Thursday, June 5, 2008

Vice, Vice Baby


Yo. Word to your mother.

Tip Of The Day: Guten afternoonen, my wee Chickadees! Step in side my pretend office and let’s chat, shall we? It’s time for Group Therapy Thursday, and this week we’re discussing our vices. Spending vices to be exact.

Tip For Tomorrow: You are all cordially invited. If you want to know WHAT TO, you’ll have to tune in tomorrow to find out. It’s like a Cheap But Not Easy cliff-hanger, albeit not as exciting as ‘who shot J.R.?’ Which honestly? Was a bit of a let down.

Further Elucidation Of My Cheap Deal: Welcome to Group Therapy Thursday, your cheapest form of psychiatric help. Because nothing is cheaper than FREE. Unless I paid you to read this post, which ain’t happenin’ any time soon, bucky.

This week, we are exploring our behavioral vices. Many people attend some form of therapy to address their inappropriate behavior, like drinking, smoking, taking illegal drugs, taking legal drugs to excess, eating too little, eating too much… you get the idea.

Well, I am in NO WAY prepared to help anyone with those kinds of serious issues. And if you suffer from one of the aforementioned ailments, get thee off thine computer and to a licensed professional toot sweet. Also? God speed and my prayers are with you.

However, many of us suffer from (or don’t suffer and kind of enjoy) what They call soft addictions. Like your 4-cups-a-day coffee habit, or chocolaty indulgences.

Any for many of us, one soft addiction is Bad Shopping Behavior, otherwise known as Splurging On Things We REEEEAAAALLLYYYY Don’t Need. Or, to put it another way, Buying Things That Are Too Expensive To Waste Our Money On Now That We’re All Trying To Cut Back, Because It Costs $100 A Day To Drive Our Cars, And Selling Our Offspring Is NOT AN OPTION. YET.

So today’s Group Therapy Thursday focuses on this: Confess to the blogosphere the goods/services you just CAN’T stop buying, even though you know you should be cutting back. Just get it off your chest, like this – “I, So-And-So, can’t stop buying $30 a bottle shampoo because it smells sooooo good, and I’m convinced that if I use Suave, my hair will fall out.” Or something to that extent.

Because it’s my blog and all, I’ll go first.

What I Splurge On, Even Though I Know I Shouldn’t:

1. My Hair. To have my hair cut and partially-foiled, I spend $72 (that includes tax and a 20% tip) every 1 ½ to 2 months. Now, I know I could just go to Great Clips and get approximately the same haircut (MAYBE, but I DOUBT IT), and I could go back to coloring my hair at home. I did it myself from the ages of 13 to 25, after all. And yes, my Ma let me color my hair at age 13. Don’t be judging my Ma.
However, when others-who-are-not-Lynn-my-hairstylist cut my hair, it turns out badly. Also? The last time I dyed my hair, it turned orange. Seriously. So in the interest of looking decent on TV, and not giving children clown nightmares when they look at me, I’m sticking with Lynn. And if you ask me Very Nicely, I’ll give you her salon number. Maybe.

2. Pedicures. Damn you, Pedicures! I can’t quit you, even though you cost $35 (tax and tip included) a pop. I just love how pretty pretty (Ooooo, and SHINY) my feet look afterwards.
I know what you’re thinking, “Chick, you can paint your toes yourself at home.” And you’re right, damn you, blogosphere! But I can’t remove the inch-layer of icky dead skin from my heels myself. For that, I need the services of a professional. And on that blechy note, we’re moving on.

3. Lunch Meat. I have a confession to make. I, The Cheap Chick, can not abide pre-packaged cold cuts. Like the food snob I aspire to be, I like freshly sliced from the deli meats. Even though they cost twice as much.
But I look at it this way: A. I’m not buying a ton of it, since I only have myself to feed, and B. If I buy the other stuff, I won’t eat it, it will go bad, and I’ll end up throwing it away. Thus, wasting money. Yes, these are rationalizations. Sorry.

Now it’s time for you to open up, oh fearless readers. What are your splurges? Go ahead and confess – you’ll feel better when you’re through.

13 comments:

Meg Tredinnick said...

Flip flops!!! I can't walk by them without buying a pair. They are usually not too expensive, which makes them that much more tempting.

Anonymous said...

Kick it! Yo, VIP!

I remember your orange hair. Lynn is worth the money.

I am completely and utterly at the mercy of the siren call of the remnant pile at Joann Fabrics. If it is a piece of silk I just cannot leave it behind. No one would love it like I would. Is that so wrong?

Marketing Mama said...

Ok, could have lived without seeing Vomit Ice, I mean Vanilla Ice, yuk! But 2 points for creativity, dear. ;)

My confession is that I spend too much on coffee drinks - especially when I take my 2 year old to Caribou Coffee for mommy-and-me time... One latte for me and one chocolate milk for him runs about $7-9!!! I could probably buy a gallon of milk for what they charge me for a junior size chocolate milk. We stop in there about once a week..... I just can't give it up.

Anonymous said...

I belong to a big chain gym in the city. Also, I tend to realize I'm starving and have to haul myself all the way home after the gym (and I forget to bring food), so I end up buying some sort of protein bar or shake after the gym to tide me over.

I also tend to run the air conditioning a lot, and full blast (I like to sleep in a very cold room...probably because my parents keep their house very cold, so I got used to it and associate it with well, home). I do feel very guilty because of the energy use and expense (but I do spend less on heating than others do).

Nikki said...

Firstly, Cheap Chick, you need to get choself a Ped-Egg for your feet. It does a wayyyyy better job of removing dead skin/calluses on your feet than those scary, filthy things used at most nail salons. I got myself the Ped Egg Platimum from HSN.

Okay, so to confess my mess. I cannot stop buying Starbucks lattes. I even purchased a Starbucks expresso maker ($300!! on Sale!!! Eesh!!) and STILL go to Starbucks every day. I realize it's not coffee or caffeine I'm addicted to (cuz I only drink decaf drinks), it's the ACT of going to Starbucks. With my nonfat lattes topping $4.50 for a venti (aka large), it's a very expensive indulgence/addiction.

Anonymous said...

Oh, I'm with you on the hair and nails. My hair refuses to cooperate without Aveda's Be Curly (almost $19 a tube). And while I am able to maintain my feet enough to get by without pedicures(thank you Microplane!), I still go to a salon for a polish change. I just can't get that polish to shine the way they do! Also, I KNOW you can vouch for this-well manicured nails are practically the law for women who work in real estate. I have the best nail tech in the area, so I can go 3 weeks between fills, (4 if I'm careful) but there's another $40.

Anonymous said...

This is my first post but I had to post here because you guys are cracking me up!

My Vice:

-Diet Mountain Dew... in the 24 oz bottle. Can't have cans-- can't buy a 2 litter and pour it into a glass--- HAVE to have the bottles. (I don't know why... I like to take a drink and reclose it) I have even convinced myself that Dt. Mt. Dew out of anything other than a 24 oz bottle tastes funny. So I am forced to by the 6 packs of 24oz bottles that are $4 -$5 each and since I am completely addicted to it I buy ALOT of it... what a waste of money...

I did quit the pedicures and bought a PED-EGG which works dang good but it really freaks my husband out when I do it... ha ha ha

sozzled said...

hair cuts. I only get it done twice a year (no fancy color or highlights or anything else, but they cost me around $65.)

beer. I won't drink cheap beer. Well unless it is a dire emergency.

shoes. 'nuff said.

cheese. expensive stinky blue cheese.

Anonymous said...

I agree with the others. I have a new Ped-Egg and it is swell.

Anonymous said...

Oh, and I'm not at ALL picky about food or drink, but I splurge on bread. I like to get loaves of the crusty kind of bread, baguettes, or big sourdough rounds and I like to slice it myself for sandwiches.

Anonymous said...

*except for grilled cheese or tuna sandwiches, which are the two types of sandwiches that need to be made on a regular, cheap, sliced white bread.

Madwoman of Preserve Path said...

My guilty pleasures:

Acrylic nails and a good pedicure. I like to look rich even though I'm not.

Whole-bean coffee and good wine.

An eyebrow wax because my vision is so bad I can't get close enough to the mirror to pluck 'em myself.

Fresh vegetables. I just hate the frozen and canned kind.

Anonymous said...

Oh, I noticed they had a big display of pedi-eggs at Walgreen's today. I think they were $9.99.