She mentioned a Tik Toker whose guilty pleasures are manicures, coffees, magazines and uber eats.
Well, I'm not prone to guilt, so for me it's more a question of unhealthy or extravagant or secret pleasures. So what am I (or Jenny) spending less money on? Or no money at all?
- We're eating out less
- We never buy ready meals
- We only buy printed newspapers on Saturday and Sunday
- We don't buy scented candles or pointless knick-knacks
- We have no subscription services except Sky
- We hardly ever go to the theatre
- We hardly ever use taxis
- We don't have any pets
- We don't buy bottled water
- We have no extended warranties
- We don't belong to a gym
- We buy cheap books from the local charity bookshop
- I get a lot of books from the local library (for my book club)
- I don't have a smartphone, only a PAYG phone
- I don't have a camera
- I never buy designer clothes
- I never wear formal clothing
- I never wear a suit
- I never buy magazines
- And I've never had a manicure (or a pedicure)!
I certainly wouldn't squander money on a luxury car, a second home, a swish barbecue set-up, cosmetic dentistry, or an exercise machine. Who needs them?
But above all we aren't the sort of people who rush to replace some household item or piece of clothing simply because it's no longer fashionable. We have a lot of things that are decades old and no longer remotely fashionable, but we're quite happy with them, and that's all that matters.
In these troubled times my husband and I are on the way to Poland to help refugees . So secret pleasures are of no interest at the moment.
ReplyDeleteHannah
Hannah: That's wonderful. There are so many refugees entering Poland (and other neighbouring countries) they need all the help they can get. The Russian invasion of Ukraine is outrageous and needs to be stopped. Maybe guerilla warfare is the next step.
DeleteHannah, do you have family in Poland or Ukraine?
DeleteNo we have no family there. I'm a German Jew , my husband a member of doctors without Borders and a doctor himself ,we are already old people , my husband 80 and myself 75, but we cannot just sit at home and do nothing when such horrible things happen.
DeleteHave a nice evening.
Hannah
Hannah: We're going to make a donation to Médicins Sans Frontières. I admire your determination to do something useful despite your ages (I'm almost 75 myself).
DeleteThanks for Nédecins sans Frontières/Ärzte ohne Grenzen. We are back now and took with us a woman with her two children of 3 months and 4 years. Her husband is a Journalist. but she has no news. We have a very big house with two seperate flats of 3 rooms. One has been given already by us to a Syrian couple in 2015 ,the man was seriously injured and lost one leg during a bombing in Aleppo. A really hard destiny. We will give the other flat to the mom with her two children. She needs calm . We are a bit exhausted too. The World has gone crazy. To be clear we are offering the flats and taking no money.
DeleteStay all safe.
Hannah
Hannah: That's great that you've offered a home to the woman and her children, as well as the Syrian couple. I wish the UK was a bit more welcoming to refugees but both the government and many ordinary people are very xenophobic. It's not the world that's gone crazy but the paranoid fantasist Putin. That one person can cause so much carnage is incredible.
DeleteSome of those don’t seem like guilty pleasures . . . exercise equipment? That’s a necessity to me, just like fresh fruit and vegetables. I generally don’t buy things I can make myself and I use the library for all reading materials.
ReplyDeleteMy own guilty pleasures? I do like great smelling candles and fresh flowers. Dark chocolate and homemade lattes. Sirius XM is definitely an unecessary indulgence for me as I’ve always loved music.
Bijoux: I'm sure one person's guilty pleasures will be someone else's daily essentials! I love dark chocolate. Any kind of chocolate in fact.
DeleteCinema tickets
ReplyDeleteTheatre tickets
Rail tickets to see friends and the above
Meals out with friends
Petrol
John: Some things are essential, even if they sound completely missable. I do like going to the cinema.
DeleteI found nothing on your list that I buy, except ready meals, as I don't cook any more. One thing you should have in bold print is bottled water. That was the beginning of the end of earth.
ReplyDeleteJoanne: I know bottled water is just a profitable racket, but why is it the beginning of the end of earth?
DeleteI've turned the thermostat down - unfortunately I have an oil boiler. No gas supply here. Be warned, since September our oil has gone up £200, it will hit gas and electricity prices soon. Start making cutbacks now.
ReplyDeleteSx
Ms Scarlet: We also have an oil boiler, but so far the price rise is minimal - 500 litres cost £270 in October and is £320 now. The rocketing cost of living is now alarming people who were quite solvent a few months ago.
DeleteI don't really have the extra income to splurge on expensive things. But I do order out once a month. I spend money on my dog and I like scented candles, books and makeup.
ReplyDeleteMary: Scented candles are still all the rage, but I've never understood the attraction. Mind you, I have a poor sense of smell so the candle scent would probably pass me by anyway.
DeleteI recently lost a friend to cancer. Before she passed, she asked if people wanted some of her things. In particular, she warned her wardrobe had become small and worn. But she still had her wedding dress which was a festive Mexican number.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny how our needs get pretty small as time passes. Today when I dropped off my recycling; it was all I could do not to go dumpster diving and rescue some used outdoor chairs. Ten years ago, I would have gotten them.
Ann: I've never been desperate enough to go dumpster diving, but plenty of Brits are having to do just that nowadays. Skip diving is quite popular too.
DeleteI love chocolate, perfume and scented candles, I like nice clothes but not designer, I like make-up and nice smelling shampoo. Rarely buy bottled water or ready meals, only use taxis when my friend and I need to get to a pick up point for our coach holidays. I like going to the theatre and cinema, and I love my dog! :-)
ReplyDeletePolly: As I have a very poor sense of smell, most of the time I don't even notice lovely smells - or stinky ones. I bought some cherry blossom washing up liquid which Jenny told me was horribly pungent!
DeleteNick,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad youliked my idea but you mixed me up with the tik tokker. I have never had a manicureamd get uber eats rarely. I stopped buying magazines years ago
Kylie: You're right. I didn't read your post carefully enough! So what are *your* guilty pleasures?
DeleteKylie: I see from your comments on the blog post that your guilty (?) pleasures include coffee, cake and chocolate. And the things you've given up include magazines and expensive clothing.
DeleteSame here, Nick for so many of the things mentioned in this post. We do buy an extended warranty (AppleCare) tor our Apple devices. We enjoy our older clothes and do not dress up except for a family event, few and far between now. Many household products are still working and if not broke are not replaced. I do not buy e-books and download for free from the local library. I have purged many books and only kept a few as I will not reread them and these are ones to read someday.
ReplyDeleteGuilty pleasures include chocolate, ice cream, a glass of wine with dinner, extended road trips, finding unusual local places, and outdoor walks.
Beatrice: I guess we were children of the thrifty post-war generation who never bought anything unless it was strictly necessary! Outdoor walks are one of my pleasures too.
DeleteI'm happier not spending vast amounts but lately seem to have been doing it more. I think it's because we've had necessary house renovations done and I have been getting used to taking out larger sums of money without the sky falling in. (yet) I have just started to use the library again, wonderful! I had forgotten how handy it is not to have to buy books. It also has a nice cafe which sells excellent and very reasonably priced coffee!
ReplyDeleteJenny: Even when I know we have plenty of money in the bank, it's hard not to keep on economising as if we were still struggling to pay all the bills.
Deletesuch an interesting post!
ReplyDeleteI have never been 'house proud' as some call it here.
and I'm not a jewelry person. and have never liked the cut flower arrangements. (probably due to a Gram that said "leave them alone... so that everyone can enjoy them!" I LOVE ice cream. or the frozen yogurt that I get at Braum's now. like you I haven't dressed up in ages. I have only a few clothes that are Comfortable! the internet is my weakness. I'd hate to have to do without it. I've enjoyed knowing about the lives of people all over the world.
Tammy: I don't like cut flowers either, for the reason given - let everyone enjoy them. Like you I really appreciate the internet. I don't know how I survived without it!
Delete