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Top 10 things I shouldn't have wasted my money on

May 26th, 2007 at 01:58 am

10. Expensive shampoos, soap, and lotions. How many bottles do you have sitting half full on your dresser/shower shelf, etc? Too many. Plain old shampoo and soap work as well as anything else I have tried.

9. Home parties. I used to attend these - Candle Lite, Home Interiors, etc. I have more candles than I could ever burn. I have no room to decorate. The prices on the Tastefully Simple brochures leave my aghast (why, I can make that myself for a quarter of the price!). I finally just stopped - I respectfully told everyone who invited me to one that I just do not attend them.

8. Guilt toys. My kids have a lot of toys. They are gifted to by many members of our family. Yet I do succumb to the guilt buys. DH wants to provide them with memorable holidays. My friends convince me to buy the latest gadget, Dora toy, or similar item. I should be able to stand up and say "Enough!", but at times I cannot.

7. Puffkins. Yikes. Remember Beanie Babies? Of course you do. Puffkins were their littel known descendants which we were convinced would be the next big thing. At $5 a pop, I did spend a small fortune in 1995 money on these little balls of fluff that are now gathering dust in the back of my closet. Anyone want to buy a nice Puffkin collection? I'm sure a lot of us could tell similar stories about the latest fads.

6. New clothes. I shudder to add up what I spent in clothes in my previous life (pre-frugal). Now I buy most everything secondhand. I fess up to buying my undergarments and swimsuits new, as well as the occasional basic wardrobe piece that I might not be able to find used. But 95% of what I buy is used. I still get sticker shock when I walk into department stores and see what the prices are. On the occasions that I do buy new, I inevitably spill or shrink the item by the third wearing. I prefer to go with an item that has already been pre-shrunk, wears well, and I won't feel guilty about if I get a stain on it. Plus, you can redonate the items when you are done and probably get a tax break close to what you paid for it. Win - win.

5. In the same vein - kid's clothes. They outgrow them so fast and really don't care what they wear, at least for a good many years. I got the majority of my kids clothes from the Thrifty Shopper's 2/$1 table. I did buy a few new pieces, but they weren't any better or gave me any more satisfaction than secondhand pieces.

4. Books. "What???" you say, "Someone is actually saying not to buy books?" Yes, I am. I have shelves of books (luckily, most bought second hand) that I feel obliged to keep because I might want to reread them someday. Yet, I can get nearly any book I want from my local library, and I seldom do reread any of those books on my shelf. (I make an exception for children's books, which can be found very cheaply at thrift stores and garage sales and have value above and beyond the space they occupy in encouraging our kids to read).

3. Kitchen gadgets. A rice cooker. A wok. A quesadilla maker. All of these things sound great, but take up TONS of SPACE and are seldom used. I have learned how to cook my rice in the oven or stove, to stir-fry in a frying pan...well, I have kept the quesadilla maker because it's just so neato, but I know that for as much as I use it, I should ditch it as well.

2. A private college education. It's so easy to just take out more loans when you are going to school, until you find yourself graduated, with a job making $15,500/year, and $15k in student loans. I wish someone had told me that it was okay to attend the community college for a few years after graduating, then transfer, but being salutatorian of my school, I never felt that it was even an option. I was *expected* to go to a four-year school. At least I met my Dh there, which makes it worth every penny Smile

1. A new car. Ugh. After calculating that I had worked a year (half-time) to pay for DH's new car - the only new car we have ever bought - I decided that I never again will buy new. There are so many slightly used cars out there that are a much better value.

A quick tally of some of my bigger - and smaller - mistakes. Maybe some of these will ring true with others. Maybe I will have to follow up with my top 10 frugal purchases Smile

5 Responses to “Top 10 things I shouldn't have wasted my money on”

  1. tklahn Says:
    1180142132

    Aren't you glad you're off the spending rollercoaster before it's too late??

    Loved this top-10 list!

  2. scfr Says:
    1180142972

    This is a great post. It is good to take stock once in awhile, and don't we all have things we spent money on in the past that we regret? If I had only invested the money that I spent on department store pantyhose when I was in my 20's (what was I thinking?!?), I could probably retire a full year earlier!

  3. moneycents Says:
    1180189844

    I really liked your post. Thank you!

  4. Kate Says:
    1180242011

    Excellent post -- I've made many of these exact same realizations, so it was fun to see your list.

  5. dossin1 Says:
    1180796313

    Well, my own personal regret is cat toys, including a battery operated mouse that ds talked me into buying. Cat's favorite toys are still bottle caps and old hair curlers! Great post.

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