Adding to this, comfortable shoes, a good chair and a nice mattress. Those things have a huuuge impact on your quality of life. I spent most of my life buying those things based on price alone, I'm lucky I didn't get any sequels from it. Now I only buy the best quality on those categories.
Books. I rarely buy them anymore, but if I do want one, I want the best version of it. Hard cover, non-movie-version of the cover picture, limited edition, first print, what have you.
Anything that has a logically and beautifully designed user interface. Sure your device/app/whatever may have great functionality, but if I can't figure it out or have to fumble with it every time I use it, I'm not going to use it.
Even if another product is the exact same as another (a lot of time it is), I will always pay more for the more user-friendly product. And a lot of the time, it's stunning to look at and use.
When I saw this post, I immediately thought of Spotify. I used to buy all of my CD's second hand, I almost never downloaded (for many reasons, mainly being no guarantee of audio quality, and I want to support the artists I love). Since I discovered audio streaming services, I've only purchased a small handful of CD's, and haven't even put them in my player, I just bought them to have. It's so much easier to have unlimited access to all the music I want and love, most of the new stuff on release day, in great quality, everywhere I go. I am SO happy that audio streaming services finally took off in Canada, and I've strongly recommended them to all of my friends.
I dropped my Spotify subscription a few months ago, because I just couldn't afford it anymore. I started getting my music either via pirating or by using the credit I had left on Google Play. To be honest, Spotify is the superior experience. Spotify let me save any music I wanted with a press of a button. With their playlists, this was great, because I was finding a lot of new music I liked. When I left, I lost a lot of music, because I either didn't want to spend money or bother with downloading entire albums for one or two songs.
I picked it back up for a dollar for three months, and I don't think I'll ever go back.
It is, however, true that piracy of audio in certain formats (specifically FLAC and WAV) have quite good audio fidelity. I would rather listen to pirated audio with higher fidelity than audio from a streaming service any day, mostly because my whole audio library is on my NAS and it doesn't cost me money to stream from it.
Funny you mention that; I buy CDs exclusively (almost all secondhand) due to the higher audio quality. I am in the minority who can tell the difference between CDs and top-quality MP3. I don't think I'd ever switch to a streaming service.
I couldn't tell the difference between a CD and the 320 kbps you get from Spotify Premium. And to have all my music with me in my car, on my computer, and on my phone is a convenience that I'm not willing to give up even if I could tell the slight difference. I highly recommend giving it a try if you haven't already.
I'm usually pretty frugal, but some exceptions I make:
Shoes - I'd rather pay $200+ for shoes that will last me 5 years than $50-80 for shoes that will fall apart after a year.
Scotch - I don't drink often, but I enjoy a nice single malt.
Coffee - I love a nice strong espresso.
Mac - Not trying to stir up a Mac/PC debate, but having been in IT for years and used Windows/OS X/Linux extensively, I love Apple's laptops and don't mind paying a premium for them.
Apps - I'm happy to pay for a good app/game experience not riddled with ads and in-app purchases.
Shoes are so important. I found a style I came ear for my 10-18 hour days but I need to replace them about every 2-3 months. I don't care because happy,dry feet is so important.
Undergarments.
Fast internet.
Things that have to do with safety.
Things that look cool.
Stuff that if I pay a bit more will benefit society as a whole.
I'm gonna say Spotify. I can listen to damn near any musical artist I want to without having to pay for individual albums or having to rationalize pirating them.
I'm going to agree with you. I have admittedly pirated a lot of music over the years, pretty much because I'm poor, but not poor enough to have a decent wifi connection. Now I can listen to anything I want, even brand new releases, and I can feel good knowing I'm paying for every song I listen to, just in an amount that I'm able to deal with on a month-to-month basis.
Mechanical watches. I generally don't have very expensive taste, but my watch collection is probably worth more than the rest of my possessions combined.
Computer peripherals. Say what you want, but the $50 I spent on this keyboard is some of the best money I've ever spent (Steelseries Apex). It's incredibly sturdy and well-built. It's got extra buttons, which are great for games and video editing. It's got lots of fancy lights, and I can change them to match my desktop backgrounds, or the holiday, or anything really. I could have gotten a decent keyboard for $10, and I tried a $30 keyboard (Razer Lycosa. Just don't), but this one is just a step above everything. So worth it.
For all the time I spend typing (programming for the most part) I might just as well have a nice experience doing it on a quality mechanical keyboard. Paid a lot of money some years ago for the Filco Majestouch 2, but haven't regretted it. Cost a lot more than $50 though:
https://www.getdigital.eu/Filco-Majestouch-2-Pro-Keyboard.html
Yes, definitely. Good mouse, nice keyboard and good headphonesµphone do make using the computer much nicer. A nice monitor is a good investment too, and higher resolutions are worth it, so much more space!
Absolutely. I've also got three IPS monitors, and they weren't actually too expensive (I got them on sale), but I can't go back to a TN panel. I didn't even realize how bad the colors were on a TN screen until I saw IPS. Having three of them helps too, it makes it tough to go back to one.
Local products. There's something incredible about small time, backyard and garage, tinkerers making anything that competes with any big-time commercial product shipped halfway across the country. There's just "something" about grilling salmon and apples smothered in local honey.
Computers. It's something of my weakness. I'll spend way too much on a computer but be incredibly frugal at the grocery store. For whatever reason buying Sara Lee bread over Great Value has never been important to me.
New tech. (Oculus Rift, Microsoft Hololens, Google Glasses, etc) It's nice to experience new technology firsthand, and it's even nicer to further the progression of it by purchasing the product.
High quality limited edition graphic novels from authors yet to hit the big time. There is an author called Jason Brubaker (I have no affiliation with him) who does this incredibly well. Bit of an ego... But his work is great. Kick starter is fantastic for this. All mainstream comics are now digital for me, but I love supporting an individual or duo with a dream... And also knowing I helped them achieve it.
With the good chair, get a desk that allows you to sit properly in that chair if you do sit by a desk! The chair helps less if your desk constantly forces you to slouch :)
Anything that will save me time. As a developer, a good text editor and a good diff tool are invaluable. Also, anything that I use all day everyday, headphones, keyboard, chair.
I'd also recommend checking out chewy.com. I get Food and Bully Sticks auto delivered every month(configurable). They were cheaper than Amazon for what I buy, and I'm close enough to their warehouse, or one of them anyway, that I end up getting Next day delivery on every order.
Anything technological. (I know, broad.) But considering I'm a gamer I'm tired of buying unfinished products so I will pay a premium for a finished one.
Join the Discussion
Toilet paper. I'm usually pretty frugal when it comes to shopping. But I hate cheap toilet paper.
Adding to this, comfortable shoes, a good chair and a nice mattress. Those things have a huuuge impact on your quality of life. I spent most of my life buying those things based on price alone, I'm lucky I didn't get any sequels from it. Now I only buy the best quality on those categories.
What's the saying, "don't skimp on anything that goes between you and the ground?"
I've found it to be pretty solid advice.
"Don't you love yourself?" - John Pinette
On mobile so not sure if this link has the bit, but hilarious nonetheless.
https://youtu.be/GUlf1F05gTA
This is why two ply soft is the tp of choice in my house. All others are inferior and it is worth the splurge.
Books. I rarely buy them anymore, but if I do want one, I want the best version of it. Hard cover, non-movie-version of the cover picture, limited edition, first print, what have you.
Anything that has a logically and beautifully designed user interface. Sure your device/app/whatever may have great functionality, but if I can't figure it out or have to fumble with it every time I use it, I'm not going to use it.
To add to this, if your app already has a beautiful and logical UI but is ad-supported, I will pay the premium to get rid of those.
Amen to that!
Even if another product is the exact same as another (a lot of time it is), I will always pay more for the more user-friendly product. And a lot of the time, it's stunning to look at and use.
Netflix, books, wifi, food, spotify, a VPN, and a ton more.
When I saw this post, I immediately thought of Spotify. I used to buy all of my CD's second hand, I almost never downloaded (for many reasons, mainly being no guarantee of audio quality, and I want to support the artists I love). Since I discovered audio streaming services, I've only purchased a small handful of CD's, and haven't even put them in my player, I just bought them to have. It's so much easier to have unlimited access to all the music I want and love, most of the new stuff on release day, in great quality, everywhere I go. I am SO happy that audio streaming services finally took off in Canada, and I've strongly recommended them to all of my friends.
I dropped my Spotify subscription a few months ago, because I just couldn't afford it anymore. I started getting my music either via pirating or by using the credit I had left on Google Play. To be honest, Spotify is the superior experience. Spotify let me save any music I wanted with a press of a button. With their playlists, this was great, because I was finding a lot of new music I liked. When I left, I lost a lot of music, because I either didn't want to spend money or bother with downloading entire albums for one or two songs.
I picked it back up for a dollar for three months, and I don't think I'll ever go back.
It is, however, true that piracy of audio in certain formats (specifically FLAC and WAV) have quite good audio fidelity. I would rather listen to pirated audio with higher fidelity than audio from a streaming service any day, mostly because my whole audio library is on my NAS and it doesn't cost me money to stream from it.
Funny you mention that; I buy CDs exclusively (almost all secondhand) due to the higher audio quality. I am in the minority who can tell the difference between CDs and top-quality MP3. I don't think I'd ever switch to a streaming service.
I couldn't tell the difference between a CD and the 320 kbps you get from Spotify Premium. And to have all my music with me in my car, on my computer, and on my phone is a convenience that I'm not willing to give up even if I could tell the slight difference. I highly recommend giving it a try if you haven't already.
/t/asksnapzu is a good place for this, by the way.
I'm usually pretty frugal, but some exceptions I make:
Shoes - I'd rather pay $200+ for shoes that will last me 5 years than $50-80 for shoes that will fall apart after a year.
Scotch - I don't drink often, but I enjoy a nice single malt.
Coffee - I love a nice strong espresso.
Mac - Not trying to stir up a Mac/PC debate, but having been in IT for years and used Windows/OS X/Linux extensively, I love Apple's laptops and don't mind paying a premium for them.
Apps - I'm happy to pay for a good app/game experience not riddled with ads and in-app purchases.
Shoes are so important. I found a style I came ear for my 10-18 hour days but I need to replace them about every 2-3 months. I don't care because happy,dry feet is so important.
raging mac versus pc debate intesifies
Undergarments. Fast internet. Things that have to do with safety. Things that look cool. Stuff that if I pay a bit more will benefit society as a whole.
+1 on the fast internet, I'd pay just about anything for great speeds (with no data cap, of course).
I'm gonna say Spotify. I can listen to damn near any musical artist I want to without having to pay for individual albums or having to rationalize pirating them.
I'm going to agree with you. I have admittedly pirated a lot of music over the years, pretty much because I'm poor, but not poor enough to have a decent wifi connection. Now I can listen to anything I want, even brand new releases, and I can feel good knowing I'm paying for every song I listen to, just in an amount that I'm able to deal with on a month-to-month basis.
Coffee. Good coffee puts me in a good mood all day.
Aside from that vacations/activites. A flight to the west coast is more memorable then a new TV.
Mechanical watches. I generally don't have very expensive taste, but my watch collection is probably worth more than the rest of my possessions combined.
Also beer.
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Peanut butter... shitty peanut butter is the absolute worst thing.
I gotta say, unfortunately, I'm a JIF man through and through. I can't stand other peanut butter, much like any ketchup that isn't Heinz.
I love creamy Jiff! I mean like Jiff vs grocery store brand. Yuck! Jiff is name brand. Name brand peanut butter = great.
A Bed and Condoms. I don't want a baby, and having a comfortable bed makes me much more productive.
Computer peripherals. Say what you want, but the $50 I spent on this keyboard is some of the best money I've ever spent (Steelseries Apex). It's incredibly sturdy and well-built. It's got extra buttons, which are great for games and video editing. It's got lots of fancy lights, and I can change them to match my desktop backgrounds, or the holiday, or anything really. I could have gotten a decent keyboard for $10, and I tried a $30 keyboard (Razer Lycosa. Just don't), but this one is just a step above everything. So worth it.
I just got the logitech g502 mouse. I love it. It's now paired with a razer blackwidow keyboard
For all the time I spend typing (programming for the most part) I might just as well have a nice experience doing it on a quality mechanical keyboard. Paid a lot of money some years ago for the Filco Majestouch 2, but haven't regretted it. Cost a lot more than $50 though: https://www.getdigital.eu/Filco-Majestouch-2-Pro-Keyboard.html
Yes, definitely. Good mouse, nice keyboard and good headphonesµphone do make using the computer much nicer. A nice monitor is a good investment too, and higher resolutions are worth it, so much more space!
Absolutely. I've also got three IPS monitors, and they weren't actually too expensive (I got them on sale), but I can't go back to a TN panel. I didn't even realize how bad the colors were on a TN screen until I saw IPS. Having three of them helps too, it makes it tough to go back to one.
Local products. There's something incredible about small time, backyard and garage, tinkerers making anything that competes with any big-time commercial product shipped halfway across the country. There's just "something" about grilling salmon and apples smothered in local honey.
Computers. It's something of my weakness. I'll spend way too much on a computer but be incredibly frugal at the grocery store. For whatever reason buying Sara Lee bread over Great Value has never been important to me.
New tech. (Oculus Rift, Microsoft Hololens, Google Glasses, etc) It's nice to experience new technology firsthand, and it's even nicer to further the progression of it by purchasing the product.
Desk chair... Can't stand sitting in a poor quality one all day
Many office workers don't realize they spent as much time in their chair as they do in bed!
You should try a standing desk. After you get used to it you feel much better.
High quality limited edition graphic novels from authors yet to hit the big time. There is an author called Jason Brubaker (I have no affiliation with him) who does this incredibly well. Bit of an ego... But his work is great. Kick starter is fantastic for this. All mainstream comics are now digital for me, but I love supporting an individual or duo with a dream... And also knowing I helped them achieve it.
Car Washes. They tend to be pretty cheap, so I'm willing to add in a couple extra bucks so that it looks even better.
I can recommend buying a good Mattress and a good Chair. Most of us here spend over half the day on those.
With the good chair, get a desk that allows you to sit properly in that chair if you do sit by a desk! The chair helps less if your desk constantly forces you to slouch :)
Books. I read a lot of books.
Man, books are so cheap I just end up buying too many of them. Sure, I could only buy one book for $5 but instead I'll buy 7 of them.
Anything that will save me time. As a developer, a good text editor and a good diff tool are invaluable. Also, anything that I use all day everyday, headphones, keyboard, chair.
Dog food is one of my more expensive things. I have one responsibility. I don't want to cheapen it.
Honestly! I spend close to 90 dollars for a 30lb bag of dog food! It's the only food my dogs will eat! They have expensive taste, these big guys!
I thought mine was bad at $50. Amazon Subscribe & Save really did save me money on it though compared to a store.
I'd also recommend checking out chewy.com. I get Food and Bully Sticks auto delivered every month(configurable). They were cheaper than Amazon for what I buy, and I'm close enough to their warehouse, or one of them anyway, that I end up getting Next day delivery on every order.
Anything technological. (I know, broad.) But considering I'm a gamer I'm tired of buying unfinished products so I will pay a premium for a finished one.