what did you used to buy that you now realise is a waste of money?

[overdrawn]

I’m trying to sort out a credit card debt and reduce my spending so wanted to ask what are things you used to spend money on that you’ve realised aren’t worth it?

For some reason, I used to buy the expensive Brabantia bin bags (I have no idea why!) and a few months ago realised it was a complete waste of money and now buy regular black bin bags.

I also bought a home gel nails kit and do my own manicures / pedicures (I did lots of research and bought a good brand, and follow all the advice) They look just as good (if not better) than what I was getting in an average salon and the cost per manicure is much less.

@TheRealHousewife Also, it seems easier to do this on the website rather than the app. Hope it works for you. Your library should pop up on the list of choices above the option to hotspot. You don't want hotspot.

You can buy it online from Spain - try Farmacia Tristaina

a newspaper

@peebles32 i have brown/blond ish hair and am in my 50s and use “It’s Pure” blonde, every 5/6 weeks. Leaves my hair in beautiful condition and dyes the whites blonde so they blend in

it’s messy green sludge 😁 but love the results.

it’s mostly cassia obvato and really nourishes the hair

I stopped using shampoo and conditioner during the first lockdown. My hair is now the softest and shiniest it's ever been.

Years ago, I bought a mooncup for £20. I should work out how much that saved me, it must be loads!

Strawberries. I used to spend a fortune on fresh strawberries, but started to grow my own during lockdown and have a steady supply through summer now.

I used to buy quite a few books new on impulse from Waterstones. I can’t afford that anymore so use other ways. Our library doesn’t currently charge reservation fees so I get a lot of books there, and some from the charity shop. I only buy new if it’s non fiction that I want to keep, or at an author signing.

I have a long kindle wish list too which I check most days and buy when the book is 99p. Anything that’s more expensive goes on my library reservation list on the app

I used Skin & Me to get my retinol prescription every month

Dyeing my hair - I let it go grey, it is a nice shade of silver now and I only need to get it cut.

Expensive makeup and skincare - I use mid-range and budget brands and there is no difference.

Clear varnish only on fingernails, doesn’t look bad when it chips, minimal maintenance.

Subscription beauty boxes - half the stuff was rubbish and the makeup items were always in horrible colours I wouldn’t wear.

Clothes - really cut down on buying new, now do second hand or swaps, and keep to a palette of grey and black. Means everything matches and I can enliven it with scarves and jewellery etc.

What is depressing is the fact that so many people have been so wasteful for so long. Wasting not just their money, but needlessly contributing to the tremendous landfills, due to in part buying crappy, cheap clothing to wear once, or twice, and discarding. Not to mention a lot of other wasteful practices. Working hard, just to spaff it on rubbish half the time.

Matching sets of crockery and glasses - six of this, six of that - with kids especially something always gets broken, then you haven't got a complete set. Plus my kitchen floor is concrete and nothing ever survives a fall. My cupboards are now a mismash of umpteen different ones, plus stuff from bargain stores, supermarkets and charity shops etc, and I don't really care at this point.

@AInightingale , I only buy plain white. Quite a lot of them don't match, but they are all the same colour and pattern.

Guaranteed if I buy a nice coffee mug or something, that will be the one that gets broken.

Nutella. I now buy Sainsbury's hazlenut choc spread and it's virtually the same!
Also, branded bread like hovis and Warburtons. When it went up to over £2 a loaf I switched to the fresh bakery bread and it's lovely! Can't believe I ate that ultraprocessed crap for years.

@Twentytwo22 I was just thinking of switching to fresh bakery bread this morning after reading the article about UPFs in The Guardian! There’s some good bakeries near me and I think the bread is about the same price and so much nicer!

I virtually never buy bread; I make my own. Sourdough every 2-3 days, usually (still going strong from lockdown!). Sometimes a yeasted loaf for a change. It doesn't take much (elapsed) time, once you've incorporated it into your routine... Flour is cheap, but electricity is expensive, Still, works out cheaper overall, I'm sure. But it's really not about the money.

@overdrawn you were probably buying all those expensive new cars for the look of it and for other people which is ridiculous really when you think about it. We’ve only had one brand new car ever and wouldn’t have another. The amount of depreciation is crazy. Far better deal is to buy a one or two year old model. We could afford to have a new car every year but just don’t see the point of wasting all that money. It’s just for show.

New clothes all the time. I only really wear the same few things.

That's all I have ever done 😀

Same on nails. Never really understood this aspect of 'femininity'. If I had long nails, they'd just break or I'd skewer myself in the eye or something. Let's face it, if women adopted the same grooming and dressing regimes of men overnight, the economy would collapse within a week.

I have grey in my hair which because of my skin colouring makes me look drained. I use wash in wash out colours from Superdrug. I don't use them that often (not even every 3 weeks)but it just gives the overall colour a gentle lift.

I'm careful and cautious - as I don't want to go mad and end up with a solid uniform colour which will look hard, age me, and make it obvious I've applied some colour.

@Truecrime I am 36 so have a scattering of greys and hair getting that kind of dull look. I imagine you would need to mix in more indigo (you can buy a darker colour mix) to stop it from looking too orange with lots of greys. For me, my greys just look like natural highlights as they go brighter than the rest but if there were too many I can imagine it would look orangey (I dye it auburn).

Weirdly, a lot of the things mentioned on this thread are things that I’ve decided as I’ve got older actually are worth the money. Good quality kitchen roll and toilet paper because cheap is a false economy (and nice loo roll is a form of self care to me.. delicate areas deserve softness!) My cut and colour isn’t super pricey, but it’s one of the very last luxuries I’d economise on. That said, my car is a cheap runaround, and I don’t own a dishwasher to worry about products for!

Good quality kitchen roll and toilet paper because cheap is a false economy (and nice loo roll is a form of self care to me.. delicate areas deserve softness!)

Agreed!

@overdrawn

This isn't upf.

You might like this at Waitrose: www.waitrose.com/ecom/products/crosta--mollica-pane-pugliese/398104-131221-131222

My mum was horrified when she found out that I don't use fabric softener. I'm not really sure what it does 🤔

I've never figured out what hair conditioner does other than make me spend twice as long in the shower.

A good haircut doesn't have to be expensive, but it needs to be good, You wear your hair all day every day.