What item could you “afford” but don’t buy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can afford Starbucks, but will always choose a local coffee shop doing their thing. I can afford Chik-Fil-A, but will always choose to go to Eden Center if I'm nearby. I can afford a Lexus, but will choose a Toyota. I can afford good clothes, but will choose... help me out here.

Where does one get Toyota level clothes with a dash of independent coffee house and a splash of Eden Center flavor? Do all clothes suck today?

You search sales. Nordstrom Rack is your friend. I constantly search NR for deals....I know what brands I wear/like and I check weekly for sales. Sure I could pay full price for things, but why? I replace my old things when I find sales.

You aren’t really getting “deals.” The fact that you think you are is how they make so much money.

+1. Nordstrom Rack and all of those adjacent discount stores just feel like a big time sink. You might find a needle in a haystack but it's not worth all the time wasted looking through all of their junk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can afford Starbucks, but will always choose a local coffee shop doing their thing. I can afford Chik-Fil-A, but will always choose to go to Eden Center if I'm nearby. I can afford a Lexus, but will choose a Toyota. I can afford good clothes, but will choose... help me out here.

Where does one get Toyota level clothes with a dash of independent coffee house and a splash of Eden Center flavor? Do all clothes suck today?

You search sales. Nordstrom Rack is your friend. I constantly search NR for deals....I know what brands I wear/like and I check weekly for sales. Sure I could pay full price for things, but why? I replace my old things when I find sales.

You aren’t really getting “deals.” The fact that you think you are is how they make so much money.

+1. Nordstrom Rack and all of those adjacent discount stores just feel like a big time sink. You might find a needle in a haystack but it's not worth all the time wasted looking through all of their junk.

Ummm...I don't go in person to shop. I do it online, where I search for my favorite brands (that I buy at Nordstrom already) and narrow it down to my size and see what is available. So I am seeing everything at Nordstrom Rack, not just what's in my dinky local store.

So yes I AM Saving money. I'm buying new pairs of jeans that are the exact same size/style as what I normally get, just at 30-85% off the usual price. Takes me all of 2 mins to see if anything meets that criteria and another 1 min to checkout.

[Anonymous]

Vacations, I guess? Husband and I hate flying, customs, and hotels. Prefer to spend all of our free time at our beach house.

[Anonymous]

popcorn and soda at the movies. I just refuse. my kids hate me for it but they're welcome to pay for it with their money if they thought it was important.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:popcorn and soda at the movies. I just refuse. my kids hate me for it but they're welcome to pay for it with their money if they thought it was important.

+1. I also can’t stand paying $5 for a coke a restaurant. It’s such a ripoff. I drink water at restaurants and if I want soda I drink it at home. Occasionally I will order wine at a restaurant for a special occasion, but I mostly just have that at home as well. The markups are absurd.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Same with a beach house. I would love one but we would not go enough and it would just be a pain.

Same. A wise financial investor friend told me long ago beach houses were the most regretted purchase of many people whose money she managed. Of course there are exceptions, but many feel either tied to going there for their time off because of the opportunity cost or frustrated by the continuous list of chores every time they went. For my money, I'll take luxury vacations to different places and have someone else cook, clean, and re-stock toilet paper.

It's because at the end of the day, they can't really afford the beach house.

So much of this discussion I guess is perhaps what an independent 3rd party would say you can afford after looking at your finances vs. psychologically how someone thinks of their money.

I guess I could afford to fly business or first class, but psychologically I don't feel like I can afford it because I would make adjustments to my other spending.

If I won the powerball tomorrow, I would never fly coach again (and definitely look into flying private using NetJets or something equivalent)...would buy a vacation home, etc. and wouldn't change anything about my life as a result of that spending.

There are many who can easily pay for the beach house but end up feeling tied to it in a way that they don't like. A friend is a Biglaw partner and his wife is a lobbyist and they have a beach house in Connecticut. They feel like they have to go there for at least a week or two each year. It makes no sense to let it sit empty. But they are extremely busy people and can only get away for certain amounts of time and they have found they wish they could spend the time elsewhere doing other things. But that would mean the beach house sits empty. Sure, it's 2026 and one can WFH to a certain extent, but you can't do that when you are at trial, need to be attending a lot of events in DC or meeting with clients or whatever. It's not that simple when both parents have very busy jobs.

I believe PP made all of this up. A wise financial planner told PP their clients regret diversifying their investment portfolio with real estate their family can make lifelong memories at, whole exploiting tax loopholes? Total nonsense. Any planner who told someone such a thing was just sweet talking a low net worth pal or prospect.

PP here. Made zero of it up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can afford Starbucks, but will always choose a local coffee shop doing their thing. I can afford Chik-Fil-A, but will always choose to go to Eden Center if I'm nearby. I can afford a Lexus, but will choose a Toyota. I can afford good clothes, but will choose... help me out here.

Where does one get Toyota level clothes with a dash of independent coffee house and a splash of Eden Center flavor? Do all clothes suck today?

You search sales. Nordstrom Rack is your friend. I constantly search NR for deals....I know what brands I wear/like and I check weekly for sales. Sure I could pay full price for things, but why? I replace my old things when I find sales.

You aren’t really getting “deals.” The fact that you think you are is how they make so much money.

+1. Nordstrom Rack and all of those adjacent discount stores just feel like a big time sink. You might find a needle in a haystack but it's not worth all the time wasted looking through all of their junk.

Ummm...I don't go in person to shop. I do it online, where I search for my favorite brands (that I buy at Nordstrom already) and narrow it down to my size and see what is available. So I am seeing everything at Nordstrom Rack, not just what's in my dinky local store.

So yes I AM Saving money. I'm buying new pairs of jeans that are the exact same size/style as what I normally get, just at 30-85% off the usual price. Takes me all of 2 mins to see if anything meets that criteria and another 1 min to checkout.

That's even worse trash.

I worked in retail for years. You think you are saving money but you aren't. Those jeans are not "30 - 85% off the usual price." They are selling at the price at which they should sell (if not even a little higher). NR might be showing you this "discounted" price because the jeans are last season, which means they would not sell for full price anymore because people don't want them anymore. Or NR might be showing you the "discounted" price because the jeans are brand name jeans that usually sell for X amount, but this lot showed up from the manufacturer and the brand noped out of there because the fabric wasn't good enough, the construction wasn't good enough, the color was off, or they just looked too weird, or whatever. So ... the brand wasn't willing to dilute it's branding with them outside of a discounter, so off to NR they went (unexpectedly ugly colors that no one will want showing up from the manufacturer in China is a common reason for stuff getting shipped to a discounter like NR or TJMaxx). A product the brand wasn't even willing to put on the regular shelves at all. But they convince you the original price was X and you are only going to have to pay Y. There actually was no original price of X; they are just hoping NR will be able to sell some of them for Y. Or NR might be showing you this "discounted" price as compared to the regular brand price for jeans, but these have been specially made by the brand for NR, and are cheaper because they are lacking in the usual detail/high quality fabric/ or whatever.

There are lots of reasons clothing ends up at Nordstrom Rack -- but it's never because it's the same as brand name clothing that people actually want right now that is for sale in regular stores. They have you are convinced you are getting $150 jeans for $49.95. You are not, you are getting $49.95 jeans for $49.95 -- or worse, you are paying $49.95 for jeans the brand thought they might not be able to sell at all. Retailers know the incredible power they have with that 80% off stuff -- nothing gets cheap people to click add-to-cart faster.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A beach house. I really want one in theory, but I know that we'd never actually be able to go to it.

Private school. My kids prefer to stay with neighborhood kids.

Country Club. I cannot stand the pretentiousness out them.

In defense of country clubs, if you like to play a lot of golf, it's not a bad investment. One of the clubs in close-in DC is like $75k up-front and like $1,000/month but includes unlimited golf for husband, spouse, kids under 26, has a gym, pool, etc. You can easily pay $150+/round for golf on a nice course, plus you may pay say another $500/month for family gym/pool membership.

If the whole family is playing golf, that's $600 a pop. So, based on how many times you play and who plays, you are saving possibly $1000+ per week, not to mention the course is far less crowded than courses open to the public and it's a 10 minute drive from Upper NW DC/Bethesda, so you can decide to just go play 9 holes in the evening if you want.

A friend who is really not a country club type laid it all out, and I had to admit the numbers were actually compelling...again, if you like to play a lot of golf. This guy plays at least 2x a week in the dead of winter.

Most people don’t have that kind of free time. Golf isn’t a good hobby for parents of young kids - it’s too time consuming and not fair to the other parent.

Also, I’ve yet to meet a country club member who isn’t snobby and doesn’t think they are too good to hang around regular people. It’s just not our style.

The more exclusive, the more nasty attitudes. My father-in-law loves his golf and has been at the same country club since the 1970s. He retired early and it’s been worth it for him My husband did the swim team and Jr. golf team as a kid but stopped going as a teen. It’s expensive with an initiation fee of $150k and yearly dues are high. They have a years long waiting list and you need to be “invited”. My father-in-law has a five year old Honda. He’s not one of the snobby ones.

[Anonymous]

I want those luxury $1,500 sheets really bad but I can’t bring my self to buy them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't buy expensive sunglasses. They get lost or broken way too easily, especially with small kids.

I never understood this craze either. But my prescription sunglasses are pricey and I can’t do anything about that.

Once you try Maui Jims (including prescriptions) you won't go back to anything else. They are such high quality lenses and last forever (but I don't typically break mine or loose them, I'm used to having prescriptions so any sunglasses are too valuable to "loose")

It's lose, you know.

Why?

[Anonymous]

I came in wanting to join your sanctimonious ranks, but you guys are just boring.
Live a little, get that guac.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I came in wanting to join your sanctimonious ranks, but you guys are just boring.
Live a little, get that guac.

We are trying. I also want nice sheets. It has never been that I cannot afford $1500 sheet, but that they were not anything special when I took them home. I'm still looking for the nice ones.
'Live a little' didn't materialize once again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I came in wanting to join your sanctimonious ranks, but you guys are just boring.
Live a little, get that guac.

We are trying. I also want nice sheets. It has never been that I cannot afford $1500 sheet, but that they were not anything special when I took them home. I'm still looking for the nice ones.
'Live a little' didn't materialize once again.

Get them from estate sales. Older sheets are better made.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can afford Starbucks, but will always choose a local coffee shop doing their thing. I can afford Chik-Fil-A, but will always choose to go to Eden Center if I'm nearby. I can afford a Lexus, but will choose a Toyota. I can afford good clothes, but will choose... help me out here.

Where does one get Toyota level clothes with a dash of independent coffee house and a splash of Eden Center flavor? Do all clothes suck today?

You search sales. Nordstrom Rack is your friend. I constantly search NR for deals....I know what brands I wear/like and I check weekly for sales. Sure I could pay full price for things, but why? I replace my old things when I find sales.

You aren’t really getting “deals.” The fact that you think you are is how they make so much money.

+1. Nordstrom Rack and all of those adjacent discount stores just feel like a big time sink. You might find a needle in a haystack but it's not worth all the time wasted looking through all of their junk.

Ummm...I don't go in person to shop. I do it online, where I search for my favorite brands (that I buy at Nordstrom already) and narrow it down to my size and see what is available. So I am seeing everything at Nordstrom Rack, not just what's in my dinky local store.

So yes I AM Saving money. I'm buying new pairs of jeans that are the exact same size/style as what I normally get, just at 30-85% off the usual price. Takes me all of 2 mins to see if anything meets that criteria and another 1 min to checkout.

That's even worse trash.

I worked in retail for years. You think you are saving money but you aren't. Those jeans are not "30 - 85% off the usual price." They are selling at the price at which they should sell (if not even a little higher). NR might be showing you this "discounted" price because the jeans are last season, which means they would not sell for full price anymore because people don't want them anymore. Or NR might be showing you the "discounted" price because the jeans are brand name jeans that usually sell for X amount, but this lot showed up from the manufacturer and the brand noped out of there because the fabric wasn't good enough, the construction wasn't good enough, the color was off, or they just looked too weird, or whatever. So ... the brand wasn't willing to dilute it's branding with them outside of a discounter, so off to NR they went (unexpectedly ugly colors that no one will want showing up from the manufacturer in China is a common reason for stuff getting shipped to a discounter like NR or TJMaxx). A product the brand wasn't even willing to put on the regular shelves at all. But they convince you the original price was X and you are only going to have to pay Y. There actually was no original price of X; they are just hoping NR will be able to sell some of them for Y. Or NR might be showing you this "discounted" price as compared to the regular brand price for jeans, but these have been specially made by the brand for NR, and are cheaper because they are lacking in the usual detail/high quality fabric/ or whatever.

There are lots of reasons clothing ends up at Nordstrom Rack -- but it's never because it's the same as brand name clothing that people actually want right now that is for sale in regular stores. They have you are convinced you are getting $150 jeans for $49.95. You are not, you are getting $49.95 jeans for $49.95 -- or worse, you are paying $49.95 for jeans the brand thought they might not be able to sell at all. Retailers know the incredible power they have with that 80% off stuff -- nothing gets cheap people to click add-to-cart faster.

All these words miss the point. The bottom line is that PP thinks she’s buying the same jeans as she’d get at Nordstrom, and that’s all that matters. Not everyone will notice things like color, fabric, etc. Let people live.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can afford Starbucks, but will always choose a local coffee shop doing their thing. I can afford Chik-Fil-A, but will always choose to go to Eden Center if I'm nearby. I can afford a Lexus, but will choose a Toyota. I can afford good clothes, but will choose... help me out here.

Where does one get Toyota level clothes with a dash of independent coffee house and a splash of Eden Center flavor? Do all clothes suck today?

You search sales. Nordstrom Rack is your friend. I constantly search NR for deals....I know what brands I wear/like and I check weekly for sales. Sure I could pay full price for things, but why? I replace my old things when I find sales.

You aren’t really getting “deals.” The fact that you think you are is how they make so much money.

+1. Nordstrom Rack and all of those adjacent discount stores just feel like a big time sink. You might find a needle in a haystack but it's not worth all the time wasted looking through all of their junk.

Ummm...I don't go in person to shop. I do it online, where I search for my favorite brands (that I buy at Nordstrom already) and narrow it down to my size and see what is available. So I am seeing everything at Nordstrom Rack, not just what's in my dinky local store.

So yes I AM Saving money. I'm buying new pairs of jeans that are the exact same size/style as what I normally get, just at 30-85% off the usual price. Takes me all of 2 mins to see if anything meets that criteria and another 1 min to checkout.

That's even worse trash.

I worked in retail for years. You think you are saving money but you aren't. Those jeans are not "30 - 85% off the usual price." They are selling at the price at which they should sell (if not even a little higher). NR might be showing you this "discounted" price because the jeans are last season, which means they would not sell for full price anymore because people don't want them anymore. Or NR might be showing you the "discounted" price because the jeans are brand name jeans that usually sell for X amount, but this lot showed up from the manufacturer and the brand noped out of there because the fabric wasn't good enough, the construction wasn't good enough, the color was off, or they just looked too weird, or whatever. So ... the brand wasn't willing to dilute it's branding with them outside of a discounter, so off to NR they went (unexpectedly ugly colors that no one will want showing up from the manufacturer in China is a common reason for stuff getting shipped to a discounter like NR or TJMaxx). A product the brand wasn't even willing to put on the regular shelves at all. But they convince you the original price was X and you are only going to have to pay Y. There actually was no original price of X; they are just hoping NR will be able to sell some of them for Y. Or NR might be showing you this "discounted" price as compared to the regular brand price for jeans, but these have been specially made by the brand for NR, and are cheaper because they are lacking in the usual detail/high quality fabric/ or whatever.

There are lots of reasons clothing ends up at Nordstrom Rack -- but it's never because it's the same as brand name clothing that people actually want right now that is for sale in regular stores. They have you are convinced you are getting $150 jeans for $49.95. You are not, you are getting $49.95 jeans for $49.95 -- or worse, you are paying $49.95 for jeans the brand thought they might not be able to sell at all. Retailers know the incredible power they have with that 80% off stuff -- nothing gets cheap people to click add-to-cart faster.

All these words miss the point. The bottom line is that PP thinks she’s buying the same jeans as she’d get at Nordstrom, and that’s all that matters. Not everyone will notice things like color, fabric, etc. Let people live.

Nordstrom Rack on line has thousands more merchandise than the stores. I buy Free People for my daughter. They sell it as regular Nordstrom and sometimes it’s on sale at Nordstrom Rack online or Nordstrom regular. I got a pair of sweatpants for dd at Free People. A while later on Nordstrom Rack I bought a pair on sale. By mistake I bought the same ones. They were exactly the same.

If you know your brands you know what to buy. Rag and bone is not making low quality Jeans for a secondary market. If you buy a pair of rag and bone Jeans at Nordstrom Rack they are the same ones that sold at regular stores. They might be two seasons back but who cares? If you find a pair you like they will probably be at least half off.

There will be some clothes that they don’t sell at the retail store. But if it’s at a price you think is fair and you really like it you should buy it. They have great return policies.