Worth It or Not?

Today on Twitter, Fritinancy presented these two lists:

• Things I don't spend money on: facials, manicures, massages, housecleaner, DVDs, travel, coffee shops. Just don't see the point.
• Things I splurge on: haircut/color, shoes, clothes, live theater, dance. Did I mention shoes?

So, not surprisingly, that got me thinking. I'm quite frugal by nature. I clip coupons, I shop sales, I reuse, I do without. But I don't deprive myself. Specifically:

• I have had only a few facials, manicures, and massages in my life—and most of those were from gift certificates. I do get a few pedicures each year, though, and am more than happy to shell out the cash to have someone scrape all the horrible calluses off my feet and massage my calves and paint my toenails a purty color.
• I most certainly do have a housecleaner, and with a family of 5, I can think of a lot of things I'd be willing to do without before that. I still do all the laundry, but I no longer clean the kitchen floor or the toilets, vacuum, dust, or wipe down the range.
• As I mentioned yesterday, I rent but do not purchase DVDs, unless they're for the kids and will thus end up "buying" me some peace and quiet.
• Andy and I used to travel a lot before we had kids. Now? Not so much. I hope someday we will get to show the kids some of the world.
• Hate coffee, as you well know.
• I go to a nice salon to have my hair cut and colored—not the nicest salon on Newbury Street, mind you, but a nice-enough place here in town. After all those years of the long graying ponytail, I now love getting my hair bobbed and dyed.
• I used to be a bit of an Imelda Marcos in terms of shoes. At one point I had more pairs of black shoes than Andy had pairs of shoes period. (Famously, Andy once asked me why I needed to pack more pairs of shoes than days of our impending vacation. Silly, silly boy.) But not anymore. I can't stand the pencil-sharpener effect anymore and will buy only comfy shoes. Fortunately, these days one can find cute shoes that are also comfy, but I don't buy as many pairs as I used to—nor do I spend a fortune on any one pair. I can't even remember the last time I bought a pair of shoes.
  
• I've never been much of a clothes horse. 99% of my clothing comes from Lands' End, L.L. Bean, Eddie Bauer, and J. Jill. Jeans and a T-shirt is pretty much my official uniform.
• Live theater and dance? Nope. Don't mind going to theater, but don't seek it out—and frankly can't justify the expense. No interest in dance.

In addition:

• I will spend a lot on certain skin-care products if I can't find an equivalent knock-off. I buy some things from Origins and others from CVS. I'm happy to pay less if I like it, but it doesn't bother me to spend a little extra on the good stuff when necessary.
• I buy nearly all my meat at Whole Foods (and a small amount at Trader Joe's). I trust Whole Foods to do the research I want done but don't have the time, energy, or resources to do in order to make good choices in terms of ethical treatment of animals and healthy food for my family. I am more than willing to pay more for this service and for this food. Likewise, I will pay more for organic berries, grapes, peppers, and other produce that doesn't get peeled and is covered with pesticides that just don't wash off. We also just plain love cooking and eating and drinking around here, so I will happily spend extra for gourmet items, unusual ingredients, cookbooks and cooking magazines,  fancy kitchen gadgets, wine, and so on.
• In the goes-without-saying category: Books, books, and more books. Can't live without books, must be surrounded by books.  And music.

And you, my pretties, what do you spend on? What don't you spend on?

Comments

[sheila]

I spend money on things for my home-furniture, bedding, dishes, artwork, you name it. I think it might have something to do with being an interior designer... I see too many great new things...

I spend on my children's clothing-probably more than on mine, but when I see something I really like and it fits me, I don't even consider the price (is that terrible?)

The thing we probably spend the most on is traveling. And with the price of gas and fuel oil for jets, that is going up a whole lot lately. My dad died in his early 60s and I decided I wouldn't make the mistake he did and wait until retirement to travel. My children have seen some wonderful things all around the world and I would eat pb&j for a month if I had to, just to be able to travel!

[raych]

I don't spend money on eating out, because the cost-to-fun-times ratio isn't high enough. Ditto I don't go to movies.

When we get a gift card, though, I eat out and love it. It's totally worth spending someone else's money to not have to cook or clean, AND to have savory leftovers.

[Di]

Well, as of yesterday, I am spending money on Secret, not the Suave knock-off. As I stood there in my cami waiting to don my Life is Good t-shirt (I was dressing up!), I opened up the Suave knock-off and spent 5 minutes trying to open it and get it to work before finally throwing it in the trash in disgust.

I'm not a shoe person...but I did once spend $750 on a pair of Prada shoes. But they are the BEST SHOES I'VE EVER HAD IN MY LIFE AND I STILL FEEL LIKE A PRINCESS WHEN I WEAR THEM!!!

[B.O.B.(bob)]

Lets see DO spend on:

Food- lot's of Whole Food, Wild Harvest, etc.,deals are great but I'm not willing to settle quality wise. Eat out at least 1x per week, expensive cheese, wine, booze.

Entertainment - books- need some authors the second they come out in hardcover. Music and music performances. Theater when something interests me (off to see Patrick Stewart in MacBeth on Broadway in 2 weeks, wee).

Home and garden - again not willing to settle quality wise although I will do it myself if possible not willing to paty someone to do something I can easily do myself (painting, yardwork).

Do not spend on:

technology- don't own a cell phone, don't have cable, don't have an mp3 player. Don't want the either. Just this year got high speed internet access at home, had the same pc sitting in the basement for 10 year unused unitil this past christmas when we bought a rebuilt laptop.

Would like to spend more on :

Travel - Love to do more big vacations but haven't in past few years in favor of more smaller ones.

[steve]

I spend more than not spend.

1. We eat out a LOT. The bar tab is usually more than the food. We're also extravagant tippers - especially at our local places.

2. I like to entertain. I'm making dinner for 6 tonight. $278 at Whole Foods just for the meal (and flowers and a couple bottles of wine).

3. Maids, yard guy, personal trainer, financial advisor (a necessary expense, obviously), handyman and hypnotist (really).

4. Banana Republic gets a good percentage of my income.

What won't I spend on? Believe it or not - shoes. I wear the same pair every day. And Banana doesn't carry men's shoes in most stores any more.

[the nag]

My big expense is travel and I'd do without food rather than my European vacations. Even when my kids were young we took trips (skiing out west, Disneyworld, etc.) If I don't get away twice a year I get cranky.

I used to have my hair coloured but discovered a product that reduces brassiness and now do it myself. I get a good cut though. Other than that my beauty regimen consists of a slather of Bag Balm.

I buy lots of books from the Book Depot at unbelievably rock bottom prices and lots of shoes but only if they're comfortable and ridiculously cheap (Winners is my major source).

Never had anyone clean my house, just griped a whole lot about doing it (and I do mean serious griping).

I used to spend quite a bit on household items but at this stage of my life have most of what I need and now, when something wears out, I buy good stuff that will last a long time.

[Nancy]

Fritinancy here, and I'm really enjoying this!

A couple of additions to my lists:

1. I don't buy wine or alcohol unless I'm giving a party. Don't drink 'em, either. (The occasional beer or French hard cider is it for me. Yeah. Lightweight. Also, I went out for a few years with a food and wine snob, and the experience completely extinguished my interest in, and taste for, any kind of wine whatsoever.)

2. I'm a writer and name developer, but I rarely buy books except for reference volumes. For everything else, I'm very happy with the public library.

3. I probably spend more than the national average on fitness: gym membership, semi-private Pilates sessions, Dolphin Club dues (bay swimming). I used to spend thousands each year on dance (ballroom, swing, and Argentine tango), but then I blew out my foot.

4. For me, travel never delivers on the cost-benefit ratio. I get horrible jet lag if I cross more than two time zones, and I can't sleep on planes or in hotels. I'm just a miserable wreck. I do dream about going to New York and seeing a bunch of plays, but it's hard.

5. Theater is worth every penny. I had a wonderful aunt who started taking me to live theater when I was about 9, and it made a huge impression. When I was married and a part-time stepmother, I made sure my stepson got to see lots and lots of live entertainment, including plays and musicals.

[Nancy]

Oh, and Steve? Bad idea about the one pair of shoes. Bad for the shoes, bad for your feet. At least buy a duplicate pair and give each pair a day's rest.

[Erin]

I used to only buy the cheapest hair and skin products, but my skin is sort of sensitive and I have dandruff, so I switched to Neutrogena for almost everything (still not that pricey) and am very happy. I also lovelovelove the fancy glycerine soap I get at the farmers market. I love a pedicure, though I haven't had one in years. I've never had a massage or facial. My mom bought me a manicure once and I hated it. I spend a lot on individual pairs of shoes, but I try not to buy new ones until the old ones are disintegrating. I do have more pairs of black shoes than my husband has shoes, but he only has like three pairs. I probably have three pairs that I am rotating between during any given fortnight, of course. We travel a fair amount, and that always eats up a lot. We spend a lot on food and drink out, but I try to be reasonably frugal on home food. We get fancy cheese and wine from Whole Foods once every two or three months; otherwise it's bulk ingredients from Costco and Ralphs. I figure most of our eating out is with friends, and good food and drink is a better way to give your friends a treat than giving them "stuff" is.

I am a big knitter now, but I try very hard not to spend a lot on yarn. I read a lot of knitting blogs, and many seem not to bat an eye at buying a sweater's worth (a dozen skeins) of $40-a-skein yarn. I can't do that. I shop sales. We don't spend much on DVDs--Netflix serves us very well. In relation to one of your earlier entries, we do rewatch lots of our DVDs, notably Ghostbusters and the 1995 BBC Pride and Prejudice miniseries. I don't spend too much on clothing--all of my fanciest clothes have come from thrift stores or clothing swaps with friends.