So tired of buying .89 shampoo...

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
So tired of buying .89 shampoo...
13
Sun, 11-06-2005 - 8:18pm

among other things.

I just ready the post below about "how much do you spend at the grocery store?", and don't know how you all do it. It's just me, and I religiously buy the .89 shampoo, buy the .79 store brand bread, never buy frozen lunchable TV dinners that cost more than .99, buy $2/pack balogna instead of $4.99/lb turkey...and it goes on and on. I'm the most budget conscious grocery shopper I know...if I get ice cream, it's the $2.50 store brand half-gallon! I couldn't even tell you what the Ben & Jerry's flavors are, let alone taste like.

I include all of my makeup, toiletries, cat supplies, kitchen supplies like trashbags and paper towels, etc., in my grocery budget, b/c I only shop at Super Walmart. I don't eat all that much, but yet I still spend $250+ a month!

I'm just so tired of having to buy the cheapest of everything, and always store brands. Just once, I'd like to buy the $5 frozen pizza, instead of the $2.50 Jeno's Pizza! The $2.79 Aussie Shampoo, instead of the .89 White Rain! And I'm sure my cats would love Friskies or Iams instead of Special Kitty...

Will it ever end? Being single and having to rely solely on myself sucks sometimes...

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Avatar for mahopac
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-24-1997
Wed, 11-09-2005 - 1:35pm

Oh Lord yes, I do know that feeling! Had it for years and have only just gotten out of it, though we do still keep track of our spending and hardly ever eat out.

What helped me was deciding what made me feel poor and what didn't. Buying a plain bagel for breakfast for 55 cents (instead of a buttered one for $1.10), bringing in a peanut butter sandwich (which I think cost 37 cents!) for lunch, and eating chili and lentil soup for dinner did not make me feel poor - it made me feel thrifty and healthy. On the other hand, buying store-brand face cleanser instead of Noxzema, or store-brand shampoo instead of Neutrogena, or cheap lipstick instead of Estee Lauder, made me miserable. I was willing to go without ice cream or cookies and drink cheap beer as long as I felt I looked good.

This helped me get through years of very lean times. I still drive a 10yo car and can't justify spending the money for a new one (besides, it gets 30+ mpg!). I still hate frittering money away on food (I would never have bought any kind of frozen pizza, period) because it has no lasting value - and usually making your own food from scratch is healthier anyway. I still buy my skincare products from Avon because they work as well as department store products. I still have only 2 pairs of beautiful shoes and 1 beautiful purse for work for each season. I buy clothes that are high quality and last for years, just as I have always done - I just buy less of them during the lean times. My habits allow me to not waste money and to still feel good.

Hope these thoughts, and others', help you through this. BTW, my toughest years were when I had young children and was supporting them on my own because my DH's line of work didn't pay enough to make childcare worthwhile, so he stayed home with them (still does). The only thing scarier than supporting yourself entirely is supporting 4 other people entirely on your own!

Kelly

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-09-2002
Sun, 11-13-2005 - 7:38am

These are all such great ideas. I am probably behind because I don't have a computer to save money, so I am (at 29) at home doing free laundry, free internet and great food courtsey of Mom. (a four+ hour drive to visit, but Mom pays the gas and I make it worthwhile)

I am tired of using the free gym at work. Its crowded and so small - barely one machine. I miss nice gyms.
I am tired of not having access to this awesome board easily.
I am tired of buying cheap things at the store to survive.
I am tired of my debt and sitting at home instead of driving somewhere to save money.

BUT...
Its worth it and you do need to treat yourself sometimes. I'm lucky my mom and dad are awesome.
I wear mostly cheap makeup but I buy MAC concealer at $13 a pop for a tiny tube. Lasts forever though. It covers up my problematic at times skin and it is worth every penny to me.
I get my haircut at Aveda only (too many BAD cheap haircuts for too many years) but I get my haircut once every 3 months instead of once every 6 weeks to make up for it.
I get my favorite shampoo in trail size and I alternate it with more regular shampoo. I buy a cheap salt scrub at Marshalls and make it a spa day - I turn on the public radio (no new cds in a few years!), listen to jazz, light candles and use my clearance salt scrub and nicer shampoo and make it a spa morning. Never been to a spa but seems like it is close.

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-12-2004
Sun, 11-13-2005 - 6:10pm
HI, cj311. I agree with other posters here. My makeup is one thing I cant get the cheap stuff because my skin is sensitive and I will break out. Ditto with the cheap laundry detergent and soap. So, I have to be careful. I do try and cut down other ways. I am amazed at those frugal shoppers who get $200 of groceries for $10, or coupon queens. But half the stuff they buy, I wouldnt use, because I dont use the product, and dont have a huge family. My best GF goes to the dollar store and buys nice stuff. She has a teenage daughter and son, and is a single parent. So, if we do go shopping, we go there, or to Walmart and look around. She also says she goes down the aisle and looks at the top and bottom of every aisle. I could never figure out why, until she told me it's where the cheaper stuff is--like the packages of cereal in "puffed" bags. IF we do go out and do "girl stuff", it is during the day, when we can get lunch at cheaper price than dinner, and we print out the coupons at our favorite restaurants. Whiz.

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