What did you do/use/buy that you wouldn’t dream of now?

[CurlsandCurves]

I was at the supermarket this afternoon, and I saw someone with a 10 pack of Capri Sun. It jogged a memory in me, as I used to buy these. Some weeks I’d buy 2 packs, one orange, one blackcurrant at £3 a pop.

Now I can’t believe I did that, it’s such a massive amount to spend on juice!

Absolutely not wanting this to be a judgemental thread, we are all different and what’s excessive to some is standard to others. But if you’ve changed your habits, what do you look back at now and think ‘I can’t believe I used to do, have, buy that!’

Magazines. Books. Buying books for Uni when I should have just borrowed them. My Military uniform (certain bits don't get issued). Gucci kit for the military (ie better than the issued stuff)

Another for magazines - I was an avid reader of Cosmo and glamour at university. I flicked through a free copy recently and couldn't believe how much money I must have wasted.

Lunch out every Friday with my colleagues.

Fancy makeup, when I have terribly dry skin anyway, where foundation just makes it worse and more obvious. I stick to body shop now and rarely wear it, just for important office days - court, client visits etc. No one cares and it hasn't affected my career in the slightest, plus I don't have to get up earlier 🤷

I agree with pps about wasting the most when you earned the least! Now with mortgages and nursery bills to think of, we don't have the opportunity to be so wasteful...!

Magazines!
I gave them up in 2009 during that recession. Also orange juice, the gym (took up running instead), wine and restaurants.

I have started buying orange juice occasionally now and wine but the others, despite recovered financial state i just cannot bring myself to spend money on. I had every issue of Red from the first until 2009 and they are c.€8 which is a huge amount of money 😮.

Also I never buy clothes at full price. Only when they are discounted. If they don't have my size left then it wasn't meant to be.

Diet Coke. Totally waste of money on a combination of chemicals and water. Bleuhh

I haven't rtft so I apologise if this has already been said, but in regards to magazines, I wasted alot of money until I found out that you can get them from your local library, for free on an app. Mines called RBdigital. It's not the same as flipping through the glossy pages, but I love it, and you can sign up for as many as you want, all current, and up to date

Going to the pub. So much money, literally pissed away.

Cigarettes & alcohol

Nights out every week! I would easily spend £60 on the night and a new dress every time 😰

I read the Guardian online but choose to make a contribution. Seems fair enough to me.

Magazines here too. At one point I was spending at least £40 a week. All the crap weekly ones, lots of the monthly ones, loads of craft, some hobbies and a couple of football ones. I’m ashamed now.

I used to spend a fortune on craft stuff that I didn’t use. I’d have ideas, order what I needed, and have gone off the idea by the time it arrived, or forgotten what I’d planned to do.

I bought way too many books. If I liked the look of it, I’d buy it. I now have about 400 books on my ‘to be read’ pile and loads more on my kindle. I’m working through them, and I’m not buying more (well hardly any). I intend to start using the library in future.

I’m trying really hard to stop spending and don’t miss it at all.

Magazines; I stopped buying fashion & lifestyle magazines around five years ago and now recognise this as the first step in changing my life.

Make-up; I think I have around seven items in my make-up bag and rarely use more than a scrape of eyeshadow, mascara and lipstick on any regular day.

Clothes & shoes; I buy less and less items with every passing year and spend more per item.

Meat; no red meat, and only eat chicken now and again.

Cleaning products; I try not to buy anything toxic or irritant and use a LOT of vinegar and lemon juice instead!

Home appliances; just invested big money in a good quality dishwasher & washing machine, and I'm now an expert in water softeners.... and, sadly, have grown increasingly over-excited at the prospect of having one installed in the house we're about to move to.

General 'tat'; I try not to buy anything non-recyclable, or things that aren't made from non-sustainable components/materials. It's hard, but it's made me much more aware of what I REALLY need in my life. There's a growing list of 'stuff' that I'll simply never have any use for.

Paper napkins. We used the cheap 1ply ones but three or four per person every meal? Just think of the trees!
A few days before lockdown I found a stash of lovely monogrammed linen napkins from Italian DMIL’s wedding dowry plus some cheaper ones from tablecloths long gone. I already had napkin rings in my exhaustive pottery stash.

I don’t iron them, just chuck them in the wash and recycle. Everybody’s free to decide when they’re done with. And guests (will) get either paper towels or their own napkin ring, depending on how much I like them...

Next stop, washable make-up remover pads instead of cotton wool!

Sorry, I should have said “trousseau” not “dowry“.
Both bloody antiquated ideas!

Fruit juice - realised just how sugary it is and stopped.
Booze - gave up drinking a year ago, big money (and calorie) saver. Still buy it for presents though, but husband's 'regular' wine and beer now comes out of his personal account rather than joint housekeeping and the latter now goes a lot further.
High heels! or any badly constructed shoe. Can't wear them any more, painful feet. So I buy lovely flats instead (in the sales, no guilt) and plan to save for bunion op a few years down the line.
Gym membership - only ever had a cheap one, but I can't see myself returning post-lockdown. Walking, cycling and YouTube-based workouts will do it for me.
Online shopping from Sainsburys. Have saved a fortune since switching to Aldi, and keeping Sainsburys for a few select brands that I can't get at Aldi.

However, I do spend more on haircuts and colour these days - a tax on ageing, I'm afraid.

And back in very much deeper time: fags, Ecstasy pills, entrance fees to nightclubs...I like an early night with a mint tea and a good novel these days (polishes halo).

Oh, tampons! hurrah for menopause! But...prescription charges for oestrogen patches.

Magazines
Bottled Water
Weight Watchers App
Recipe boxes

Fancy underwear, I once spent £50 on a pair of knickers.

Magazines here too.

I still occasionally buy one, think I’ve bought 3 in the last too years as opposed to 2/3 per month 🤦‍♀️

Uncle bens rice. Used to pick it up automatically as it is a familiar brand. £1-1.50 a packet. Asda own brand Is 35p M&S is 50p.

I mean this in a nice way but I'm glad I'm not alone!!
Cigarettes - stopped smoking Feb 2014.
Celeb magazines - stopped buying back in 2018.
Bottled water - stopped buying around summer 2019.
🙈🙈🙈 I dread to think the total cost of this (plus other crap over the years) I have wasted.

New outfit and nights out every week. Take out coffee en route to work.

Gossip magazines

Fancy coffee and frappes. I thought I was the height of coolness as a student, drinking a massively overpriced drinking while tapping away on my laptop. I nearly died when I looked at the price of a Nero frappe earlier this year!