Friday, August 18, 2006

My shot at the Question of the Day!

Here's my question to you all.

What are your vices?

What do you spend money on that isn't a need - something that just makes you happy?

My big vice is eating out at restaurants. I will eat literally almost anything and I thrive on trying new things, so Boyfriend and I hit a lot of restaurants. It's a bigger portion of my budget than I would like to admit, and I'm trying to cut back, but damn, it's just fun!

38 comments:

Denise Mall said...

Definitely my weekly trip to Starbucks, Dentyne Ice gum and books. Although yesterday I scored a book by Stephen Coontz for free at the Laundry. I was so excited someone left books, besides me. Of course, I'll take it back when I am done - pay it forward!

JLP said...

Oh,I have many vices... Just teasing. Let's see...

Music CDs. I love music and I love buying CDs. I already have enough music but that doesn't stop me from buying more CDs.

Coffee. I buy my coffee in the 1 lb. bags, which cost about $10 - $12 each. One pound lasts me two weeks, so that means I'm spending $20 - $24 per month on COFFEE! Of course that is still cheaper than buying a cup of coffee at Starbucks every day.

Beer. If I didn't like beer, I could easily save $20 - $30 per month.

Eating Out. With a family of five, it doesn't take much for us to blow the budget on eating out. We could make the budget $500 per month and I bet we would STILL blow past that if we didn't practice some restraint. We did raise our budget from $150 to $200 per month.

JLP

AllFinancialMatters

Catherine at Frugal Homemaker Plus said...

Eating out. I love to do it.

I could also spend all our money at bookstores, or Bath and Body Works.

Please Read said...

Lets see,

Definitely eating out - We go out a lot.

Drinking - Having a fully stocked bar costs me lots!

Dodgers - Season tickets plus food costs at game.

Anonymous said...

Going out to lunch with my coworkers. We go out almost every day, although usually I spend less than I would in the company's cafeteria... sometimes, I spend twice as much as I would in the cafeteria. Bringing lunch in isn't worth the effort for me. :-)

Kimberly said...

Eating out, Cherry Coke, air conditioning, and bedsheets.

Anonymous said...

Cycling. It's a fun hobby and keeps me in shape, but it can be expen$ive.

sf mom said...

For me it's Dark chocolate (at around $3 a bar that's definitely a luxury:), coffee, wine and champagne. I can drink champagne like most folks drink wine; it works with any meal combo or on its own!

mapgirl said...

Dining out, nearly daily. And new books from the bookstore.

And my new to me motorcycle. Whee!

Anonymous said...

While we could certainly cut back on eating out in an emergency, I don't think we spend much more than anyone else on it. My really wasteful vice is that we pay about $80/month for cable and HBO, even though the only thing I watch is HBO. Yes, we pay almost $900/year because I don't want to wait for the DVDs of Deadwood, Sopranos, and Entourage to come out.

Anonymous said...

Biggest "vice" is probably spending too much on my two puppies. Those marketers really know how to target people instead of dogs on appeal and color!

Tiredbuthappy said...

Eating out, and also buying pre-fab foods.

Travelling.

Toys for my kid. Bad for my wallet. Bad for his psyche. But SO MUCH FUN. I could go shopping for matchbox vehicles every day and not get bored.

Anonymous said...

Hunting and fishing.

If I want it, I get it.

Like dropping $700/year( low for the quality of land I get to hunt) on a hunting club that I do not use as often as i could. Just knowing I can go anytime I want makes me happy.

After that books and cigars.

Brad said...

Music and oriental restaurants are the big ones.

Now we have a Mandarin buffet about a mile from home. It is SO convenient and tasty! Actually reasonable prices for lunch as well as supper... Mmmmmmm.

mOOm said...

Wine?

Anonymous said...

Books. My wallet definitely appreciates the fact that I have to drive almost an hour for a good bookstore. After almost three years, I'm close to getting caught up on my backlog... ;)

Good Coffee. I don't go through it like I used to, but I still like a good cup or two of coffee a day. (As an aside: Starbucks? bleh. The company has done a great disservice to the coffee world by popularizing all that roasted almost to the point of charcoal coffee and marketing it as gourmet! I'd suggest a little Green Mountain over it any day...)

Jessica said...

damn! i love eating out...who doesn't?

my biggest vice is probably that, secondly, well parking, because my lazy ass likes convience and third, is probably iTunes...i buy music to support my DJing habits...

and tshirts! im a tee junkie.
threadless.com people...

Single Ma said...

Shoes, shoes, and more shoes.

There are only 365 days in a year and I probably have enough to wear a different pair everyday.

Love SHOES!!

Anonymous said...

I would have to say going out to restaurants or drinking would be the two biggest vices. I only do it with others so its more of a socializing thing but its still the two biggest expenses of mine that aren't necessary.

My Pink Purse and Me said...

starbucks. so much so that their giftcard is the ONLY thing my family and friends get me for birthdays and christmas. The employees at the one I frequent knows me by name and know my order even before I say it. Drop me off anywhere in downtown chicago and I can tell you exactly where the nearest starbucks is.

Anonymous said...

Starbucks all the way. It's the perfect getaway for my wife and me in the middle of the day -- an advantage of being self-employed. Like "My Pink Purse and Me" the folks in our local Starbucks know exactly what we want without asking. Our picture adorns the bulletin board along with other frequent customers. But, I don't go for the "coffee" per se since one could rightly argue that my favorite drink is mostly whole milk and other flavorings!

Kali said...

I'm sure my daily diet coke splurge ($1.25) adds up (and is a vice for more than just $$). But, probably my biggest money vice is shopping for deals. I'm one of those girls that is enticed more by the deal than the item itself. Unfortunately, a lot of stuff is not really needed or sits in my closet waiting to be given as a great gift. Trying to break this nasty habit, and unloading some of the accumulated damage on ebay.

Andi @ udandi / Lunch It Punch It said...

normally, it is craft supplies but this past year I cut back significantly. beer and Qdoba are close behind!

Amdollar said...

To name a couple vices for us, Home improvement items/upgrades. Also eating out at restaurants - the regulars are Applebees, Peking (chinese food) and a Papa Johns Pizza now and then.

Schizohedron said...

I found your blog through All Financial Matters, and figured I'd throw in my 2¢. Mine are Diet Coke (addicted hard), Doritos, the bagel shop across from my train station, and my weekly no-limit Texas hold'em game. (At least that one occasionally pays me!)

Anonymous said...

magazines, but I'm finally weaning myself off them I think! I'm getting into library books to read during my lunch break at work and mornings with breakfast. That used to be when I read mags, and did I ever read loads of them - 7 a month! A real glossy addict. I'm trying to save money as we're living on my income only now - see my blog, below! Any tips would be welcome. I'm trying to generate more income by writing articles for helium.com and putting links on my blog. Let me know what you think! Does anyone have any money making ideas?

Revanche said...

Comic books. Once a year I'm allowed to splurge at Comic Con. And some travel, when/if I can squeeze it in.

Anonymous said...

Ah, yes -- vices.

As with many others, dining out is one of mine. I've managed to trim it back severely over the past couple of years, but I still eat out about once a week, and eat out for a nice meal about once a month. It adds up.

But my real vice is comic books. As I've written elsewhere, I collect comic book compilations. That is, bound collections of many issues. I spend more on this each month than I care to admit. I can afford to spend the money (I'm still spending far less than I earn), but I feel guilty because I still have debt that I could be paying faster.

At least I'm aware of my problem! :)

Anonymous said...

I see I'm in good company. . . . Eating out and books are the two things that tempt me the most.

I know I can get books from the library, but I love knowing they're mine.

Anonymous said...

A perfect Saturday for me consists of my four favorite splurges: a mocha from Starbucks, a new book, tanning and pedicure.

Frugal Duchess said...

I'm also a coffee junkie, but that's another post.

My biggest vice is eating out. I love restaurants. Homemade pizza is good, but for some odd reason, the stuff in the pizzeria tastes better.

And don't get me started on gourmet muffins, upscale pasta dishes, etc.

I'm working on this issue. I did not eat out last week.

Anonymous said...

Cable TV

freedumb said...

Blockbuster.com

NCN said...

Vices?
Let's see...
I have some wood-clamps...
but no vices...

HAHAHAHA...

Food, soda, food, soda, food, soda...

You get the picture...
NCN

Unknown said...

Chocolate - http://glgcpa.com/401.html

Britt said...

My dessert habit is both a financial and nutritional vice... I've gotta keep well-stocked with cookies and ice cream!

Anonymous said...

Coffee. I don't sweat; I percolate.

Lazy Man and Money said...

Buying electronics and similar toys.