UNfrugal things and why you do them

[rainysparadigm]

Some of us just have unfrugal habits that make us happy and we won't compromise on as long as its possible to continue. So my question is, what UNfrugal things do you do regularly and dont intend to change, and why?

For me, its my car. My fiance has his already paid off and we could survive on one vehicle since we work together. However, I went 5 years without a car and stuck with the awful city transportation etc. I put alot of work into getting this car (its not much, just circumstantial at the time) and though its financed horribly and the insurance is out the roof and i rarely drive it, I'm willing to put in a little extra at work to make sure I can keep my car.

Even when I think about how much I could save every month if I got rid of it, I cant bring myself to do it.

So for me, its achievement.

[ThePennyMine]

I buy expensive clothes. I'm not talking Prada, Gucci, etc, but I do buy some nice things from places like Jacob and Guess. While I do prefer to buy on sale, this is mainly for the quality factor: I find that these clothes, along with being nicer, last me a lot longer than cheaper stores with cheaper clothes. In the long run I feel better and I might even be saving money, but it's not really frugal to drop $100 on a dress I'll be wearing almost daily in a few months!

[dapooh1]

I travel. Three years ago I spent three weeks in Japan, and this summer I'm spending two weeks in Austria, Norway, and Denmark. I'm trilled and excited.

[rainysparadigm]

I second that @ dapooh1
I make my escape as often as possible lol only live once!

pennymine: if you wear it, then its really not a 'waste'. i have known people to buy far more expensive clothes - that they cant even fit in 'yet' - and never wear it. one girl i knew had 28 (yes 28) pairs of brand new designer jeans that werent even her size. that was just the jeans. if you can imagine.

insane.

[rstlne]

All my hobbies are rather unfrugal. Even Postcrossing, the international postcard exchange, costs 90 cents postage plus about 33 cents per postcard, and that's the least expensive of my hobbies. If you enjoy something, it's not the end of the world if you allow a bit of unfrugality for it and budget accordingly.

[hermione]

I read somewhere that pets are considered a luxury. Well, for my sister and me, our dogs are a necessity because they're our only close family and we cook for them and pay whatever is necessary to keep them healthy. So in a way, we're unfrugal with our dogs, but the healthier diet will save us in the long run because they're healthier.

We used to love buying them lots of toys, though, which we've had to stop doing lately. They haven't gotten any new toys for about 6 months now, but I suppose they have quite enough already.

[yourbeginnings]

I am the same as hermione. We have 3 Chihuahua's and they are spoiled rotten!!! We buy generic human food, however will only buy name brand dog food and treats for them. However they are worth every penny.

Computers is another un-frugal category for me. I recently bought a new laptop that I really did not need. It was a good deal and more powerful so I could not resist.

[ThePennyMine]

Originally Posted by rainysparadigm

I second that @ dapooh1
pennymine: if you wear it, then its really not a 'waste'. i have known people to buy far more expensive clothes - that they cant even fit in 'yet' - and never wear it. one girl i knew had 28 (yes 28) pairs of brand new designer jeans that werent even her size. that was just the jeans. if you can imagine.

insane.

That's fair enough, though when I see a shirt for $10 at some lesser quality stores I nonetheless feel very un-frugal!

That's absolutely crazy though about that girl. I can't imagine buying things that don't fit me, let alone buying designer items I can't wear!

[jdp]

I drive my son "home" once a week to see his grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. We are a close family and I moved away so its back we go every week (unless there is a blizzard or he's sick). Well worth the $. Then I start to think about having NO car and its just that fact that he's got to go back and see everyone that keeps me hanging onto my car. Jeeesh, how much money would I have with NO car.

[vegetarian430]

"I read somewhere that pets are considered a luxury."

In my world pets are family and always have been. When I evacuated from Katrina, my cats were the first packed. Part of my emergency fund is for medical expenses for them, as well as me.

The non-frugal thing I have is my Blackberry. I didn't want one until I started working in DC, but then I was hit hard with Blackberry Lust. It's been one month and I realized I really don't need to have access to my email every place I go, but I'm roped in for two more years.

I'm also paying $49/mo. for a Curves membership I never use, because I have to wait until September to get out of the contract.