10 Things You Should Never Buy

Apr 23rd 2010 by Ashley Jacobs

Spending money is an inevitable part of life and there are essential items that everyone must purchase. However, sometimes people blur the line between what is essential and what isn’t necessary as sometimes there are certain purchases that appear to be necessary but aren’t.

Here are 10 common purchases that no one should ever spend money on.

Disposable Plates/Utensils/Cups
Bite the bullet and buy actual plates, utensils, and cups. Not only will this save you money in the long run, but it will also keep extra trash out of the landfills.

Paper Towels
Instead of spending money on paper towels each month, buy a bunch of rags and dishtowels instead. Rags are washable so they can be used again and again. Paper towels have a one-time use. Again, this will save you money in the long run and keep unnecessary trash out of the landfill.

Bottled Water
Buy a Britta instead of water bottles. Britta Filters last about 6 months, the equivalent of around 300 bottles of water. As with disposable plates/utensils/cups and paper towels, by not buying water bottles you will not fill up the landfills and instead fill your wallet with some extra dough.

Gym Membership
If you buy a gym membership simply to use their stationary bikes or treadmills, you should be arrested. Buy a bike instead. Get outside and go for a run. If you want to do sit ups, push ups, or pull ups, do them in the comfort of your own home. Do not under any circumstances spend money on a gym membership.

Ziplock Bags/Saran Wrap
Instead of using ziplock bags or saran wrap to store leftovers, use reusable containers. Save money and keep extra trash out of the landfills.

Car Washes
Wash your own car. Yes, it may take you a little extra time, but it will save you money and chances are you will do a better job on it than one of those drive thru washes will do. Don’t be lazy, save some money.

Food Delivery
Food delivery services take advantage of people looking for convenience. Instead of having food delivered to your door, save an extra couple bucks and pick it up at the restaurant. Or better yet, just make your food yourself.

Basic Digital Cameras
Alright, so this one is a little unorthodox. However if you own a cell phone, chances are your phone has a pretty decent camera on it. So why would you buy a basic digital camera when you can just use the one on your cell phone? By all means, if you want to take better pictures than a basic digital camera takes, buy an awesome professional camera with a telescopic lens. But don’t drop money on a basic digital camera if you already have a camera on your cell phone.

Precut Fruits and Veggies
Cut your own fruits and veggies. Precut fruits and veggies cost more than whole fruits and veggies. Don’t let laziness cost you money.

Lottery Tickets
I admit, playing the lottery is fun. The idea of winning millions of dollars is appealing to anyone. But let’s face it, your chances of winning are one in at least 18 million. Keep that dollar in your wallet; don’t spend it on a lottery ticket.

Save some money by avoiding making these purchases. Your bank account will thank you!

Have any purchases you have made that you don’t think you should have? Share them in the comment section! And be sure to check out part 2 here: 10 (More) Things You Should Never Buy!

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yujiayao

You can be confident in your purchase as each item comes with a no hassle 30 day return privilege.
Ceccato Car Wash Equipment

I have to say I disagree on your Car Wash point. Automated systems these days are very effective, I believe it's worth the cost for the time saving / excellent results
Lavern Owie

thanks for this informative post. but for me, #2, there is still positive effect in buying disposable utensils/cups/plates.. it is good for the party use, with it, you can save energy.. for outing, it is more convenient..
Aultero

You have wrong link under the "10 (More) Things You Should Never Buy" - this link is pointing to hereby article, not http://blog.greensherpa.com/in...
alohaitsaj

Thanks for catching that! I'll get that fixed ASAP! :)
Kayla

I would have to disagree on the gym membership too....I think for all seasons, living in North Dakota, it is very beneficial for me to have a membership....especially since I'm there 6 days a week.
alohaitsaj

Thanks for the comment Kayla! Definitely if you use your gym membership, it is beneficial to have one. But for the people who get one and barely use it, it's probably not the best use of their money. :)
Lydia

Unfortunately, I'm with a lot of the comments below with disagreeing with the 'gym membership'. A gym membership can take you through all seasons from wet rainy weather to very cold weather. Fitness classes rock (i do up to 6-8 classes a week) and i love the group fitness atmosphere, but i guess if you aren't going to use it a lot, then its not worth the time.

Just saying my opinion as a student still living at home :)
alohaitsaj

Thank you for sharing your opinion! I could definitely see using a gym membership if you are taking classes or if you live somewhere cold or rainy, but for me (I live in California) it drives me crazy when I find out someone has a gym membership and just goes there to use the treadmills. It just seems like a complete waste of money if that's all you are using your membership for!
Emartin

I disagree with the gym membership and paper towels. Here in Washington, DC it's either freezing or roasting so unfortunately outside exercise isn't a possibility for much of the year. And as a mommy, when my kid throws up all over the dining room, or I need to dry off raw meat- paper towels are the safest and best option to keep things clean!
alohaitsaj

Very good points! I guess depending on your situation, sometimes it is good to have a gym membership or paper towels. :)
Bluezfan

The argument for using a car wash instead of doing it yourself... disposal of the wastewater. Car washes are regulated and must dispose of their wastewater appropriately. What do you do with your dirty sudsy (probably somewhat toxic) car wash water?
Wren

I disagree.

Paper towels - Usually my roommate and I use sponges, towels or rags but there are some times you need a paper towel like putting it on the plate you're using to put recently fried items on or wiping streaks from glass or picking up cat barf. We bought a roll in December and still have most of it in July.

Gym membership - Free weights. Weight machines. Classes. Personal trainers. Plus the fact that you can go to the gym and work out still if it's pouring rain or snowing or 100+ degrees. If you live in an urban environment there is no safe place to jog unless you go to the gym. If you're serious about fitness you need a gym membership. I go three times a week.

Saran wrap - Sometimes you have an item that doesn't or shouldn't fit in a container (a cake, a roast) and sometimes you have an item that must be tightly wrapped to keep air out/keep from oxidizing (half an onion/avocado/apple/potato, a fillet of fish, bread or cookie dough). Also, saran wrap makes an excellent occlusion bandage for burns or puncture wounds and can be used as a makeshift dental dam ;)

Food Delivery - You've got a broken leg and it's hard to get around. Therefore you can't stand long enough to make food. Or you've had a hard day at work or you're working on a deadline project and don't have time to make or go get food. Don't do it every day, but think of it as an emergency solution or a treat.

Digital Camera - Seriously? What phone do you have that takes photos that good? I have an Iphone and its camera SUCKS. Phone cameras have very small photos at poor resolution, they don't zoom, they have poor focusing abilities, they don't have flash (generally), they screw up if your hand is shaky and they don't track anything that's moving at any speed at all. A basic digital camera (I have an old canon powershot) is inexpensive, easy to find on ebay or amazon (or even Walmart), has a good warranty if bought new and produces photos leagues above anything that comes out of a phone. Lastly, even my 5 year old digital camera records several minutes of good quality video.

Henri taught us, "Never say never"
newtofrugal

On the paper towels (I'm yet to try this, but thought it was interesting) in one of Augusten Burroughs' books, he references his exceptionally cheap grandma who would tie a piece of floss from one kitchen cabinet to another and hang her paper towels there to dry and reuse. I think that is a good idea.
Jcatz824

I really don't know if you save that much by using rags instead of paper towels. You have to wash the rags which uses water and detergent plus if you're a person who uses a dryer (I don't I hang my things out to dry) that would add on to the cost. The basic benefit I see is that they wouldn't end up in a landfill.
Fern

I disagree with quite a few of these:

Disposable Plates/Utensils/Cups - for everyday use, no. But for large events? Yes. There's no point buying twenty extra plates, glasses etc. which you'll then have to wash and store when you're hardly likely to use them again. Likewise for young children (entertaining a children's birthday party? I'm damned if I'm going to hand out proper glasses to all of them).

Paper Towels - again, mostly I agree. But there are still some things that I use them for. We don't normally use napkins and rather than store a full set of napkins to use once a year on Christmas day, we just use kitchen roll. Some things I also think are better suited to paper because otherwise they're just too disgusting.

Bottled Water - I do hate to buy bottled water but if you're out and about and you don't have any with you/already drank it, there often is no alternative. I do also occasionally buy it so I can use the bottles.

Gym Membership - useful for the childcare if you have kids, can be more motivating, there's more specialist equipment that you wouldn't have at home, it may be in a more convenient place (so you can work out during your lunch hour, for instance), might come in a package deal with a pool membership etc. etc. There's lots of reasons a gym membership may be a good idea, though I agree it's a bad decision if you're not going to get enough use out of it or you could just as easily buy a bike or go running.

Ziplock Bags/Saran Wrap - Ziplock bags can be used to store more than food. I use them for stationery: one for treasury tags, one for paperclips etc. I hate to use clingfilm for food but it's useful for other things: I got through a lot once when I had a dressing on my arm that had to be kept dry in the shower and you can also use it for artistic purposes (we did up a set of coffee tables using it to put a pattern in the paint).

Car Washes - agreed, though I guess there could be situations when you really do need it clean NOW and you don't have time to do it.

Food Delivery - often free anyway, or cheaper if you're going to have to get there by public transport, going to the restaurant might not be an option (young children, catering) etc.

Basic Digital Cameras - older cameraphones really don't have good cameras. You'll probably get a better set of features and options on a digital camera than on a cameraphone.
AD

Seriously disagree about the gym membership one. i live in a place where it's prohibitively cold to bike or run in the wintertime, and gyms are the only place to work out in the off season. Saying someone should be arrested for having a gym membership sounds ignorant and arrogant.
Sarah

Food Delivery? You obviously don't live in NYC, dear sweet child.
Amber

I agree with each of these except for the paper towels. I attempted to rid my house of paper towels not long ago and found that some tasks are just *not* appropriate for reusable rags. Like drying off a raw chicken. I made my husband do it with one of our dishrags and neither of us could stand the thought of using it to clean again. We threw it out - far more of a waste than the occasional paper towel.
Alyce

I'm sorry but I have to disagree on the gym membership. As a parent I can honestly say that without a gym membership and the free childcare that comes with it I would never be able to exercise- and I say never because I've tried. I have forgone the gym membership but my workouts slipped from 3-4 times a week to none, despite my best efforts. I say hey, if that's what it takes then great, it's preventative medicine.
Katy

Right now I go to the gym because they have childcare, and since my husband is deployed, that is the only ME time I get. But at the same time, it's free right now because of the deployment. But I still have to pay for the gas to get there, and I feel it's well worth it to save my sanity. :)
Laura

I disagree about gym memberships. I think that having a separate physical space for working out is a good idea. I work out to relax, so the whole gym-going experience is an relaxation routine for me. Personally I find the stress relief worth the price. Also, the gym is useful for people who want to maintain a regular workout schedule. I want to make sure that I get my money's worth so I know exactly how many times I have to go to the gym each week to make sure I gain the discount advantage of the membership.

To save on gym memberships try a community center, rather than a mega gym. Or, if you are a student, you can take advantage of reduced rates at the university gym.
Melly

Cameras on cell phones are terrible. It is worth it to have a basic point and shoot camera, especially considering how cheap they are these days.
Penniless Parenting

I definitely agree with you. Every single last one of those things listed is a waste. Why do people spend time on them? It saves time and gives them motivation (the gym). But shouldn't saving MONEY be enough of a motivation to get people to not mind spending a bit of extra time?
I like what you have here!
-Penny
Forest

Hey Ashley, great post.... Sadly i buy bottled water right now as I am waiting for a new filter to arrive for my 3 stage system... I can't find Brita filters anywhere here in Cairo.