I used to be frugal. Like, really, really frugal. My nickname among my friends in high school was "The Frugal Shopper." When we got married, Will and I had a budget and boy, did we ever stick to it. I would sometimes hyperventilate if we had to spend money. This frugality served us well through years of higher education and two children, but in the last few years, I think that this label no longer applies. I now buy expensive over-priced coffee shop drinks regularly, go out to eat way too much, and even let my children draw on completely blank pieces of printer paper.
However, I have made peace with spending money in only some areas. This is the epitome of a First World Problem, but even though I am much more of a spendthrift now, I can't let go of my penny-pinching ways in many categories. Such as:
10. (Non-Running) Clothes - I literally have clothes in my closet that I have owned since high school. I consider this is a huge win, because as of two years ago, I no longer own any clothes that I purchased when I was 11 years old. I have never in my life spent more than $30 for a pair of jeans or a skirt or a sweater or a top and I would really prefer to spend no more than $20. But we won't talk about running shoes and running clothes and race registrations...
9. Clothes for the Children - I think that 80% of our children's clothing are either hand-me-downs or purchased from thrift stores or garage sales, with the remainder probably consisting of shoes and random clearance items from Target. Honestly, I kind of wish I could get all of my own clothing from garage sales...Fashion Mavens, we are not.
8. iTunes Music - I have owned an iPhone since 2010, which when you add it up means that I have spent a ridiculous amount on the phone coverage. But, how many songs have I purchased from iTunes?? Zero. Yes. That $0.99 might just kill us.
7. Razor Blades - is there anything more ridiculously over-priced than razor blades?!? I think not. When I go to purchase refills, I usually go into a panic at the price of three measly blades. Then I will use each blade f-o-r-e-v-e-r because, gosh darn it, paying that much for razors is just wrong. We'll ignore the fact that I end up cutting myself much more because all of the blades are rusty and that the amount I spend on bandages probably cancels this out.
6. Laundry Detergent - we save a ridiculous amount on laundry detergent. Not by making our own...by never doing laundry! Winning!
5. Furniture - oh, our poor couches. We have two living room couches: One was purchased at a sleazy Junction City used furniture store in 1999, and the other was given to us by our friend, also in 1999...after her parents had owned it for at least 12 years. We have looked into getting new couches but I am positive our children will destroy them, so we are toying with having a completely empty living room instead.
4. Gasoline - If we are in Manhattan, I MUST use my Dillion's fuel points. At all times. Otherwise, I might not save 10 cents a gallon and if I am filling up the van, THAT IS ALMOST TWO DOLLARS. Clearly, that would be a tragedy.
3. Towels - are you supposed to buy towels? Ours just seemed to have appeared from the sky. With many stains already on them.
2. Printer Ink Cartridges - I lied. One thing is worst than razor blades: Printer ink cartridges. We have a Canon printer at home and I swear it is part of some Ponzi scheme that sucks you in with an ultra-low priced printer but ends up making you spend 21 billion dollars on ink. Consequently, I will try every trick in the book to prolong the toner as long as possible to avoid buying any.
1. Cars - this is the driver's side interior door of our 1998 car in which I can't bring myself to fix anything cosmetic on because it still runs. Enough said.
Everyone has such different priorities, and I know that many of the areas in which I am now a spendthrift in (hellooooo, overpriced hot chocolates!) are areas in which most people would behave frugally. What are areas that you have a hard time justifying spending money on?
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