Spendthrift or Scrooge?

[Holdfast]

I don't think I can fairly classify myself as either spendthrift and scrooge, having strong traits of both.

On one hand, I like nice things, and happily buy them. If figure if you're going to do something, it's best to do it properly. So I don't think twice about ordering a good meal or decent bottle or staying at a good hotel, or whatever. I think some would consider me really quite spendthrift in that aspect. In the OP's example, I'd be absolutely delighted to spend a bit more for a good Christmas party.

And I tend to think that when it comes to clothes or household durables, buying quality both leads to a more pleasant experience, and often an economy in the long run as replacement costs are less.

But in other ways, I'm definitely a miser with money. I check the "per unit weight" prices in supermarkets to make sure I'm getting the best value deal even if the goods themselves are actually from the premium priced range, I check to see if the coupons I get sent match up to products I want, etc. I eliminate what I would view as unnecessary outgoings and hardly ever buy media entertainment (cinema, music, DVDs, books, video games, etc, etc). And those expensive household durables never get upgraded until they break. For example I have the same 36" widescreen CRT TV that I bought when I got my current home a little under a decade ago. It was super-expensive then but is woefully behind the curve now. I won't upgrade though, because it still works. And as my mortgage began to reduce, rather than buy a bigger house for myself, I bought a second property to let out instead.

People who know me from social occasions, or my choice of clothes, are often quite astonished to see how rigorously I manage other aspects of my spending. The first time they go round a supermarket with me is usually an eye-opening experience!

Putting it all together, I like to think of myself as being very set in my conservative ways about what I consider is worth money. If it falls within those bounds, I spend very freely. If it does not, I'm ruthless to beyond miserly about eliminating unnecessary expenditure.

So far, it's a balance that's worked well enough.

 

[bluedana]

I don't mind spending money, but I hate to waste it.

How would you view waking up in the morning and finding out you'd bought a knitted nose-warmer from Ebay?

Frivolous fun or an outrageous waste of money?

If I can't justify (1) buying it and (2) spending whatever I spent for it, then it's a waste of money.

I have no problem buying something expensive (after doing a little work and finding the right price), if I can justify buying it in the first place. Like I bought my husband an iPad on sale on Black Friday for Christmas. It will make him happy, and I got a great price for it, so although he really doesn't need it, I don't consider it a waste.

On the other hand, buying myself a pair of boots for that amount of money when I can go to DSW and get them for a tiny fraction would be a waste. Need them, but can't justify paying $400 for them.

 

[Mary Ann]

I'm between the two. I'm certainly not great with money, but feel guilty if I've purchased something completely frivolous, and often end up returning it. My dad has always been super-careful with money and he taught me to always buy the best quality you can afford. While I always look for bargains when grocery shopping, I'm fussy about the quality of my food and will spend more on better quality products. You'll pry my weekly organic vegetable box (£12.99) out of my cold, dead hands. However we only replace items when the old ones are worn out beyond repair.

On that topic, I took two pairs of dress boots to the cobblers today to be re-heeled and re-soled. The cobbler couldn't repair them; apparently many shoe manufacturers use rubber-composite material that won't let glue adhere to them, so the shoes can't be fixed. I thanked the cobbler for being honest with me and am seriously annoyed about this. There was still some life left in both pairs of boots but had to throw them out because they couldn't be fixed, and now I'll have to buy new ones. The cobbler told me this is exactly why shoe manufacturers are doing it; to force people to buy new rather than have old shoes repaired. What a rip-off!

 

[Holdfast]

On that topic, I took two pairs of dress boots to the cobblers today to be re-heeled and re-soled. The cobbler couldn't repair them; apparently many shoe manufacturers use rubber-composite material that won't let glue adhere to them, so the shoes can't be fixed.

Glued shoes can be a pain to resole under the best of circumstances, though it's interesting to read that it's getting even harder. Blake/Rapid constructed shoes can be resoled, but not many cobblers have the right equipment, meaning it's an factory job that's often not economical to do. Goodyear-welted shoes are more reliably resoled, though poor quality cobblers will still just slice through the welt and stick a new sole on.

Mind you, even goodyear-welted shoes don't really take to being resoled more than a handful or so times so there are limits to frugality. And women's shoes tend to be either glued or blake or blake-rapid because it's cheaper and allows for a more delicate looking shoe than goodyear. So choice is more limited for you in this respect than for men.

Talking of spendthrift vs scrooge when it comes to shoes and their respective constructions is a difficult equation though.

On one hand, welted shoes can be refurbished more easily, but on average tend to be more expensive due to the more complicated and time-consuming construction process. Secondly, once you start buying multiple pairs of shoes, you reduce the frequency of wearing, therefore reducing the need for resoling. If you don't have a good local cobbler used to dealing with goodyear welting (or you feel your shoes deserve a full refurb), then sending them back to the factory is the only option. And that's fairly expensive.

So finding the value sweetspot is actually pretty tricky! I have quite a few pairs but have run out of space, so now operate a one-in/one-out policy. That means that I'm soon going to need to resole a few pairs as I'm no longer buying more pairs to reduce the frequency of wearing of a given pair. I got some quotes for a factory resole which is expensive, but not crazily so since I can avoid postage costs (I can drop them off at the Northampton factories myself or at one of the London stores; whichever's cheaper since they're all are a little over an hour's drive from me).

Fortunately, I allocate shoe expenditure to the spendthrift side of my nature.

 

[nevermore]

I enjoy enjoying life and spend my money accordingly.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

In the "not surprising one damned bit" department, I only overspend when it has to do with baseball. Game tickets, concessions, games on DVD (I collect them), and that's about it, really.

Unfortunately now that I have gone to an iTunes-only motif for buying my music, it's a lot easier to overspend there. Must curb that!

 

[An Officer]

I have no problem buying rounds, and do not quibble about price at restaurants if I have planned an evening out. I think it's very awkward for others, and not conducive to a good evening out. I always take more than I think I'll need in order to have room to be flexible.

If I do not have sufficient funds to comfortably see me through an evening out, I make my excuses and do not go. I would make sure I am prepared for unforeseen eventualities such as others leaving before the bill, or eating/drinking more than expected. I prefer to shrug it off, and use it as an opportunity to learn how those new to me behave, if I like them, I may bring myself to overlook it and give them a second chance, if I dislike them, I see no reason to tolerate such behaviour again.

I too become somewhat irritated by the kind of behaviour you mentioned earlier, K'Ehleyr. If it's a group dinner, it's ridiculous to eat before the majority has arrived, unless they have some type of health condition that justifies it. I guess the pub must have been pressurising them to order, especially if they were refusing to order drinks as they waited. I can't imagine the establishment enjoyed them holding up a table all evening whilst purchasing nothing, especially during the festive season. Still, it was only ten minutes, I would have ordered a couple of drinks, explained the situation to the staff, and waited. Two adults embarrassing themselves over the price of a glass of wine is not pretty.

As to my general spending habits, I do not worry too much about money, even when I really should. I have been known to severely overspend and leave myself short for several days waiting for my next payment, simply because I saw something I just had to buy, even though I could not afford to buy it and also eat at the same time. Sometimes, I prefer pretty baubles and trinkets to a stocked fridge and bills paid on time.

I am slowly learning to be more careful now though, out of necessity, as things are more tight for me right now than they have been in a long time. It's not easy nor enjoyable, but I am wary of turning into those absolutely embarrassing people who penny-pinch at the silliest moments. It's a fine line to walk. Most people are either one extreme or the other on this matter, I find.

Upbringing certainly plays a part in this. I have lived and worked with people from all corners of the Earth, and certain cultures are extremely generous as a matter of course, and then there's the opposite end. Infinite diversity in infinite combinations.

I believe what goes around comes around, if you share, you will never be short of others to share with you, human beings are generally very conscious of those who've helped them and generally want to return the favour when possible, the small few who don't play fair shouldn't spoil it for the rest of us. It feels good to give and to receive.

By the way, you should look into a pay as you go oyster card... a single journey could cost less than half that, and the money you put in, if unused, will stay there till your next journey, or you can remove it again on your way home. You don't need to fill in any forms to get it any more, you just pick it up on the spot. You might want to do this before January, I hear they want to jack up the paper ticket prices by more than 70% in one go. I guess they really want us to use those oysters.