oh yeah, TVs! I bought a 42" Plasma in 2006 for $600 (hell of a deal back then)...720p. Off brand that no universal remotes recognize. But I've had it since then... it has a weird spot in the middle now about 20% of the time that pure white shows on that spot, but otherwise it's still good. (And my bedroom TV is still a 27" CRT crapper...only used before sleep anyway)
This thread makes me kinda chuckle when I see the things people won't spend money on that others say they must spend money on. Stuff I won't spend much money on : 1) Haircuts : Give me a break - it's dead hair and nobody wants to be around a guy that gets his hair cut like a sissy. Yeah, that's right, I said it.... (on an Internet forum) 2) Clothes : Give me Levi's and t-shirts and my Rockets cap - I'm comfortable. Every so often, I like wearing a dress shirt and slacks. I don't like spending more than $30-$40 on either one. 3) Sporting events/concerts : I never understood the need to spend money on either. I have paid to go to maybe 2 or 3 Rockets games in my life and some Summer League games for vacation. It's often too much money to be spending on a sporting event when your team loses. Think about it - you just paid them money to feel miserable. 4) Buying the latest and greatest gadgets : I may eventually get them, but I try not to get them when they first come out and are overpriced. I mean serioulsy - 720p -> 1080p 60Hz -> 1080p 120 Hz -> 1080p 240 Hz -> 3D TV's, LED's, blah blah blah... they're scamming you. Most people buy sets that they couldn't tell the difference between 720p and 1080p on because they're not big enough or they sit far enough away to not notice. 5) Food : I'm trying to eat cheaper and cheaper. I go out with friends on weekends only and to maybe Hooters or grab some steak at a churrascaria on our birthdays. I loathe spending $7-$10 here and there during the week for what is amounts to average food at your average chain restaurant. I'm just as gontent grabbing a $2.50 - $3 sub from Subway or eating my own ham and cheese sandwich. 6) Cigarettes, alcohol, and strip clubs : they travel together sometimes. These things are rip-offs and can kill your savings as well as you. 7) Bottled Water : ... Things I've learned my lesson to not go cheap on : 1) Shoes : I used to buy $30 shoes, but after wearing $80 cross-trainers or walkers, there's definitely a difference. After back problems, I won't skimp (much) here. 2) Electronics : Don't buy the most expensive, don't buy the cheapest, get something above the middle. It's where the best bang-for-the-buck usually resides. 3) Longhorn meat/Bison meat : lol. Lower in cholesterol, fat, and calories than turkey or chicken! I gotta have ground beef and this is how I do it. It's fairly pricey compared to regular ground beef, but then a lot of regular cheap ground beef drains away as fat anyway. 4) Putting regular gas in a car that asks for premium : Depending on your car, your savings in gas costs could translate to lower horsepower and lower mileage. Things I may need to revisit my opinion on : 1) Cars : I buy new cars. I'm on my 3rd car I've ever owned. My first one went 130k and was in 3 wrecks before it started falling apart. My 2nd one went about 130k before I got rid of it like an idiot for no reason other than I got bored with it. My current car I've had for 142k and I'd like to hold onto it for a while since it's not giving me problems yet. I've considered buying used, but my biggest fear is convincing myself that someone else didn't get rid of that vehicle because it had issues. Yeah, yeah, I know - get a mechanic. But he can't be expected to find "that one thing" all the time. 2) Taking my lunch to work : I don't know why I don't do it. It'd be even cheaper than the cheap stuff I eat now. I need to. Dammit, I need to! I'm sure I'm missing some stuff.
What is amazing to me is that the last few years has seen my family's income go up quite a bit through job changes and promotions. It always surprises me how hard it is to keep spending down as income rises. While we save well over 50% of our income, it amazes me how easily the money outflows have pretty evenly matched our income increases, yet I don't feel like I'm actually spending that much more.
refuse to spend more than 25 bucks on sunglasses not really into bleeding edge electronics, I like them, but manage to put off buyin the few I want until the price starts dropping....normally around the time the second(or even third) gen comes out. watches, I flat-out don't wear. Even if I did, I would not spend multiple c-notes for one. designer clothes.....not necessary. I'm a jeans and tshirt guy, always have been, always will be. haircuts....I'm always amazed my stylist remembers my name as little as I see her She only charges me 20 bucks a wack since all she does is trim the ends once a year(and yes, I see a stylist, have been for 20+ years, wouldn't you rather have a pretty woman handling your head?) I will spend on some things, the new car I just got is the closest thing to new I have ever had in 30 years of driving and it had accumulated almost 4K miles just as a demo model(damn salesman\managers using it for going out to lunch and stuff) I only went new so when it had its inevitable problems, it would be covered with its 100K bumper to bumper warranty.
This...and Sunglasses...I rarely even wear sunglasses to be honest. I have some that I got at Walgreens for like 10 buks. Shoes...the exception are running shoes. Other than that, I shop for shoes at Ross or Marshalls. (found some Shox there the other day that were easily worth 100 buks for 35 buks) New gadgets..I usually wait until the demand goes down.
There's long list of things I won't spend too much money one.. I used to go cheap on food, but after learning the hard way, in some countries you need to spend that extra buck. also will not spend for pr0n who the hell spends on pr0n anyways?
Video games. Just bought my first PS3 game in over a year. Last game I bought was either GTAIV or Madden a year or so ago. But thanks to you DB's.....I bought Red Dead Redemption or whatever it's called. Haven't tried it yet, it's sitting in the other room. Watching hangover with my girl right now.
I'm in the small minority of people who spend a lot on things others wouldn't. But while I spend more than other people, I do it less often since many purchases are long-term. I agree with most of what other posters listed except these: Suits - both my bespoke and off-the-rack ones have cost me a fortune but they are a long-term investment and a necessity in my fields, banking/consulting/law, where conservative dress code is the norm and frequent wear and tear would destroy cheaper suits. Shoes - spend ~$500 on some John Lobbs on sale, take care of them, have them resoled, and they will last you several years if not a decade or two. Books - buy used, borrow a friend's, or go to your local college/city library. TV - buy middle to high-end (never bleeding edge) once the technology has matured by many years. I bought my Kuro plasma a couple years back yet its picture quality beats 95% of current TVs today. And I don't plan on buying another HDTV set till at least 2015. Headphones - someone said people cannot tell a difference and that's just not true (this goes for speakers as well). There is a HUGE gap between your regular Skull-candy, Apple, and Bose headphones and those manufactured by Grado, Ultrasone, Audio Technica, or AKG. Car - If you can afford it go high-end, but if you can't, there's nothing wrong with driving a Corolla. Buy it 2-years old, drive it nicely (warming up the engine, washing and waxing every other day, premium gas, easy on the brakes, parking at a distance/in a good, shaded spot, etc.), and keep it for many years due to depreciation. And don't flaunt it in other people's faces either, regardless of the state of the economy.
no doubt there. I had the exact same thought when I woke in ICU a couple weeks ago, as I was going thru the lame excuse for tv they have in there, I realized you could PPV pr0n. First thought....seriously... "Who the hell pays for that anymore? Have they not heard of the internet?" heh...not that I bother anymore...I do have a small collection on a removable drive, but I dont think I have plugged it in for a good long while. When one has a good wife, one rarely needs pr0n.
I never pay retail (though I am not exactly shy about buying stuff). I think what I am most frugal about is my car. My last three cars were bought at auctions for a fraction of the cost. Prior to purchase I narrow down the cars I want, have them checked out and test drive them. Last year I bought a 2003 Nissan Skyline (Infiniti G35) from Japan with about 15,000 miles on it for about the equivalent of $11,000. I'll drive this for another five years, or so while I'm saving up for the next car.
