Friday OT #1 - Not Gonna Do It

[Angie]

@madguy30 gave me three great topics that all work together for this week. I keep wavering between using them separately or together - I will just do separate.

What is something on which you refuse to spend a lot of money, but could (and some people do)?

For example - I have a friend who spent $600 on tickets for a concert for one artist, not a festival or anything. I love concerts - but I can’t see myself spending $600 for a show unless I got to sit right in the lead singer’s lap for its entirety. And even then, it had better be a pretty great lap.

What are yours?

 

[JM4CY]

A car. I hate making payments and will drive my little sedan until the wheels come off.

 

[CRcyclone6]

Sunglasses. I won't spend more than $50, I don't think that is too much. I have a couple friends that spend in the hundreds.

 

[GMackey32]

Paying for something that I could probably do myself. I've done a lot of landscaping around my house the last couple of years and this summer I'm replacing my deck. Little home projects that I could pay someone out of convenience, but I don't want to spend the money.

 

[Cyclonepride]

Our house is pretty basic. Our vehicle is pretty basic. My wife and I are both pretty low maintenance and she is pretty tight, so it works well for us.

 

[Cyclonepride]

Paying for something that I could probably do myself. I've done a lot of landscaping around my house the last couple of years and this summer I'm replacing my deck. Little home projects that I could pay someone out of convenience, but I don't want to spend the money.

I struggle with that as I get older, because I can do almost anything that needs to be done, but the wear and tear on my body is making it harder and harder to get through some of these projects without being pretty miserable (I have tendonitis, carpal tunnel, shoulder issues and had a back surgery from installing wood floors in my younger years).

 

[GMackey32]

I struggle with that as I get older, because I can do almost anything that needs to be done, but the wear and tear on my body is making it harder and harder to get through some of these projects without being pretty miserable (I have tendonitis, carpal tunnel, shoulder issues and had a back surgery from installing wood floors in my younger years).

There are some things I refuse to do as I have little experience in, but typically my Dad and I can figure things out pretty easily.

 

[JM4CY]

Paying for something that I could probably do myself. I've done a lot of landscaping around my house the last couple of years and this summer I'm replacing my deck. Little home projects that I could pay someone out of convenience, but I don't want to spend the money.

I never used to be this way but very much so am now. I have a couple of buddies with specialty skills better than mine if I get in a jam and need to be bailed out with stuff like electrical/plumbing etc. So with that safety net, I almost always do it (or try) myself first.

 

[Beernuts]

Extended warranties. Car dealers are horrible for this. We were looking at a used Honda Pilot that still had 80% of it's original warranty. Salesman assumed we wanted to purchase the extended warranty for $2,200.

I told him apparently I believe in your car more than you do.

What a scam.

 

[BuffettClone]

I agree with everything that has been mentioned already. I don't do concerts anymore, because ticket prices are crazy. My car is paid off and plan to drive it until it absolutely quits on me. Gas station sunglasses work for me. I do most maintenance/upgrades around the house myself to avoid hiring someone and costing at least twice as much.

 

[MJ29]

Manicures. I love the idea, but can't get on board with spending $50+ a pop when I can buy nail polish for $10 and do it myself.

Coffee. It's a good thing I mostly like black coffee with some cream. It tends to be cheaper than the fancier drinks my friends like.

 

[GMackey32]

I never used to be this way but very much so am now. I have a couple of buddies with specialty skills better than mine if I get in a jam and need to be bailed out with stuff like electrical/plumbing etc. So with that safety net, I almost always do it (or try) myself first.

My cousin's husband is a plumber so if I ever needed something like that done, I have someone I can call. I typically don't touch much plumbing. I'll do some electrical but it really depends on the situation. My FIL is a farmer so he has some guys on speed dial that he could call in a pinch if I needed it.

 

[RLD4ISU]

I’ll second that with concerts.

Earrings. I tend to play with my earrings sometimes and have lost some.

Lash extensions or fillers.

 

[ImJustKCClone]

As we've aged, we've become more and more willing to pay other people to do stuff. Lew replaced our roof about 7 years ago. By himself. No way in hell he will do that now. If he tried, I'd shoot him in the leg myself!

As for me, well, what comes to mind is this - we like cruising. We generally get a mid-range cabin with a balcony. What I can't see myself ever doing is getting a suite. All we do is sleep & shower and store our stuff in our cabin; the rest of the time we're out and about on the ships. We just don't need all that extra space.

 

[Helser 83]

I refuse to go out to eat at a steakhouse and spend $100+ on a couple of steak dinners when I can do that myself at home on the grill. We go out to eat for other things, but going out for steak dinner just isn’t happening.

 

[Mr Janny]

@madguy30 gave me three great topics that all work together for this week. I keep wavering between using them separately or together - I will just do separate.

What is something on which you refuse to spend a lot of money, but could (and some people do)?

For example - I have a friend who spent $600 on tickets for a concert for one artist, not a festival or anything. I love concerts - but I can’t see myself spending $600 for a show unless I got to sit right in the lead singer’s lap for its entirety. And even then, it had better be a pretty great lap.

What are yours?

Remind me, again, why you and our daughter are going to Oregon this summer?

I was under the impression that it was to see the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs, but I guess I must be mistaken...

 

[Angie]

Remind me, again, why you and our daughter are going to Oregon this summer?

I was under the impression that it was to see the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs, but I guess I must be mistaken...

Karen O and I have a special relationship.

 

[Gonzo]

Extended warranties. Car dealers are horrible for this. We were looking at a used Honda Pilot that still had 80% of it's original warranty. Salesman assumed we wanted to purchase the extended warranty for $2,200.

I told him apparently I believe in your car more than you do.

What a scam.

And then when something does go wrong it's all... "Yeah, sorry but that particular part isn't covered." Never fails. Luckily Honda Pilots have very few issues, at least that's been our experience with the two we've owned.

 

[houjix]

Ear buds/Headphones - Just can't pull the trigger on buying something pricey even though quality probably would be worth it. Rocked a pair of lower end JBLs that I got free at one of my wife's work functions till they fell apart. Now I'm using some cheap wired headphones I'm sure I "borrowed" from work. It's got a built in mic and volume controls, good ear pad size, and quality is fine.

 

[Sousaclone]

Getting a new phone/device every 1-2 years. I'm on about a 4-5 yr cycle with new phones. Mainly it's when the batteries tend to die.

Sporting event tickets (I know, I'm a horrible fan). I look at the amount of money people are dropping on season tickets, donations, merch, tailgating rigs, and am just amazed.

Fancy "Man Caves" or such. It's great that you've got a dedicated space that's got a 12' custom bar and a poler table, and massive big screen, etc for you to sit in by yourself 99% of the time, or for you buddies to come over maybe once a month.