Page 18 | What have you never bought or no longer buy because you think it's a waste of money?

Zipps · 2023-07-31T21:17:28+00:00

Dog accessories - they have a coat for the depths of winter but that's it. Bath bombs - completely pointless. Many kitchen gadgets. Clothes/shoes that aren't a perfect fit.

Losttheplotsometimeago · 03/08/2023 13:07

Netflix, Disney, Sky, a BBC television licence

Cherrysoup · 03/08/2023 13:32

Badbudgeter · 03/08/2023 12:55

I wouldn’t put fat in the outdoor compost bin unless you have a particular love of rats.

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The foxes eat them all!

T1Dmama · 03/08/2023 14:24

I’ve never paid for nails, dye my own hair, But I’ve recently given up costa coffee… just can’t justify the cost!

greenacrylicpaint · 03/08/2023 14:39

spectacle wipes
shirt sleeve or damp cloth does the job.
another reason not to use softener as that leaves dirty streaks on the glasses

Walkingintheminefield · 03/08/2023 16:10

Shower gel - soap does the same job without the plastic packaging
Dishwasher tablets - get dishwasher powder, its much cheaper and comes in cardboard package
Fabric conditioner - never use it, never miss the artificial chemical smell
Body lotions - as above artificial chemical smell
Cotten face pads eg for make up removal - use reusable cotton pads not
Milk in plastic cartons - now get a delivery to the door in glass bottles, from a local dairy (OK its more expensive but eliminates over 100 plastic cartons per year and numerous trips to the shop to get milk)
Expensive beauty products - not worth the hype and dislike all the hard to recycle packaging and chemical ingredients. Why would you put all these chemicals on your face?
Expensive cleaning products - you don't need to kill the fish with chemicals when a natural product and a bit of elbow grease will do the job
OK I confess - I've got a bit of a bug about eliminating plastic from my life!

greenacrylicpaint · 03/08/2023 18:20

quick delivery services.
much easier to walk to the shop or take away (unless the whole family ids down with the lurgy)

Chocolatepeanutbuttercupsandicecream · 03/08/2023 18:37

Cigarettes! I smoked from when I was 14 until I was 30, but quit ten years ago.. I can’t believe how much money I literally burned in that time..
I do use kitchen roll though.

BingoBastards · 03/08/2023 19:30

I don't buy new clothes often, don't watch TV, go to the cinema, go to hairdressers; pubs and restaurants infrequently, don't use fabric conditioner, walk as much as I can.

Absolutely love nice soap bars though and have enough to keep me clean for a few years 😁

Nutterjacks · 03/08/2023 19:53

isitshe · 03/08/2023 13:04

If anyone has found a convincing dupe for Nutella, please tell me. I can no longer justify the expense of it! I bought a supermarket one with the very same ingredients & same % of hazelnuts but it just ain't the same.

Asda's own brand is just as good, if not better!

AGovernmentOfLawsAndNotMen · 03/08/2023 20:43

angela99999 · 03/08/2023 12:29

Fortunately we've always had insurance, we once had a fire which didn't destroy much (other than the wooden ground floor) but did a lot of smoke damage. We've also been burgled once.
We had a ridiculous contents quote from one company, the year after we'd started to use them the cost doubled. So we switched and went back to even lower than the cost the year before. Same with buildings insurance, we always shop around and do keep the cost down to a reasonable level. Like us you many not be able to use a standard policy, but even so the specialist departments in many insurance companies will give you a decent quote.
OK, a total loss isn't very likely to happen - but it can. You could be left with a ruin of a house and no money for rubble removal and rebuilding. A few hundred pounds is worth it for peace of mind.

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Yes we do have to use a specialist company.
Hence the huge quote.
We ve been to absolutely everyone and a lot wont even insure us for contents as we are not able to fit the required window locks.
We are not in a flood zone as the original river has been culverted ( in the 80s) and diverted miles away. However insurance companies hike up the price because of old information they use and refuse to update it. ( Both companies have been to our property and had a good nose around, so they see there’s no issue )
Once they had removed flood, fire and contents to bring the insurance price down to £8000 we asked them ( 2 remaining companies ) what they were actually insuring. They didn’t have an answer. Clearly nothing!

If we had to rebuild, rent / buy whilst this was happening, buy our contents all over again. We could. We are lucky to have that. Or we could pay £8000 and the house burns down, floats away on a non existent river etc and we would still have to pay for everything ourselves.

Its been 20 years now. We still check out companies. But nothing.

angela99999 · 03/08/2023 23:09

AGovernmentOfLawsAndNotMen · 03/08/2023 20:43

Yes we do have to use a specialist company.
Hence the huge quote.
We ve been to absolutely everyone and a lot wont even insure us for contents as we are not able to fit the required window locks.
We are not in a flood zone as the original river has been culverted ( in the 80s) and diverted miles away. However insurance companies hike up the price because of old information they use and refuse to update it. ( Both companies have been to our property and had a good nose around, so they see there’s no issue )
Once they had removed flood, fire and contents to bring the insurance price down to £8000 we asked them ( 2 remaining companies ) what they were actually insuring. They didn’t have an answer. Clearly nothing!

If we had to rebuild, rent / buy whilst this was happening, buy our contents all over again. We could. We are lucky to have that. Or we could pay £8000 and the house burns down, floats away on a non existent river etc and we would still have to pay for everything ourselves.

Its been 20 years now. We still check out companies. But nothing.

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Ridiculous isn't it? Our last house was a couple of hundred metres up a steep hill above a river, but the environmental search came back advising us we were in a flood zone!

AGovernmentOfLawsAndNotMen · 04/08/2023 00:43

Willmafrockfit · 03/08/2023 06:56

Brocolli
just me and dh now
brocolli is pointless
we dont like it much, it would last for ages

Broccoli looks great on a building model as they look like trees.
You see, it’s not just for dinner
Although it’s pretty good stuff on that front too

What have you never bought or no longer buy because you think it's a waste of money?

vickylou78 · 04/08/2023 09:23

Time40 · 01/08/2023 10:44

@ConfusedByThisShit I mean that I don't have either type of insurance, structural or contents. If everything exploded/went up in smoke, it would be horrible, and a massive hit, but tbh it wouldn't wipe me out. I could start again.

@Plankingplanks Everyone who knows says it's mental. It would be if I could be left destitute, but that can't happen. I've done this for a very long time, and nothing that needs an insurance payout has ever happened to me. It's very unlikely that a wipe-out fire or something similar will ever happen. But I agree with you that it's a totally mental thing to do if you can't cover it if things go wrong.

Do you still have a mortgage left on the house? Do you realise if the house burned down you still have to pay the mortgage back to the bank and you'd have to have funds to buy a new house.... You must be very wealthy to not worry about that.

FatOaf · 04/08/2023 09:26

I've never understood why people rave about big fluffy towels, let alone spend money to make them soft.

Because they feel nice. Not everyone wants to make themselves as uncomfortable as possible.

WinterDeWinter · 04/08/2023 09:52

God, buildings insurance is the one thing I’d never skip. It’s not even very expensive in comp with contents.

girlfriend44 · 04/08/2023 11:13

HedgesNotFences · 31/07/2023 22:22

Never bought branded products as they are the same as supermarket own but cost a lot more. It has saved me loads of money over the years.

They are not actually.

Time40 · 04/08/2023 11:22

@vickylou78 No, I don't have a mortgage.

RampantIvy · 04/08/2023 20:03

girlfriend44 · 04/08/2023 11:13

They are not actually.

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I agree. However, if you really can't taste the difference then it makes no sense to buy the more expensive brand.

AGovernmentOfLawsAndNotMen · 05/08/2023 03:21

Time40 · 04/08/2023 11:22

@vickylou78 No, I don't have a mortgage.

No mortgage here either.
I know some companies insist property is insured if you have a mortgage.

User265438765 · 05/08/2023 07:57

I think if you have a mortgage you have to have buildings insurance, often the bank is on the insurance also, well it was with mine, obviously contents is up to you

User265438765 · 05/08/2023 07:59

Though the houses that are difficult or very expensive to get buildings insurance, you probably wouldn't easily get a mortgage on anyway

Willmafrockfit · 05/08/2023 08:15

in my housing association house we have been told we have to have contents insurance, which is odd because surely that's up to us!
we do comply though

Alsonification · 05/08/2023 08:22

Don't know if anyone's mentioned it but quilted toilet paper is one I have never bought.
I refuse to spend a fortune on something that gets flushed down the loo & can cause serious blockages.
I buy the cheapest one I can.

I also don't buy plug in air fresheners (I get instant headaches from them)
Fabric softener (only recently stopped this to save money & don't miss it)
Buy own brand as much as possible.

Willmafrockfit · 05/08/2023 08:23

agree quilted paper seems such an unnecessary waste

Willmafrockfit · 05/08/2023 08:23

i dont buy the cheapest, i buy the softest, which i find waitrose own to be