound systems and I am actually the last person I know that still has a flip phone. To each their own though I know my husband would love a fancy sound system if we ever upgrade our entertainment stuff.

lifejoy

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I will say that Sephora is really good about accepting reruns if you've tried a product and it doesn't work for you. That being said I've tried $80 foundation and no way is it vastly superior to the $8 bb cream from Maybelline that I now use :)

bobechs

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One thing that did not live up to my expectations (based on many unsolicited reports by various people) is the superiority of train travel over bus travel from city-to-city (like Ottawa-Montreal or Ottawa-Toronto). So many people seem to rave about the train over the bus or over driving yourself but I haven't found the train to be the great upgrade that other people seem to think it is. If the price were the same, sure, I'd probably take the train, but it wouldn't require much of a price difference before I'd opt for the bus.

Ridin' the dawg in Canada is where you run into the cannibals.

Which I guess is okay, if you want to meet cannibals...

icemodeled

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Fancy restaurants. One in particular actually. Had amazing reviews and way way overpriced food. It was a special occasion and against better judgement we decided to go. The food was horrible. It was bizarre things that they called 'art'. Food.. Is food and I just don't understand those upscale restaurants that serve an amount of food for a bird because they made a fancy looking drizzle on the plate. Anyways.. I much prefer normal meals. We make some great fantastic meals at home and that restaurant(well, many) are not worth the price!

As for the posts about Sephora, I have only ever been inside but never purchased. Prices are crazy. The drugstore makeup does just fine, least for me.