Frivolous things you used to spend money on?

[Lemon221]

What did you used to spend your money on that your now seems completely extravagant and frivolous? I’ll go first, jo malone candles ridiculous how much I spent on wax!

The car wash at the petrol station. Now I’ll be rolling my sleeves up and doing it myself, or bribing the dc to!

1. 3 litre engine car and it's road tax.

2.Top boarding school for daughter. She preferred the failing comp she later went to.

1. Stamp duty on country house.
2. Council Tax on detached property. Terraces are cheaper and save heat.
3. Slimming World membership.

I still buy magazines, make up and have my hair done but work in beauty so pay mates rates. I buy nearly all my clothes second hand or discounted on fleebay.
I have 37 pairs of black trousers but some are 30 years old.
I never buy coffee or rarely take aways.
Now AF so no longer buy champagne (but I miss it).

Expensive cat toys (see username). They really are just as happy with a cardboard box and a piece of string tbh.

I used to be more careless about electricity (no gas here). Or carefree, perhaps I should say. I watch the meter like a hawk now.

I've never been frivolous though. My mum was born into poverty and my dad was born under the Ba'ath regime in Iraq, so although his family was middle class, a lot commodities simply weren't available in shops a lot of the time and the currency was very unstable. We were definitely raised to be frugal and it never gave me any pleasure to buy things like expensive toiletries or perfumes. In fact it would make me uneasy.

I was never frivolous when I was younger.

I’m far more frivolous now I’m older!
It could be because I have more money, or perhaps the realisation that life is short and frivolity is good.

Paperbacks: between the ages of ten and about fifteen, almost every Saturday I bought a puffin book and sometimes two or three.

Takeaways, taxis, tanning and the hairdresser. At one point in my life I never washed my own hair, I was in the hairdressers a few times a week.

Eating out,?cut flowers, cleaner/gardener, ironing, cut flowers.

@VaddaABeetch

Expensive high heels that got worn a few times. I’ll never wear heels again

Me too. I now just wear trainers all the time. And beauty treatments - I used to be forever having expensive facials, manicures, pedicures, eyebrow shaping, eyelash tinting etc. They were the first thing to go when I had a child as I couldn’t really justify the time or the expense. I look like a wrinkly old wild woman of the woods, but in the grand scheme of things I suppose it doesn’t matter.

@ManyATime my old model kindle was a top investment. You can get so many out of copyright books for free.

Booze. I don't regret any of the other frivolous things I used to spend money on when I was younger. And actually it's not really the money I regret over the booze - it's just regret over the fact that I felt the need to drink so much in order to have a good time. I hardly drink at all now.

The current cost of living increases haven't really made a difference to what I spend now though, as I'm already relatively frugal these days.

The amount I spend on DD clothes wise as she was growing up - completely ridiculous in hindsight! Lots of snowboarding makes like spyder and we’ve never been near a ski slope

Magazines
Toys/ lego for the kids

Takeaways/eating out lots
Drinking
Highlights every 6 weeks
Makeup and toiletries
Acrylic nails every 3 weeks
Designer jeans
A car on finance I couldn't afford
Very account that I only paid the minimum payment on. 10 years later I have only just finished paying it off (transferred it to a 0% interest credit card)

Don't regret the money spent on holidays/travelling. Worth every penny.

Coffee. When I was a teenager I used to get a Starbucks coffee on my way to school most days, or my friends and I would go get coffees in our free periods and lunchbreaks. I had an allowance from my parents and a Saturday job and I probably would have saved loads of money for uni if I hadn’t been buying so many coffees at £3 a pop!

Oh but I miss being frivolous!

Misses point of thread completely. 😊

Enjoying this thread, just shows how much priorities change over the years.

I used to buy so many nail polishes, high heels, clothes, lingerie,magazines, lunches and coffees out, takeaways, taxis etc.

“Sexy” clothes in my early 20s. I think I thought it made me a grown up to spend £45 on a suspended belt from Ann Summers

Razor subscription x 2, SIM card/data for my iPad that I never ever use, sky multi room for 15 years (never been used, need to cancel). Acrylic nails. I’ve also cancelled so many stupid DD’s, I’ve possibly made up the money needed for energy bills.

Magazines. I bought every one possible. Cosmopolitan, Elle, Harper’s, Vogue, New Women, Glamour - you name it.
Buying there since 90s ever month.
I still got some unread.
Now I have a prescription of every single magazine possible for £8.
Perfect.

Nice leather bags when I was in my forties. I don't go anywhere to use them now.

Designer bags like LV.
I used to buy mostly from Japan, which arrived moldy, damaged, stinky.
Fell apart after few months .
Bought a couple in here got scuffed ripped in few months later.
Decided to get a replica for once just to see how it performs and to save my authentic ones.
Surprise surprise, the bag lasts longer than my authentic did.
So no more overpriced designer bags.

pub

Oh gosh yes, Mulberry bags. I went through a phase about 15 years ago when I was obsessed by them. They were a lot cheaper then than they are now (my Bayswater was £495 new) but I would buy three or four a year. That said when I sold them I actually made money on some of them - my Bays went for £590.

records
but i have no regrets although the singles are all in the attic

Holidays, theatre, cinema, eating out, magazines. Reduced haircuts.

Now buying fewer clothes but better quality.

Replaced night's out with evenings in friends homes. Their company was always the main point so not missing spending a fortune in pubs and restaurants.