Stylish shoes with inadequate support. Spend enough to get both style and support, or choose different styles.
Back orchestra seats with obstructed view to live theatre. You’ll enjoy the show more from the balcony than trying to peer around the obstruction, so save a few dollars. And, when you can afford better seats, they are worth every penny you spend.
I occasionally hear that I spend too much on shoes and theatre, since that means I can’t eat at high end restaurants weekly. But I don’t value those high end restaurants as much as I do pain-free feet and legs or a really good show.
Tanning. Like cigarettes and alcohol, dangerous and with only a quick rush. However, I’ve always believed that if you can drink alcohol in modest amounts, there’s not much harm. If you live a completely abstemious life, you may end up living much longer than you expected and not necessarily with all your faculties. I know someone like that.
Robotics is right, but I’m going to throw one out there anyway: cigarettes and alcohol. Amazing what we could save without it, in short term costs but also health care.
The only thing I can say for sure is that far more people have an answer to this question than have an understanding of it. Value is a very individual thing.
Cars; purchase, maintenance, and repairs. Most people buy the most expensive depreciable asset they’ll ever own based on emotion. ‘Affordable’ monthly payments for SEVEN years is financial criminal negligence. It’s hard to build wealth when you finance (or worse, lease) a car. Most people don’t maintain their cars. If they do, it’s usually done at the dealership (stealership) at a cost premium. Most repairs are fairly easy to do. YouTube is a great tool.
Hmmm. YouTube was great at helping me buff, then paint, a pretty big scratch with the dealer-supplied matching paint – only I could appreciate my handiwork because it was so good. But when a significant dent occurred in a parking lot, I took the car to a body shop. Anything mechanical, I wouldn’t take a chance. I can barely follow furniture-assembly instructions.
Nahhh. The excitement of being there is fun, even for a non-sports person. Watching Carmelo Anthony during his one and only season at Syracuse University? Priceless! Watching Carmelo a few years later at MSG? Worth it. Haven’t yet seen LeBron in person, but if it didn’t involve a plane ticket, I might. BTW, I wasn’t a huge rock music fan but just last October I bought tickets to see Johnny Depp play as a guest of his friend Jeff Beck, and took my grandson with me to the relatively small venue (1500). Afterwards, we got to greet all the musicians as they boarded their buses. Within three months, Jeff Beck, a phenomenal musician, was gone. I say “Grab those experiences if you can because you may not get another chance.”
I think other people spend too much money on eating out–probably because I only rarely dine out.
I know someone who just spent $8.00 on a (small) cupcake. I was told it was a ‘really good’ cupcake, but nonetheless, it was a cupcake. Probably 1/3 of a cup of cake batter with 3 or 4 tablespoons of frosting. At those prices, an entire cake would cost…like…$150.
As I used to say in my Consumer econ course, every person has their own cost-benefit analysis and it’s hard for someone else to impose their balance on another. The only thing I say is that one should be aware of what one is actually getting. If you want to buy a designer shirt because you like wearing brand names (I don’t care about brand names), go for it, but don’t be fooled into buying it because you think it’s necessarily better quality.
Stylish shoes with inadequate support. Spend enough to get both style and support, or choose different styles.
Back orchestra seats with obstructed view to live theatre. You’ll enjoy the show more from the balcony than trying to peer around the obstruction, so save a few dollars. And, when you can afford better seats, they are worth every penny you spend.
I occasionally hear that I spend too much on shoes and theatre, since that means I can’t eat at high end restaurants weekly. But I don’t value those high end restaurants as much as I do pain-free feet and legs or a really good show.
Tanning. Like cigarettes and alcohol, dangerous and with only a quick rush. However, I’ve always believed that if you can drink alcohol in modest amounts, there’s not much harm. If you live a completely abstemious life, you may end up living much longer than you expected and not necessarily with all your faculties. I know someone like that.
Dining out, although the experience may make it occasionally worth it.
Cars
People spend too much money on things that provide only brief satisfaction.
Robotics is right, but I’m going to throw one out there anyway: cigarettes and alcohol. Amazing what we could save without it, in short term costs but also health care.
The only thing I can say for sure is that far more people have an answer to this question than have an understanding of it. Value is a very individual thing.
Cars; purchase, maintenance, and repairs.
Most people buy the most expensive depreciable asset they’ll ever own based on emotion. ‘Affordable’ monthly payments for SEVEN years is financial criminal negligence. It’s hard to build wealth when you finance (or worse, lease) a car.
Most people don’t maintain their cars. If they do, it’s usually done at the dealership (stealership) at a cost premium.
Most repairs are fairly easy to do. YouTube is a great tool.
Hmmm. YouTube was great at helping me buff, then paint, a pretty big scratch with the dealer-supplied matching paint – only I could appreciate my handiwork because it was so good. But when a significant dent occurred in a parking lot, I took the car to a body shop. Anything mechanical, I wouldn’t take a chance. I can barely follow furniture-assembly instructions.
Once you are beyond basic needs, isn’t that what “Freedom” is all about?
Sports tickets especially when games are transmitted or streamed live.
Nahhh. The excitement of being there is fun, even for a non-sports person. Watching Carmelo Anthony during his one and only season at Syracuse University? Priceless! Watching Carmelo a few years later at MSG? Worth it. Haven’t yet seen LeBron in person, but if it didn’t involve a plane ticket, I might. BTW, I wasn’t a huge rock music fan but just last October I bought tickets to see Johnny Depp play as a guest of his friend Jeff Beck, and took my grandson with me to the relatively small venue (1500). Afterwards, we got to greet all the musicians as they boarded their buses. Within three months, Jeff Beck, a phenomenal musician, was gone. I say “Grab those experiences if you can because you may not get another chance.”
I think other people spend too much money on eating out–probably because I only rarely dine out.
I know someone who just spent $8.00 on a (small) cupcake. I was told it was a ‘really good’ cupcake, but nonetheless, it was a cupcake. Probably 1/3 of a cup of cake batter with 3 or 4 tablespoons of frosting. At those prices, an entire cake would cost…like…$150.
On anything they can’t afford
Other people spend too much money on what we don’t value, and not enough on what we do value.
Without even knowing what the “it” is, just hearing someone say that phrase causes me to believe they’re about to spend too much.
As I used to say in my Consumer econ course, every person has their own cost-benefit analysis and it’s hard for someone else to impose their balance on another. The only thing I say is that one should be aware of what one is actually getting. If you want to buy a designer shirt because you like wearing brand names (I don’t care about brand names), go for it, but don’t be fooled into buying it because you think it’s necessarily better quality.