We did a decent amount of spending in the month of May, some of it essential, and some not so much. As I was looking through our transactions on Mint, I started thinking about what was really worthwhile that we bought, and what probably isn’t.
I thought it would be fun to review some of our recent purchases, and whether or not they were actually worth it. There’s a few that are giving me buyer’s remorse, and others that are proving to be money well spent…
Folding laundry rack- $14.99: Worth it!
We picked up a folding rack from Ikea so that we could cut down on using the dryer. I try to only do 2 loads of laundry per week, one light and one dark, and that’s for the 3 of us. Side note: I’m baffled by people who claim to wash clothes every day- how does that happen? Don’t you re-wear stuff sometimes? I mean, my kid’s messy too, but come on.
Last summer, I set up a clothesline in the backyard, and it worked out ok for hanging smaller items. I’m going to use it again now that the weather is nice, plus this folding rack, which can be set up in the basement or the yard. It fits a lot at once, so hopefully, I won’t have to use the dryer at all for the next several months.
USB car charger- $14.99: Not Worth it
Before our recent road trip, we wanted to get a charger for our phones so that we could use Waze for navigation. Our car is a 2012 model and comes with a built-in USB charger, among other things, so why we didn’t think of that when we were shopping, I don’t know.
It wasn’t until a few days after we bought it and had taken it out of the package that M. realized we didn’t need it. D’oh! $15 pretty much wasted.
Case of Appalachian Brewing Company Beer- $40.70: Worth it!
We’re beer lovers, so when we passed by a sign for the Appalachian Brewing Company in Gettysburg, we wanted to try some out. I’m a bit of a beer snob, and I love craft brews. We found a distributor in town and went in to ask if they had any cases, and luckily, they had a variety pack.
These brews are delicious! If you ever get a chance to try them, go for it. I’m loving the Mountain Lager and the Jolly Scot amber ale. They’re just so rich and flavorful. Excuse me while I go grab one…
Eyewear Protection Package- $29.99: Probably Not Worth it
We finally crossed off a bunch of errands from our to-do list, one of which was getting eye exams. M. picked out nice frames and we sat down with the saleslady to get them ordered. As she was giving us the rundown of the various costs for the pair of glasses, she mentioned the warranty that covers repairs and scratches. I gave M. a little kick under the desk as if to say “Decline the warranty!” Unfortunately, he thought I was trying to tell him to get it since he was about to say no thanks. Communication fail.
I doubt the warranty is necessary, but only time will tell. Maybe he can break the glasses on purpose just to take advantage of it at some point. I kid, I kid.
So what have you bought lately that was or wasn’t worth the cost?
I’ve been meaning to get the clothes hanging dryer. Thanks for the tip re IKEA!
No problem!
Smart move on the drying rack: we bought ours two years ago and use it tons. We blew it on the food budget last month, and I’m annoyed at myself for being so careless about it. 🙁
I hate when that happens. All you can do is try to stay on target for the next month 🙂
Out of all the things we’ve purchased in the last week by far the Sealy posturpedic mattress was the absolute best buy. Worth every single penny. I have never slept so well in such a long time!
Too bad that you can’t return the car charger.
Sell it on Craigslist 🙂
Oh I’m with you on that- a great mattress is priceless!
I really haven’t bought much lately, by my girlfriend just bought a juicer because she was going to juice “every day”. She used it maybe 5 times and hasn’t used it in two weeks. I haven’t said anything but I wonder if she’s thinking it was a waste of money.
I guess she got sick of the juice? Maybe she’ll pick it back up sometime 🙂
Most of my spending is on experiences, not stuff. I just spent $50 on 3-months dues for my Tai Chi club, a very worthwhile expense! It’s tough for me to even remember the last time I spent money on an item, not counting groceries and stuff like toothpaste. I checked my records in iBank–I had to go back to April 8th when I bought my wife a birthday gift. 🙂
I usually never regret spending on experiences, unless they turn out really bad!
Wouldn’t it be great if you could know in advance what would be and wouldn’t be worth it? Oddly enough, I find my more expensive purchases are the ones that are the most worthwhile.
I agree, quality stuff tends to be more expensive, and therefore more worthwhile and long-lasting.
Lauren,
That story about the kick under the table and the eye glasses place made me lol. Those types of warranties are almost always a sham.
Can you return the USB charger after it’s been opened? One alternative might be to sell it on Ebay – you might get a good portion of your money back if it is never used.
Oh gosh I’ve bought a number of things that I have yet to get around to using. Drawing supplies I got as a gift from my wife (per my request). Still in package after 11 months. Bulletin board for the office. Still in plastic wrap after about 6 months. There’s sometimes just no time at all to get to these things. It might be worth it someday, but clearly I could have waited on a few purchases.
I hate then, when I find things around that are still in the package.
Love beer! Don’t normally splurge on it, but I’ve been looking for the 3 dragons by Ommegang everywhere lately. We are collecting the Game of Thrones bottles. We have communication fails like that all the time…even when its not about $. 🙂
Oh that’s cool- I didn’t know there were collector bottles!
Maybe you can resell the charger on ebay. It’s a fine idea to reevaluate purchases. You never know where you can find things to cut back.
It was fun to review them. Maybe I’ll make this a recurring feature.
I’ve made lots of purchases which seem good at the time and then they’re not at all, or bought some new clothes, worn them once and then never again! I need to remember sometimes that buying on a whim probably isn’t a good idea.
I used to be terrible with buying clothes that I rarely wore. I wasted a lot of money on clothes shopping in my early 20s, sigh.
It’s a good idea to reflect on your past months purchases. I think I’ve got some Mac Donald’s purchases that I regret from last month. Oh and some cakes. I love cakes, huge weakness.
You could sell your charger on ebay perhaps? Try to get some money back.
You sound like my Mom- she has a weakness for cakes, too 🙂
Ahh, you gotta love the communication fails. I haven’t really bought much that I didn’t need lately. Hmmm…I did buy an awesome back pillow for my chair. It was expensive, but well worth it. $49 well spent!
Anything related to helping your health and physical comfort is usually well worth it!
I agree wholeheartedly!
I have totally done the kick under the desk thing and had it backfire. That’s the worst! I have to keep myself from face palming after that. I think this is a great practice to get into, and I normally do this when I’m going through our budget. I take what we spent from our account statements and input it there, so I constantly know where our money went. Most of the time it’s fine – I think we need to cut back more on unnecessary things purchased at the grocery store!
Those unnecessary things really add up! We always end up buying more when shopping hungry.
I hope you returned the charger!
We couldn’t since we already opened the package 🙁
Mmmm beer. You should come to Portland. We have tons of amazing beer. Some things are just not worth it in the end. I just wrote a post about this, on spending on your values. As you keep tracking, you’ll have a better understanding of what is worth it and what is not.
I’ve visited Portland a few times, and definitely tried some good beer! Great city, would love to get back there again.
I love this! This is a great thing to do! Especially if you do this monthly! If you kept the receipt you could probably return the charger! The warranty not so much!
That beer sounds pretty good, I would’ve definitely made the same purchase. 🙂 Unfortunately all our recent purchases have been bigger planned ones so while I hated spending the money they were on things we need. That said, I like to go through this exercise from time to time to make sure we’re not spending on stuff we shouldn’t be.
I hate going through and seeing things that ended up being a waste, but it happens. It’s a good reminder to get back on track.