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!

Caci

eyelash extensions
designer shoes
designer clothes
designer handbags
fancy matching underwear
suede things

These days I wear jeans, a fleece and trainers every day, and I bought my handbag for €12 on a cross channel ferry.

Cigarettes are alcohol. Quit smoking 10 years ago, and now only drink the odd glass (I’m actually able to vouch for the tip about turning leftover wine into ice cubes for making risotto )

clothes...a lot lot lot of clothes. It was a way to relax from a stressful job and boredom.
Expensive handbags, really it was a way to cover the fact that I was not confident at work. How silly.

Now I only carry a £2 shopping bag from flying tiger and feeling very comfortable as I am much more confident with myself.

Eyelash extensions, now I see so many big thick and over the top lashes and slug eyebrows and I wonder what was I thinking (I only had the classic and not the awful Russian things though).

@Fluffmum

Caci

I had a course and wonder if it made my face worse. Another mistake

@Scarriff

Coffee in cafes. Only realised how much I was spending when Covid closed everything down

This, I used to spend £3.50 on a flat white everyday, easily. But since Covid and I started home cooking, I realised that a pack to two salmon fillets in tesco cost £3.95, which can made a good healthy lunch (with some salad). I am very careful with buying coffee from starbucks etc. and only do it when meeting friends and need somewhere to sit. Also, I have an espresso machine, the coffee pots pack of 10 costs about £4.00 and even cheaper if they are on offer. They are sensible replacement. I miss my good old coffee days sometimes though....

Expensive hand made teddy bears, and Steif bears. This was before children.

Monthly subscriptions! For different things. Meal kits, snack boxes, beauty products. They feel like a little surprise gift - that I sometimes forget I PAY for 😣 Cancelled all but one - Glossybox. I look forward to 5 beauty items every month. I've discovered a few great products and I get to try out expensive items I'd not normally be able to afford. Having given up drinking it's pretty much my only wee treat!

Magazines, makeup, Cd's, clothes. I now subscribe to Readly, don't often wear makeup & stream all my music via subscription.

Drugs
Horses ( and horse paraphernalia)
Make up

Lush bath bombs
Clinique Radiant something stuff . . .
Bluebonnet liquid nutrition
Magazines

Decleor stuff, lovely but sadly beyond my pocket now. Never been one for beauty salons but I do like nice creams. I now get stuff from tkmaxx into rosehip oil at the moment. I like fake tan on my legs but its expensive so will just put up with the blue tinge 🤣

@CuntAmongstThePigeons

Drugs Horses ( and horse paraphernalia) Make up

I hope you never got those three mixed up

as a beauty therapist, it's easy to get hold of a little kit from Ellison's - supply store for basic products when you're training

@mowglika

I don’t find these posts depressing, in fact it’s quite uplifting to hear of so many people liberated from the crap you think you have to have/do to live a content life. Sounds like more and more people cherishing experiences rather than things, which would never bring you the happiness you want anyway.

Mine are magazines as I don’t have time to read them anymore. I buy less clothes and I’ve not had any less pleasure in rewearing outfits for special occasions. I don’t buy makeup nearly as much as I have a good stash which will last me another 10 years now, also I just wear a lot less makeup since lockdown.

I agree. No one here is weeping over giving up their magazine habit or spending vast amounts on makeup or fast fashion.
People's priorities change over time.
Maybe also when younger we're more influenced by the media or peers to dress or look a particular way and and as we get more confident we can do away with a lot of it?

When the children were born stupid stuff that I didn’t use like fancy hooded towels, over the door bouncers, an impractical pram which was soon swapped over for something more lightweight and foldable, fancy top and tail bowls, over the bath baby bath plus loads of toys that no one ever played with.
In recent years it has been stuff for the garden and gardening magazines.
I had cottoned on now I don’t need fancy name branded fertiliser when wilkos own is a fraction of the price and does the same job, the magazines only repeat the same stuff year on year, pretty but expensive gardening gloves don’t do the job any better than the ones in Poundland and I don’t need every new tool or gadget that hits the shops when I already have a shed full of unused stuff.

Takeaways. Used to get them once a week, now hardly ever.

Eating out, theatres and concerts, horses.

Cigarettes
Alcohol (expensive wine in the pub, far too frequently and expensive wine for home with flat Mate)
Work lunches/snacks/coffees
Taxis

This was mostly when I was working so I had the income but I really should have saved more…

Vogue magazines every month. I thought I was highly sophisticated stacking them to display in my single room in my parents’ house in my early twenties. Juicy Tube lip glosses, tanning beds, Baccarat jewellery, French manicure acrylic extensions…..easily £400-£500 per month out of my £950 per monthly salary back then

Bluewater.

Chai Lattes from Starbucks all the time, over £4 per cup. What on Earth was I thinking?

Indian Head Massages
Angel Card readings
body massage
reflexology

Eating out. I can honestly say I've not had a 'good' meal in a pub for ages. It is nice for someone to put food in front of you but more often than not, I go away thinking I could have cooked it better with nicer ingredients at home and saved a lot of money.