The Bargains That Aren't Worth It

Who doesn’t like a bargain? But, as Cafemom’s Jeanne Sager reminds us, sometimes you pay…in other ways. (Cough *day-old sushi* cough). And the risk isn’t limited to food.

Sager points to a few bad bargains like the forementioned sushi, cheap eye surgery, and dubious plastic surgery. And who hasn’t succumbed to the lure of the $9 pedicure only to regret it within seconds of seeing, smelling and feeling the catch?

To Sager’s list I’d like to add the following:

– Student haircuts (which can work out, but also, other times…can’t)

– Those “CAN I ASK YOU A QUESTION ABOUT YOUR HAIR?!” spa deals

– Facials. Believe me.

– Furniture off the street. It breaks my cheapskate, vintage-loving heart to say it, but once you’ve had bedbugs once…

-That goes double for mattresses.

But things that are worth cheaping out on:

– Dollar-a-minute massages (okay, use common sense with this one)

– 5/$1 dumplings in Chinatowns (See: above)

– Student haircuts…sometimes

– Restaurant Weeks

– Floor models

-Cetaphil

…now, let’s hear yours. We wanna compile a definitive cheapskate’s guide here: what would you add?