spending - Jezebel

posts about #spending more →
Women's Belts Pulled Tighter Than Men's In Recession
Playing Recession: What'll We Do When The Novelty Wears Off?
Mo' Money Mo' Problems
Just Because You Can Buy Your Child A $21K Jungle Gym Doesn't Mean You Should
Hot Chicks Make Dudes Financially Irresponsible
Rich Chicks Not Afraid To Shop Among Commoners

Your version of Internet Explorer is not supported. Please upgrade to the most recent version in order to view comments.

Dsmvwl Admin Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×

Suffragettestream the Office Hussy
08/11/09

In reply to Women's Belts Pulled Tighter Than Men's In Recession
I don't believe women "have more optional expenses" I believe we have more NECESSARY expenses.
But I guess we should really cut down on our frivolous tampon purchases and use worn-out old socks.
Reply

greengrey promoted this comment

greengrey
08/11/09

@Office Hussy: I don't wear socks. Am I a recessionista??
Reply

greengrey was starred greengrey was unstarred

envirodesigner
08/11/09

In reply to Women's Belts Pulled Tighter Than Men's In Recession
I once scolded my husband for going out and buying food (for breakfast) when he could have made it himself. He also doesn't know how to bargain hunt, which is why I end up doing all the shopping and he does all the saving.
Reply

Bgirl_Hamster promoted this comment envirodesigner was starred envirodesigner was unstarred

Bgirl_Hamster
08/11/09

@envirodesigner: I guess that it depends on where you're eating out though. Cooking a nice meal with veggies and produce at home can often be more expensive than picking up Taco Bell, for instance.
Reply

Bgirl_Hamster was starred Bgirl_Hamster was unstarred

skatez
08/11/09

@Bgirl_Hamster: Oh I have noticed this more and more recently. the other night I decided to make Paella and get some wine for a friend and myself(in the hopes of saving cash), and the supplies came to nearly$70. At first I thought it was the wine, but realized that was $20 of the cost. It boggled my mind to realize we could have hit up our fave local restaurant for a lot less.
Reply

skatez was starred skatez was unstarred

envirodesigner
08/11/09

@Bgirl_Hamster: true that but he could have made himself some potato pancakes or regular pancakes as we always have the ingredients for that. Now I'm all upset with that again. lol
Reply

envirodesigner was starred envirodesigner was unstarred

applebrown-betty
08/11/09

@skatez: i run into this issue too, when it's something like a planned dinner party or a new dish that i need to buy everything for. but when it comes to making a random meal at home, i spend far less because i tend to have a lot of the ingredients already on hand. it's hard though to achieve that. it's taken me years to have just about every spice under the sun already in my cabinets and to remember to stock up on canned ingrediets that i tend to use a lot when they're on sale.but a glorious moment happened a couple months back when i was cooking for a dinner party of 4 and only had to pick up lettuce and wine...i already had everything else to make my entire meal...hooray!
Reply

la.donna.pietra promoted this comment applebrown-betty was starred applebrown-betty was unstarred

NewsBunny
08/11/09

In reply to Women's Belts Pulled Tighter Than Men's In Recession
In my particular case, it's because my husband has less self-control. He wears custom-made shirts. I buy a shirt from Target. He wants a new toy, he gets it. I put it off.
I'm married to a diva. A crazy, red-headed diva.
Reply

NewsBunny was starred NewsBunny was unstarred

Zombie Ms. Skittles
08/11/09

@NewsBunny: You're married to Lindsay Lohan?
Reply

curiousgeorgiana
08/11/09

In reply to Women's Belts Pulled Tighter Than Men's In Recession
I'm probably not looking far enough into this, but my razor cartridges cost $28.00. I go through them more frequently, so yeah, my expenses are greater than my boyfriend's.
Reply

sassyredhead promoted this comment curiousgeorgiana was starred curiousgeorgiana was unstarred

sassyredhead
08/11/09

@curiousgeorgiana: I am gonna go with you using Intuition Blades. I use them and decided it costs me $1 every time I shave. But I am addicted to them.
Reply

sassyredhead was starred sassyredhead was unstarred

curiousgeorgiana
08/11/09

@sassyredhead: Yeah, Venus for me. They're the only ones that don't make me break out. Worth it for me.
Reply

curiousgeorgiana was starred curiousgeorgiana was unstarred

clevernamehere
08/11/09

@sassyredhead: Do you throw out a razor blade after 3 uses?
I used Intuition blades too and they are $18 for 6 at drugstore.com. I know they are more at Duane Reed, but I don't throw out my razor every week (it just doesn't seem necessary, no matter what the lady mags say).
Reply

clevernamehere was starred clevernamehere was unstarred

sassyredhead
08/11/09

@clevernamehere: I pay the same at CVS here in California. I use them till they lose all the lower soapy stuff. I shave my pits, legs all the way and the crotch area. By 3 shaves it's gone.
Reply

sassyredhead was starred sassyredhead was unstarred

clevernamehere
08/11/09

@sassyredhead: Funny, mine last way more than that and I throw them out well before the soapy stuff is gone. Maybe its about where they are stored?
Reply

clevernamehere was starred clevernamehere was unstarred

greengrey
08/11/09

In reply to Women's Belts Pulled Tighter Than Men's In Recession
That's strange because basically everything has said the recession has been hitting men harder and more men than women have been losing their jobs. Hm.
Reply

greengrey was starred greengrey was unstarred

redqueenmeg
08/11/09

In reply to Women's Belts Pulled Tighter Than Men's In Recession
Or do we have less leeway to begin with?
Reply

redqueenmeg was starred redqueenmeg was unstarred

Gretchen is a new kitten mom!
11/06/08

In reply to Playing Recession: What'll We Do When The Novelty Wears Off?
I've been fascinated with our local news reports on 'how to save money'. Last week they had a segment that told people how to buy food on sale. It was a special 3 minute segment. I could have done this in 15 seconds flat:

1. Go to food store

2. Look for food items on sale

3. Buy said sale items

4. Remember folks, canned stuff KEEPS.

Are people really this stupid now?

On a related note our income is about the same and our jobs are secure. But since we're not stupid we've stopped buying anything we don't need. If we buy from the internet we take advantage of free shipping offers. I bought a garage sale bag for $2 that looked kinda cool but needed something so I blinged it up with $4 worth of crap from Wal-Mart and everyone wants to know where I bought it. And I needed a pair of 'sloppy' jeans so instead of buying the Polo men's carpenters I've liked in the past I found a pair of Wal-Mart Levi copies for $20. Next summer I'm stepping it up and am going to participate in a community garden at church and do a lot of canning.
Reply

Mikey375
11/06/08

In reply to Playing Recession: What'll We Do When The Novelty Wears Off?
I wish this were more of a coherent movement, like rationing in WWII. I want a feedbag dress, damn it! And a Victory garden!
Reply

Mikey375 was starred Mikey375 was unstarred

Lizawithazee
11/06/08

@Mikey375: One of our fabulous local organic nurseries is calling these "prosperity gardens." The guy who owns the nursery says that sales of edible plants are up almost four times what they were last year.

I dug up a huge perennial bed and it's now full of beets, arugula, radishes, mixed greens, collards, bok choi, leeks and herbs. Cannot wait for the first harvest!
Reply

Lizawithazee was starred Lizawithazee was unstarred

Buffalo_Gal
11/06/08

In reply to Playing Recession: What'll We Do When The Novelty Wears Off?
Good God, the buyer for the Shoebox needs a major reality check (did anyone read the WSJ article?). During a Depression people give up food, not $2,000 bags, you nit.
Reply

Buffalo_Gal was starred Buffalo_Gal was unstarred

LBB
11/06/08

@Buffalo_Gal: Seriously.

(unrelated: I love the phrase "you nit". Makes me think of Violet Beauregarde.)
Reply

LBB was starred LBB was unstarred

antioxidant
11/06/08

In reply to Playing Recession: What'll We Do When The Novelty Wears Off?
They laid off 130 people in my office today...I can't even imagine buying anything non essential for a very long time.
Reply

antioxidant was starred antioxidant was unstarred

LBB
11/06/08

@antioxidant: !!! So sorry to hear it. If you don't mind my asking -- what industry do you work in?
Reply

LBB was starred LBB was unstarred

Lawyerette will perform legal services for food
11/06/08

In reply to Playing Recession: What'll We Do When The Novelty Wears Off?
The only way to make way to survive this recession after the novelty of being a recessionsita wears off is to change our buying habits. It's time to swap out the crap we buy that doesn't help our economy, like flatscreen TVs made overseas, for stuff we need that does help our economy when we buy it, like locally grown food. And buying stuff from other recessionistas on Craigslist!

Buying cheap shit from China that will fall apart in 3 months is a bad value for the consumer and isn't helpiong to rebuild our economy. Go local!
Reply

krismry
11/06/08

@cacrawford99: Going local is good too because you get to spend the same money twice, here's how: you get the apple cider you wanted at the farmers market while you're giving some money to the family and their kids at the same time!
Reply

krismry was starred krismry was unstarred

Vivien Smith-Smythe-Smith
11/06/08

In reply to Playing Recession: What'll We Do When The Novelty Wears Off?
But I love my Prada backpack!
Reply

TheFormerJuneBronson
11/06/08

In reply to Playing Recession: What'll We Do When The Novelty Wears Off?
I'm a little tired of reading about the upper middle class's financial woes. Welcome to the way the middle 50% lives, recession or no recession.

But it's quite likely I'm only bitter because I know of a couple of wealthy McCainiacs who live too far away for me to slap.
Reply

Plum-Pie
11/06/08

@TheFormerJuneBronson: Thank you! My sister teaches financial capability to very vulnerable, very excluded people and she has no time for people whining about having to stop buying organic walnut loaves and start buying sliced white, the price of which has gone up atleast 20% in the last twelve months.
Reply

Plum-Pie was starred Plum-Pie was unstarred

LBB
11/06/08

In reply to Playing Recession: What'll We Do When The Novelty Wears Off?
The one upside to my having been Spendy McSpenderson (mostly at TJ Maxx, Marshalls, and resale stores) before the recession is that I have a nice stockpile of clothes I can mix and match. When money is tight for me I generally cut spending on clothes/shoes first, then books/music/DVDs... I'll still spend on experiences (concert tickets etc.) and food, and the latter is where the real trouble comes in. I've used the "But it's FOOD" argument to justify buying expensive ingredients for things rather than sticking with lentil soup and mac&cheese.
Reply

LBB was starred LBB was unstarred

Kivrin
11/06/08

@LBB says YES WE DID!: Me, too (although I cut back my spending several years ago, pre-recession). I do have a good collection of "nice" pieces -- sweaters, blouses, handbags, shoes -- so I really don't need to shop for anything for awhile. It was just a matter of making myself stop shopping for "fun" (which wasn't that hard, just wished I hadn't let it go on as long as I did).
Reply

Kivrin was starred Kivrin was unstarred

LBB
11/06/08

@Kivrin: The past few times I've gone shopping for "fun" I haven't bought anything, which made me feel particularly virtuous. Of course, that has as much to do with the fact that so many of the styles that are currently on sale look dreadful on me, but less temptation is always a good thing.

(I did almost weep, though, last time I looked at Anthropologie's clearance racks. They currently have these impossibly awesome Chie Mihara shoes, mustard suede with red lips on the toes... still too expensive even on clearance, but there was once a time I would have justified them.)
Reply

LBB was starred LBB was unstarred

Kivrin
11/06/08

@LBB says YES WE DID!: Yeah, I feel particularly virtuous when I leave Target without picking up something from the cosmetics department. I've wasted so much money trying out new makeup...
Reply

Kivrin was starred Kivrin was unstarred

LBB
11/06/08

@Kivrin: Oh God, the amount of makeup I have cluttering up my bathroom is disgraceful, especially because most days I'm too lazy or in too much of a hurry to wear any.
Reply

LBB was starred LBB was unstarred

Kivrin
11/06/08

@LBB says YES WE DID!: Do you run out of the house with your hair pulled up in a clamp, because you're too lazy/late to dry it? If so, we may actually be the same person. ;)
Reply

Kivrin was starred Kivrin was unstarred

LBB
11/06/08

@Kivrin: Nope, I wash it at night -- but I do let it air dry overnight [hot air = nest of brittle dark brown straw atop my head]. Which means if I don't have time to do anything to it in the morning I sometimes have very interesting-looking hairstyles. Try taming a weird mutant puff of hair on the side of your head when you're running out the door and digging in your bag for car keys.
Reply

LBB was starred LBB was unstarred

Kivrin
11/06/08

@LBB says YES WE DID!: I'm thinking of getting a body wave just so I can let it air dry overnight and spritz/scrunch in the morning. I suck at doing my hair, I don't enjoy it, and I'm always oversleeping...so I really need to move away from the bob that needs to be blown dry with a round brush...
Reply

Kivrin was starred Kivrin was unstarred

LBB
11/06/08

@Kivrin: My hair is thick and wavy, so my usual "styling" = wide-toothed comb + Brilliant Brunette Satin Shine, but when it gets the weird slept-in puffs and swirls only a spray bottle of water and heat-styling tools can save it. I kind of miss having short bobbed hair because it didn't cause nearly as much drama.

@the_famous_grouse: OMG, the ones Dodai pointed out in one of their catalogs? (...I may spend too much time on Jez if that is my frame of reference.) Those were gorgeous.
Reply

LBB was starred LBB was unstarred

LaFemme
11/06/08

@LBB says YES WE DID!:This is what I do every day. Shower at night, let air dry and then sray in the morning with some water and pop in hot rollers.
Reply

LaFemme was starred LaFemme was unstarred

Devonna
11/06/08

In reply to Playing Recession: What'll We Do When The Novelty Wears Off?
yeah, I've kinda romanticized those days when I shopped all the time and ate out a lot...the days when I lived with my parents...

Now I keep reminding myself that a healthy savings account or retirement fund is better than a shopping spree. And for me, $50 is a shopping spree.
Reply

Devonna was starred Devonna was unstarred

Earlier discussions Other discussions Show all discussions Show featured discussions only Start a new discussion

SUBSCRIBE TO Jezebel

Login

Reset Password

Register

Submit Your Comment