Why I hate buying expensive things
By suspenseful
@suspenseful (40193)
Canada
February 12, 2010 7:27pm CST
It is not that I would rather go to the thrift store and pick up a pair of slacks and a skirt and blouse that look good on me and that were high end name brands that were thrown away, it is when I splurge that some get the idea that if =---- bought a pair of shoes that cost $200, or a jacket that was $200, then she can afford to pay for this and that. So my coat was getting pretty shabby, and my friend said that we would look for one in the thrift store, but none of them looked good on me, there was none at the regular store I usually buy at my size.
So we went to this leather place and got a jacket that cost a bit much even though it was on sale, but it seems when I get something expensive, there is the thought that i have all this money to spend. And I feel that my friend figured that if we just bought a piano (and paid for it in full) that I can afford to buy an expensive jacket, and now my husband wants an expensive lap top right now.
Well people, just because someone buys something expensive, be it a fur coat, a large screen Tv, a Rolls Royce, does not mean that they can keep buying more expensive things. Often they have to sacrifice to get that expensive item. That came out of my food budget. That front loading washing machine may have meant someone going without a new dress, not eating out on Fridays, walking instead of taking the bus, etc.
Wny not consider that, when you say "why not --?"
3 people like this
15 responses
@chocolatelle (277)
• Philippines
13 Feb 10
i hate and love buying expensive stuff! i hate it because you'll be stretching and sacrificing expenses from your basic needs just to buy that one expensive thing. i love it because after the big sacrifice, i am ABLE to buy it and HAVE the money to buy it. It just feels so good to splurge but then again always remember to save money for emergencies. Just make an expense tracker and STICK TO IT! ^_^
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
13 Feb 10
I love buying good quality stuff and usually that costs more unless I am lucky to get it at a thrift store or if it is sale. I have been lucky that I have been able to get things on sale, and this jacket was on sale. The trouble was that we had just paid for all our renovations, and as soon as it was all paid up, my husband got me a piano. All this paid for, but I do not like buying a whole lot of expensive things at once. I could have waited and bought the jacket next month. What was the last straw was that my husband decided he needed the laptop today.
And when we started to discuss about how many banks I have he told me get rid of one bank and that is where I have my high interest tax free account. Well I am not going to do it.
1 person likes this
@slbwyc (63)
• Singapore
13 Feb 10
i also seldom buy too expensive goods as i am not a good keeper. i ofen broken my items. if the item is buy at a expensive price, i will criticise me for one week and regret what i have done in the following month. and now the new product is coming out at an uncredible speed. so i will not use all my money to buy a good
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
15 Feb 10
When I got my jacket, I wore it for church, and one of my friends said that one of the snaps had come off. So even if it is well made, there is a possibility that something will go wrong or someone who was much fatter then me tried it on, tried to fasten it, and there was a snap.
So even if it is costly, does not mean that everything will be okay. There may have been someone careless in the fitting room, putting on the wrong label, but at least I know that if I did not know someone who is a seamstress, the repairs will not cost that much.
Oh I have never paid full price for anything. I have this innate sense of bargains. Of course when it comes to Ipods and to Macs, I might have to pay full unless they offer support free for those who buy on a certain date. 
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
15 Feb 10
He got a cheaper one because he did not need to do much with it according to the salesman. Me? I intend to buy mine from the Apple Store here in Canada online. I got screwed by a salesperson who decided I did not need as good a computer as I wanted because I was not going to do much with it according to him. The brand he got was a Toshiba and I have been told it was a good brand.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
13 Feb 10
That is what I say. Just because my husband bought me that piano does not mean that now "we are rich! we are rolling in dough!" I mean he waited until all the other stuff was paid up, but I do wish he waited until later to go look for that lap top. He did tell me that he had to transfer money into his savings account and now that money will be going to the computer.
1 person likes this
@mari61960 (4893)
• United States
13 Feb 10
I think you're right...in general people do seem to think that way. Why I don't know but I must say, when I was younger I thought along the same lines. I would see someone driving a nice expensive car but missing a hub cap or it was dirty. I would immediately think to myself...jeez if they can afford to buy that car you would think they would replace the hub cap and or wash it.....lol Well now that I have grown in mind and body...I see how wrong that way of thinking is...and more, I have learned that the opinion of other is just that...their opinion. I totally agree with Hatley, it's none of their business anyway.
Some day they too will figure it out when they have to make sacrifices for something they want or need. And of course there are those that will never learn and will just keep on criticizing others believing what they want. I find that people just thrive on assumption......I think it best to just carry on and let them think whatever makes them happy.
Brightest blessings,
Mari
3 people like this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
13 Feb 10
I told my husband how I felt and he gave me a lecture that he needed the laptop. Well I knew I needed the laptop, but he made me feel guilty that I had gotten that leather jacket. He also said that it was his money that paid for it (well the reason was that I put some of his money on the jacket because I had to use my money for the groceries.) But usually I would have paid for the whole thing.
But he also conveniently forgot that it was my Old Age pension that paid for the groceries and the check from the government was in my name not his. And he thinks that he is still paying for them because when we went shopping, he insisted I get some of what he wanted. Well I was thinking of getting some flour, because we are almost out, So I had to not get that.
1 person likes this
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
13 Feb 10
suspenseful if they think that then they arent much use as friends,I am sure those who know you even as we do know you have had to make choices, and do with out some things so you can get others. also a one time purchase like your jacket will last and alst,besides its nobody's darned'
business to be thinking like that. So do not let it bother you. It's too
bad some people have to make judgments about everybody.You are like most of us, in order to buy that nice new whatever you have had to go without other things so as to have the money. We most of us have had to do the same thing so I would never think that of anyone. Suspenseful don't sweat the small stuff, and most of it is small stuff. hugs hatley.
3 people like this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
13 Feb 10
It still makes me angry. I am the type of person that if you wear me down long enough will either go and say :"what's the use," and spend all my money or do the opposite and be stingy. That jacket will last at least 20 years- I had a purse like that, it was leather and it lasted almost forever. I am the type who get things that are of good quality and I save to get thet.
I would not mind if a few months after we got that piano or after we paid for all our stuff, that my friend suggested I need a new coat, or my husband decided to get the lap top next month or so, but all at the same time?
2 people like this
@p3ks626 (6538)
• Philippines
13 Feb 10
I hate buying expenive things too. I always go for something keep than buy something expensive. I have always learned from my mom to be a wise spender. She would always tell me to buy goods that is cheaper because anyway it will still give you the same convenience.
3 people like this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
13 Feb 10
We were looking for a jacket at Value Village, which is our main thrift store and there was not any. I did not want to buy something that did not fit and that needed extensive alterations. Sometimes you have to buy something that costs a bit much. But I still hate buy8ng anything expensive because as soon as I do, my husband figures that he needs this or that. And he is usually the one who is proud that I bought whatever and even though he says it is not, he gives me the feeling that my getting something expensive gives him carte blanche to buy something expensive for himself.
well when he got me the piano, I did not decide "I will get that Macbook Pro computer right now.
1 person likes this
@mi2ok02 (406)
• United States
13 Feb 10
I can understand where you are coming from. It seems that you have a pretty good grip on the concept of not over-spending though. Which I'd like to say, Good for you! I know it is hard for me to spend money on things that are not a part of the regular household budget but I am looking at getting an income tax return that will allow us to buy a truck for our business. We already have a truck but it is not the one that we want to keep because it is too hard to get in and out of. We need a truck that is lower to the ground. But since we cannot go without a truck, the option of selling this one first and then buying another is not an option. We have to have a truck to make money. So we are looking into buying a truck and for some time, we will still not be able to sell the unlikeable one until we can get the correct bed built on it. It may take months and I hate having to spend the money.
I have been trying to get my husband to understand my option.
Buy one ready to go (if we can find one in the right price range), sell the old one. Buy another that he wants to build for less money and we will not see 1/2 of it gone so quickly. Let's hope he can get it.
2 people like this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
13 Feb 10
I could have kept my old jacket until the end of winter. And right now we just finished paying off the alterations, piano, and kitchen stuff so figured we could wait for a while. Next month, I would have had more money. But right now was not the time to buy it.
Now my husband needs a laptop -because he is in a wheelchair and it is hard to get into the computer room and he needs it for the speech communication because he is losing his voice.
The trouble is if I said I need a laptop, or some music lessons on Cd, then I would get the "you don't need it. Isn't your old computer good enough?" or "you can take lessons from so and so."
That also makes me mad.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
13 Feb 10
I go to the thrift store and get expensive name brands that are well made and cost a fortune to their original owner, but I need only pay $10 to $20 rather than the hundreds of dollars they paid. And the good thing about that is unlike if I had bought it for regular price and lost weight in the meantime, I would not feel that bad for dropping them off at Good will or one of those places. Whereas I would feel bad about dropping off something I paid over $100 for.
1 person likes this
@manunulat (604)
• Philippines
13 Feb 10
Yep, I understand how you feel. Unfortunately in this material world, brands that stands communicates a lot. I was reading this old issue of Fortune magazine wherein Japan is a hot spot for LV shoppers despite the country's being in recession. There was this social thing that people do not want to be identified that they're into this crisis phenomenon so they would wear their most expensive, luxury items. I have read some marketing strategies by NYC restaurants having some expensive cars parked in their lots as a gimmick to entice people to dine in. I mean this can be advantageous to sellers I guess. A defense mechanism for those in denial that they're into a financial crisis, probably to pamper themselves but you can't also dismiss the fact that there some people are really hard-working and they want to sacrifice in order to purchase something for an advantage...
2 people like this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
13 Feb 10
I love buying stuff that is high quality and well made. I am not an anti snob who feels that no name is just as good, and I can get the best at Walmart, because in some cases you cannot. You pay for the fine stitching, the lining, etc. and it is worth it. But it is much better if you get it on sale, and best if a rich lady owned that jacket, just wore it for one day and found it did not fit or she just needed it for one time, or the store had made too many and it wound up in the thrift store where you can get it for less then $10 when it is worth an arm and a leg.
Well I got it on sale, but it was not dropped off by a rich lady at the thrift store.
1 person likes this
@cyrus123 (6363)
• United States
13 Feb 10
I used to buy expensive things a lot but I can't afford to now since I'm living on SSI. I know just how you feel, though. I've lived in a small town just about all my life and I feel like I'm bragging when I say this
, but my daddy was pretty well known because he was in the Insurance and Real Estate Business for many years. Everybody thought we were rich folks because we had a big house and a lot of property, horses, cattle, etc. We weren't rich, though. Not money wise, anyway. We always had plenty. Just because you have a big house and a lot of property doesn't always mean you're rich because it really takes money to keep a place like this up!
I had to deal with a lot of jealousy
from my classmates at school because of all of this, too. Kathy.
, but my daddy was pretty well known because he was in the Insurance and Real Estate Business for many years. Everybody thought we were rich folks because we had a big house and a lot of property, horses, cattle, etc. We weren't rich, though. Not money wise, anyway. We always had plenty. Just because you have a big house and a lot of property doesn't always mean you're rich because it really takes money to keep a place like this up! I had to deal with a lot of jealousy from my classmates at school because of all of this, too. Kathy.@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
25 Feb 10
I thought people who were rich, could spend money like there was no tomorrow. I then realized the reason they were rich was because they did not spend money like there is no tomorrow.
1 person likes this
. I probably didn't when I was younger and my parents were still livng but I do now
@MrKennedy (1978)
•
13 Feb 10
It really annoys me when people buy ridiculously expensive items of clothing simply for the brand plastered on it, or the emblem sewn onto the front
Just because something is more expensive, doesn't nessecarily make it better. For example, at Christmas, somebody gave me a really nice but very pricey Lyle & Scott jumper. By late January, the damn thing went all bobbly and faded
Just because something is more expensive, doesn't nessecarily make it better. For example, at Christmas, somebody gave me a really nice but very pricey Lyle & Scott jumper. By late January, the damn thing went all bobbly and faded2 people like this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
13 Feb 10
Did not read the post did you? I hate to buy something expensive but we did look at our thrift stores and there was not anything. I had the same problem getting blouses, etc. Skirts are no problem, but I have to look at the name brands because the ones designed for plus sized woman are wider around the stomach area and the b*st line. And usually they say 16 plus, 18 plus. Not only that, they also have them in petite sizes where as the regular sizes may only go up to 16 petite and not 18 or 20 or 22 petite.
So I look at the label to see if it fits me. (by the way, I hate when people tear off the labels because a size 18 in one brand may be too small, and the other size just right.) You can also find good name brands at thrift stores and you will save a lot of money.
I think you may have to use Zero Dark Wash or wash in cold water unless what you got was only dry cleanable.
1 person likes this
@monkeylong (3139)
• Guangzhou, China
13 Feb 10
As far as I am concerned, I usually spend just a very little money on the thing that I will buy. Frankly speaking,I think I am not so rich in the world,I need spend some money on the most important point.I seldom go out for hanging on the street to buy the thing.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
13 Feb 10
I love excellent quality and will buy name brand stuff, but I prefer getting it when it is more then 50 percent off at least and much better if I can buy it at a thrift store. But even then, we can only afford one expensive thing at a time and usually it was me that went without. If I had said I need a lap top, I would have been told that the old computer is good enough. I also want to get those piano lessons that come on dvds but I feel that I cannot because of that lap top.
It is all coming at once.
@kaylayoe (293)
• United States
13 Feb 10
I hate spending more money then I have too! If I can buy one shirt that looks exactly like another but is half the price without the name brand then I'll buy it! As long as it looks good I don't really care about brand names. Plus I guess I could say I rather save my money for more items then buy one thing. I don't even understand why certian things are so expensive anyways. I mean Hollister?! Why do they price some shirts at $50 and people buy them! Ambercrombie is even worse! They have a coat you could easily buy at Jcpenny for $50 on sale at $365! I don't get it. The quality isn't that great and the coat isn't that good looking! It makes me mad!
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
13 Feb 10
I love buying quality brands, but I would rather buy them at the thrift store after the store gave them away because they had too many, or that rich lady bought one that was no returns, or she felt charitable and gave it to the thrift store and instead of throwing it away. I mean I am not a love cheap and hate expensive. It is just when I have to get something a little more costly, that there is that if I can afford that, I can afford something just as expensive. And even though I get things on sale, there is the assumption that I paid full price and in that case, I am made of money.
I got my jacket at 50 percent off and when I buy clothes at my favorite plus sized store, I wait until I can use the annual coupon I get around Christmas and when there is a 25 percent off or more sale, plus the discount for being a member and I can get things at a lower price. And since they are classics, there is none of them going out of style in a few years.
@kiara89 (10)
•
24 Feb 10
im 20 and HATE CLOTHEES SHOPPIN!! 1 i cannot afford £50 for jeans secondly iv recently lost more weight i bought age 11-12 jeans and slightly baggie on bum n my 13 year old sis cant do button up on em!!
2 never have the perfect item they have to ruin clothing with a butterly or a random belt with silly straps on tops soo annoyin cos u cut it off n it makes holes in ur top!!
3 shop assistants soo annoying how after awhile they linger soo pesterin!!
im quite moany but still i would rather pay little for clothing than $200 for a flashy named 1 !! keep my money i do get for as long as i can!! x x x x x
@DeenaD (2684)
• United States
13 Feb 10
I always hate buying expensive things, too. If I see something I might like, I always want to know the price before I decide whether I really like it enough to buy it. I would never, ever buy a pair of shoes for $200. On the other hand, I do not care if other people spend their money like this. I'm just saying that I wouldn't do it.
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
15 Feb 10
I hate buying expensive things, but not because they are expensive - sometimes I cannot find a cheaper thing that is of the same quality. It is just that when I do buy something expensive like this jacket I bought, then either my husband decides that that gives him carte blanche to buy something that is way more expensive. And when I did splurge when I was in my late teens I got the verbal message "If you can afford to buy 'whatever it was' then you have got enough money to buy 'whatever I want' or to donate to something.
And if someone persuades me to get something that costs a lot, that means that i have to go without something just or more expensive that I was saving for.
