Chastized by a colleague for being a spendypants

[Ladychips]

Back story:  My husband and I agreed long ago that money received from our regular day jobs was OUR money and any money received from a side-gig belonged to the side-gigger* who could do what they wanted with it.  My husband is a spender, and I am a saver.  This arrangement has always made us both happy.  He has recently been super busy with side-gigs so he is flush (and spending it all).  He bought a 32 ounce yeti cup.  He didn't like it because it was too big.  So, he bought a 20 ounce yeti cup.  I asked him if I could have his 32 ounce one.  I love, love, love it and use it all day, every day. 

The actual story: I am in a meeting at work the other day, and of course, I have my yeti cup with me.  One of the women in the meeting tells the room how a blind test looked at yeti and the cup made by Walmart...and how the Walmart cup is way better and WAY cheaper (with the implication that I am a complete idiot and spendypants to own such a thing).  I find myself quickly saying it was a hand-me-down...that I certainly never PAID for such a thing!  God forbid my colleagues think I am a spendypants!!

While many of you live in the land of keep-up-with-the-joneses, I live in the land of defending-the-ownership-of-any-fancy-item!

The whole scene made me laugh and laugh...and I thought you might enjoy it too!


*I made up this word...but I like it.

[Cranky]

I have to go look up what a yeti cup is! Does it come with an abominable snowman?

[Ladychips]

check out this thread for the craziness that is Yeti...http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/antimustachian-wall-of-shame-and-comedy/credit-card-for-a-yeti-cooler/

Mine is just a cup size version...

Be prepared to be horrified (hence my need to give the back story  AND my need to defend myself to colleague!).

[startingsmall]

WOW. A large percentage of the hunting trucks around here sport big YETI bumper stickers, so I knew they were some sort of fancy-schmancy cooler. Until just googling, though, I had NO IDEA that people spend that much money on a COOLER. Wow. Learned something new today.

[PhrugalPhan]

Just say you spent 1/10 of the normal price to get it used at a yard sale and just *smile*.    True in a way as you got it for free from the prior owner.

[BoonDogle]

Yeah, something like "I got this one at a garage sale for $1.  How much does the Walmart one cost?"  I know, not entirely truthful, but it would be fun.

[The Happy Philosopher]

I totally thought you were talking about a cup with a yeti on it, like maybe something you would get at a theme park.

[I'm a red panda]

My sister loves YETI cups. For Christmas she is wanting one that is custom painted.  I about died when I saw the price.

[fishnfool]

Luck you!

I was checking out the yeti cups a few weeks ago at Cabelas. Looked at the price and put it back on the shelf.
Still using my old coffee mug which has a lot if life left. ;)

[Chris22]

Has any $30 purchase ever generated as much discussion and disdain on this site as a Yeti cup?  It's not even a recurring expense.  I don't get why people care so much about these stupid cups? 

And yeah, mine was free. 

[Ladychips]

Around here, all the rage is to have them engraved...although painting them is gaining ground in popularity.

I never would have paid for one...but now that I've used it, if something ever happened to it, I'd buy a new one (even at full price) tomorrow.

[Driko]

My friend said that I made too much money to have the walmart cup over the Yeti cup. I just laughed cause they are made in the same factory.

[BlueHouse]

Are yeti cups similar in material to takeya water bottles?  They're quite expensive too, but I got mine at Costco for $15/each. (2 in a pack). I can't believe I love a water bottle so much.

[SweetTPi]

I can't believe I love a water bottle so much.

This. 

I have a contigo autoseal, also acquired from Costco (2 pack), and if they break I'm buying another like it in a heartbeat.  Keeps hot things hot, seals so as to be thrown in a bag, and easy to drink from.  Also, for a klutz like me, perfect for work since I can't spill it all over my desk like I have with about everything else.  The only downside is that I have to remember to add ice after brewing my tea, else I burn my tongue.

[horsepoor]

My friend said that I made too much money to have the walmart cup over the Yeti cup. I just laughed cause they are made in the same factory.

The local feed store sells Yeti stuff, and had the Yeti cups on a display right next to the knockoff ones (RTIC, i think?) that are like $16 instead of $36.  Picked them both up and literally couldn't tell the difference except for the logos. I have a few Hydroflasks though, so I can't really talk.  At least I bought them before all the knockoffs were available, and my small one was free (fell off someone's truck and they didn't come back for it).

[RobFIRE]

OK, so after googling, these "Yeti cups" are about US $30 or $40, and for those who speak English English, a "Yeti cup" is a "Thermos flask".

The English English equivalent is about the same price, has a 5-year guarantee (though probably made in China as with many things). If I were using such a cup/flask daily, I would have no issue buying the quality one rather than a supermarket copy, for a price difference of £10 or $20, when you should expect to be able to use the item upwards of 1000 times.

So yes, if the point of the story is the irony that people think you're a high spender/money waster by buying the branded item, whereas actually you have it because it's a quality item and for the $40 one off cost it allows you to save some $ every day by avoiding purchasing drinks at full retail price, so actually you are thinking levels above them, yes, I'm smiling at the thought!

[alleykat]

I have the 20 and 30 oz ones from Walmart.  I can't compare the two but I love mine.  I found this brand when I was looking at the yeti cup and these were compared and ozark was a third of the price.  It has saved me so much water because I always have half empty bottles of water going to waste in the car in the summer. These keep everything cold or hot.  I do wish they were prettier though.  ...and I do love the clear lids. On my 30 oz cup though, the lid lifts up a little, doesn't come off, but it doesn't affect the function at all.

No judgement at all. I own several hydro flasks and probably why I wouldn't of invested another 30-40 bucks in another cup.  I like the Hydroflask too.  But my 24 oz one is just too tall.  I can't tell you how many times I got burned.  Boy, does it keep things hot.  I reach for the ozark more. 

So much controversy regarding these cups. You gotta love it.

[Crusader]

I have the RTic since it was half the price of a Yeti on Amazon. I like it so far, the ability for it to keep things cold is amazing! Around the end of the month I am planning to get the Ozarks from Walmart for my parents and maybe myself to try out. Unfortunately the only way to get the Ozarks for $8 is in the actual store. Otherwise you are basically paying the same price as the RTic from Amazon.

[TVRodriguez]

Haha!  That's funny, OP!  I was given a "S'well" brand water/coffee bottle as a gift from a friend.  I think it's about $35/40 new.  Never heard of it until I received it.  I love it, and it works well.  It keeps cold drinks cold for a long time (24 hrs, I think?) and hot drinks hot (12 hrs?).  I appreciate most that my friend thought of me and how I hate to waste plastic on water bottles but that I like to drink a lot of water.  The irony is that I drink water mostly lukewarm straight from the tap.  So the insulation aspect is lost on me.  But I love the watertight seal!  I can throw it in my bag and not worry.  Plus, it's small enough in girth to fit in my car's cup holder!  And it's attractive, to boot.  A couple of people have commented on it, and I've answered "it was a gift."

[EnjoyIt]

a millionaire is made $10 at a time.

http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/08/01/a-millionaire-is-made-ten-bucks-at-a-time/

If an $8 mug does the same thing or almost the same thing as a $30 mug, why get the $30 mug?

I can afford both, but I have an excellent conteigo mug that works just fine.  Keeps my water cold right up to when I take the last sip.  And it keeps my tea hot for as long as I need.  Too hot actually since I need to add ice to it to make it drinkable.  If it broke I may consider an Rtic, Orca or some other adequate mug.