Common things that people spend money on that you would never spend money on?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Private school
Private full-pay colleges that aren't REALLY worth it (great fit for the kid, or in the top 30ish schools, or very unique program, etc.)
Golf club memberships
Designer anything
$10K a week to stay at the DE or NC beaches

Golf club membership is always thrown around here. If you play golf regularly and live inside the Beltway then CCs can absolutely make sense.

There aren’t courses convenient to where I live in 20816. My CC allows me to golf quite regularly. Then you factor is tennis, gym, pool(s), paddle, and other family events it’s icing.

I agree that if I lived near quality public courses it probably doesn’t make financial sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OMG to the people without house cleaners, have you ever had one? I think once you know, you can't go back (admittedly I grew up with 2x week housekeeping). House cleaners are what I choose above so many other things as far as "luxury" expenses.

Maybe you are very dirty and unorganized to justify paying for 2x a week housecleaning.
Most people aren’t.

[Anonymous]

1. Apple products
2. Theatre movie tickets
3. Starbucks
4.Organic produce
5.Lawn services

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:House cleaners
Alcohol
Fancy restaurants
Cable TV

We do have 2 guinea pigs who cost us around $25/month. Summers are cheaper when our fresh veggies are growing and they can be outside eating fresh grass. Very low maintenance and fairly cheap pets. We did "invest" in fleece cage liners which was wash weekly instead of alternative bedding that needs replaced.

Fleece releases plastic microfibers into the environment every time washed.

[Anonymous]

- private school
- college
- pets

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:first class on a short flight

wine or alcohol

Most of the people in First class on a short flight probably didn't pay (got a free upgrade) or it's a part of multiple flights and when you pay for the upgrade on longer flight it's typically not much more to go first class for all legs of the journey.

A less than 2 hour flight is the easiest to score free upgrades, because yes, most people do not pay for first class.

[Anonymous]

Prostitutes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Expensive wine

Stinky/moldy/goat cheese

Oysters, caviar

I spend a lot on stinky cheese too. A wedge is often $9-12.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OMG to the people without house cleaners, have you ever had one? I think once you know, you can't go back (admittedly I grew up with 2x week housekeeping). House cleaners are what I choose above so many other things as far as "luxury" expenses.

I have had numerous house cleaners over the years. NONE of them did a job that I would consider "clean". And we aren't a very messy family. I clean as I cook, so kitchen never gets very dirty. We don't have pets. American housecleaners do what I call "hotel clean" - basic dusting and floor cleaning... but if you look closely you see see that corners are missed, things are cleaned "around" rather than being picked up and dusted under. Things never get to the same type of sparkly clean that then do when I do it myself. I get it, cleaning sucks, but when I pay someone for it (and well!), I expect it to be done. I've given up that any cleaner can meet my standards.

I agree with all this. We do a better job with all the deep cleaning than all the housecleaners we have tried -- with the exception of DC Maids. I paid for a deep clean and they actually moved all the furniture, emptied the shelves etc and made it sparkling clean. Everyone else, very lackluster.

Yeah, biweekly housekeeping is not supposed to be a deep clean. It’s just maintenance. But it means I spend less time cleaning and when we are really busy, it kind of keeps the house’s head above water. But it’s not like if you have biweekly housecleaning you don’t have to clean any more.

Exactly! Nobody with even every week cleaning says "oh I cooked dinner tonight, lets not clean up the kitchen because the cleaners are coming in 3 days". Heck even if they are coming tomorrow, I'm still cleaning the kitchen because that's what sane people do after they cook and at the end of the day---you wipe the counter, load dishwasher/wash dishes, etc.

Even the bathrooms get a quick wipe down every few days----it just means the deeper clean comes when the real cleaners show up

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OMG to the people without house cleaners, have you ever had one? I think once you know, you can't go back (admittedly I grew up with 2x week housekeeping). House cleaners are what I choose above so many other things as far as "luxury" expenses.

Maybe you are very dirty and unorganized to justify paying for 2x a week housecleaning.
Most people aren’t.

You sound stupid and poor.

House cleaners are expensive but a splurge that improves the quality of your house. Twice a week cleaning is awesome to maintain a guest ready house.

[Anonymous]

Expensive wine. Just doesn't do it for me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Food/grocery delivery (Uber Eats, DoorDash, InstaCart, etc.). Complete waste of money.

100%
Also Blue apron and those meal delivery services, wasteful and expensive

No they aren't. My wife and I used EveryPlate and its $45 for 3 dinners a week. That's $7.50/meal per person. 1/2 the cost of Sweetgreen. It is also fun to do and I've learned a lot!

I'm not sure that, "it's cheaper than takeout" is your best argument here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Food/grocery delivery (Uber Eats, DoorDash, InstaCart, etc.). Complete waste of money.

100%
Also Blue apron and those meal delivery services, wasteful and expensive

No they aren't. My wife and I used EveryPlate and its $45 for 3 dinners a week. That's $7.50/meal per person. 1/2 the cost of Sweetgreen. It is also fun to do and I've learned a lot!

What about the plastic waste and the freezer packs and styrofoam? I've been searching for a service that doesn't have these issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Food/grocery delivery (Uber Eats, DoorDash, InstaCart, etc.). Complete waste of money.

100%
Also Blue apron and those meal delivery services, wasteful and expensive

No they aren't. My wife and I used EveryPlate and its $45 for 3 dinners a week. That's $7.50/meal per person. 1/2 the cost of Sweetgreen. It is also fun to do and I've learned a lot!

I'm not sure that, "it's cheaper than takeout" is your best argument here.

Why? It's often times more expensive to buy groceries for a meal than take out. The cost to make a sweetgreen salad at home isn't much different than $12. Plus the veggies/lettuce will go bad if you don't eat it all within a short period of time.

We don't have kids yet so takeout is much easier/cost effective for us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Food/grocery delivery (Uber Eats, DoorDash, InstaCart, etc.). Complete waste of money.

100%
Also Blue apron and those meal delivery services, wasteful and expensive

No they aren't. My wife and I used EveryPlate and its $45 for 3 dinners a week. That's $7.50/meal per person. 1/2 the cost of Sweetgreen. It is also fun to do and I've learned a lot!

What about the plastic waste and the freezer packs and styrofoam? I've been searching for a service that doesn't have these issues.

Doesn't bother us. We recycle what we should and throw away what we should.