Pennywise, pound foolish: Beach edition

[Anonymous]

My ILs insist on getting top-dollar beach rentals every summer (we do pay our portion), which is fine...obviously, it's nice to have good space, not too crowded on the beach, safety, etc.

But then...everything else is cheap, cheap, cheap! Generic soda, generic cereal, off-brand everything. We bring a lot of groceries, too, and they chase us around screeching, "You bought Cheez-Its? Why didn't you get the store brand?" for EVERYTHING.

It's just crazy--like, we're spending $4K+ on a rental at your insistance, but you are hounding me about CHEEZ-ITS?

I'm half-laughing over this, but it's also annoying.

[Anonymous]

I expect that’s their default setting, at home or at the beach. I happen to feel the same way: it’s a waste to spend extra money on brand names.

[Anonymous]

They probably just fit the profile of people who buy generic foods (and lets be honest, the taste is only marginally different) so they can spend the savings splurging elsewhere.

The only issue I see is that they shame your own name-brand purchases.

[Anonymous]

Your in-laws are smart people. It makes sense to save on little things that don't matter and put money where paying a little more does matter.

Would you rather be sitting in a nice spacious beach house eating generic cheese snacks or in a tiny, crowded place, blocks from the beach enjoying Cheezits and Pepsi?

[Anonymous]

NP: At the beach last week, also in an expensive rental with my parents. Our contribution was the groceries (about $400 to their $3500, so more than fair). I bought the Harris Teeter brand take-and-toss containers because they were so much cheaper than Glad or Ziploc, and I planned to leave them there. Tops didn't fit right, super hard to separate from each other ...

Our Bounce paper towels were also much better than the roll of generic the house came with. Our Cottonelle toilet paper much softer.

There are lots of generic items that are just fine, but when I'm on vacation, that "marginal" difference is something I care about -- I want it to be easy, fun and comfortable. And I'm not hauling all of that stuff with us or going to 4 different stores to get the generics we already know are good.

I'm a recycling, composting, budgeting person in my real life. On our annual 1-week beach vacation with the rest of the family, I take a lot of short cuts including take out, restaurants, disposables, and brand names.

[Anonymous]

Spend money where it matters to you and cut to the bone where it doesn't matter to you. Just because someone spends $$$ on a rental doesn't mean it opens the floodgates on everything else. There was a great article a while back about how that type of thinking (i.e., what does it matter than name brand soda is a few dollars more when you have already spent thousands on the rental) results in much greater unnecessary spending.

[Anonymous]

They can do as they please, as long as they don't criticize others. If you buy groceries for a family beach trip, all you'll hear me say is "thank you." I don't care one way or the other whether you buy name brand or generic or steak or hot dogs. It's one week, it's just some food, it's NBD.

[Anonymous]

Also to be clear, you have not described pennywise pound foolish. An example would be if the in-laws tried to save money on a far away rental but then spent much more on transportation costs because it is so far away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Spend money where it matters to you and cut to the bone where it doesn't matter to you. Just because someone spends $$$ on a rental doesn't mean it opens the floodgates on everything else. There was a great article a while back about how that type of thinking (i.e., what does it matter than name brand soda is a few dollars more when you have already spent thousands on the rental) results in much greater unnecessary spending.

Yeah but no one but OP and her husband needs to open their mouths and declare what is or is not "unnecessary spending."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Spend money where it matters to you and cut to the bone where it doesn't matter to you. Just because someone spends $$$ on a rental doesn't mean it opens the floodgates on everything else. There was a great article a while back about how that type of thinking (i.e., what does it matter than name brand soda is a few dollars more when you have already spent thousands on the rental) results in much greater unnecessary spending.

Yeah but no one but OP and her husband needs to open their mouths and declare what is or is not "unnecessary spending."

It goes both ways - ILs are criticizing the snacks, but OP seems to be giving the ILs side eye based on the price of the rental.

[Anonymous]

Sometimes name brands are on sale for a lower price than the store brand. Next time they say something to you about that, just say cheeze-its were on sale and the price was lower than the generic. Done. They'll respect that. There are also some things where buying the store brand doesn't save money since the taste or quality is lower. It's also OK to say that!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Spend money where it matters to you and cut to the bone where it doesn't matter to you. Just because someone spends $$$ on a rental doesn't mean it opens the floodgates on everything else. There was a great article a while back about how that type of thinking (i.e., what does it matter than name brand soda is a few dollars more when you have already spent thousands on the rental) results in much greater unnecessary spending.

Yeah but no one but OP and her husband needs to open their mouths and declare what is or is not "unnecessary spending."

It goes both ways - ILs are criticizing the snacks, but OP seems to be giving the ILs side eye based on the price of the rental.

OP here. Big difference--I'm giving them an ANONYMOUS side-eye; I am not judging them on how they spend their own damn money to their face.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sometimes name brands are on sale for a lower price than the store brand. Next time they say something to you about that, just say cheeze-its were on sale and the price was lower than the generic. Done. They'll respect that. There are also some things where buying the store brand doesn't save money since the taste or quality is lower. It's also OK to say that!

Very true about the generics! I'm a DCUM poor and normally I would always pick the store brand but sometimes they really aren't very good. Harris Teeter oreos, I'm looking at you!

I just wait for my beloved double stuffed to go on sale.

[Anonymous]

Double stuffed? No way, the cookie to cream ratio is off! Sorry to hijack the thread.

[Anonymous]

Sometimes brands DO matter. Take anyone who claims to be a "store brand" person and offer them a Diet Rite when they ask for their beloved Diet Coke, or single-ply from an airport bathroom instead of their Cottonelle, and you'll see them change their tune very quickly. It does get obnoxious when people judge, though. I had an ex who would criticize me for shopping largely at Whole Foods ("another Whole Paycheck run, eh?") when I home cooked but he had delivery for basically every meal. Guess who spent less on food overall?

OP, the snarky judgment from your ILs is annoying. I'll take it in the ranty spirit with which it was intended and join you in a collective "ugh!"