when is premium worth it?

[Psyche]

Sometimes I feel like I can spend more than the absolute minimum amount of money on something but am unsure if it would be worth it. Do I go to the cheapest haircut spot I can find, or does $30 ($40?? $60????) really buy you a better outcome? When is it ever reasonable to spend more than $20-30 dollars on an article of clothing that's not a warm coat? Why does anyone step foot into publix or — whew — whole foods? Do restaurants with $30 entrees serve meals twice as satisfying as a $15 entree somewhere else?

The potential contexts where the questions come up are endless, and can be really broad or really specific. I know the answer is yes sometimes. For example, I have streaming service subscriptions for content I could easily torrent with only a little more effort. I own a nice computer — and a smartphone! I once bought a hoodie from the American Giant web store and did not regret the purchase. I know things about premium quality ice pops that I can convey as legends to close family. Often, I have Amazon and other sources of online reviews to help discern when cost is associated with genuine quality, but otherwise I feel like I'm asked to take a leap of faith, to just assume that rich people — sorry! "middle class" people! — really know better and aren't just throwing away their money to cope with the ennui that seems inherent in their condition.

What are some times you learned that spending extra money got you extra quality that might be invisible to someone who's never done it?

[Vi]

House cleaning services. I would never have imagined how good it feels to come back to a place that was a dump when I left and not one when I came back; because I for one don't have the time, tools, or motivation to clean up on my own.

W.R.T. brands of food I definitely think it's worthwhile to put an ear out for places that other people are talking about. A lot of mid- to high-end restaurants aren't very cost-effective (I mean the portion sizes go

down

) and you may or may not be able to taste a difference in the quality of the food. But having other people go first and making sure you're interested in the same kinds of things is a good way to learn about what's great on the cheap. (Side note: I've heard Publix carries the brand of premium ice cream I like.) I personally have made biryani a go-to luxury food; it's like $15 but it's also two very large meals and I happen to live near the best restaurant for it I've ever been to (and I've tried many other places).

Word of mouth also helps with a lot of services like haircuts and etc., but tbh I'm also a little skeptical of those and don't expect paying a lot to make a big difference (but paying too little definitely will).

W.R.T. textiles it's all about how they feel and how willing/able you are to keep them in good condition. A towel that isn't basically a cloth rug is luxurious af. In general the more you use something in the wearables department the more you should be willing to pay for it.

I'm actually not that fond of spending a lot on tech. Headphones, handphones, etc. Get something that meets your usual requirements and wear it out.

[Psyche]

a side question of mine is whether frequent haircuts are worth it
family tradition has been to get a short buzz and wait at least a month to buzz again
this does result in an intermediate period where i don't look optimally fly
how frequently do normal people get haircuts? how frequently do so-called middle class people get haircuts?

[zoraster]

https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2014 ... uy-generic

[Psyche]

but where do they buy generic where

[hiplop]

OMG GENERIC TEA IS BAD BECAUSE ITS SO FREQUENTLY COVERED IN BAD PESTICIDES

DONT LISTEN TO DOCTORS AND CHEFS

[Vi]

a side question of mine is whether frequent haircuts are worth it
family tradition has been to get a short buzz and wait at least a month to buzz again
this does result in an intermediate period where i don't look optimally fly
how frequently do normal people get haircuts? how frequently do so-called middle class people get haircuts?

If you're that worried about optimizing your fly style, it's whenever you can afford it.

[zoraster]

i booked a haircut because of this thread. it's 40 bucks and i get them roughly every two months. I never look fly.

[hiplop]

switch that to everyone 2 weeks zor. flyness is worth it

[zoraster]

there are few mundane things i hate more than getting my hair cut, so no thank you.

[Vi]

I get my hair cut whenever people want to be merciful to me and take me to a stylist for my own good

I could probably fly if I flapped my hair hard enough in a strong gale

[vonflare]

Healthy food can be more expensive.

But you should always try to eat healthy. You'll look and feel better

[Psyche]

i booked a haircut because of this thread. it's 40 bucks and i get them roughly every two months. I never look fly.

is this a california thing or a reflection of your not at all lavish and in fact middle american lifestyle

[bugspray]

I got a bad haircut once and then decided that I would just not get one for a long time and basically I ended up with long hair and I love it and I probably need to get split ends removed and other stuff but this stuff is so fabulous and fun to have and I look really good in it. The biggest downside is that if it's not tied back when eating soup, shaving, canoodling, or brushing my teeth it kinda gets in the way. I really hate when my hair dips into my ramen... Also it gets into my face sometimes

[shaft.ed]

When is it ever reasonable to spend more than $20-30 dollars on an article of clothing that's not a warm coat?

when you're on the job market, a good fitting suit is a must. Appearances play a large role in people's perception of you

Why does anyone step foot into publix or — whew — whole foods?

Produce at my Whole Foods is same or cheaper for many regularly purchased items compared to my local grocery chain. Quality is usually better. Also bulk bins are cheaper too.

Do restaurants with $30 entrees serve meals twice as satisfying as a $15 entree somewhere else?

yes. But to me money for value is important. So overpaying at a restaurant that is only marginally better would make the meal a lot worse on my end.

What are some times you learned that spending extra money got you extra quality that might be invisible to someone who's never done it?

The wife always does this with hotels. For most everything, she's super stingy. But hotels must be 4-star and up with 4.5+ online reviews.

I rarely splurge on big ticket stuff. Closest would be the two times we've been to Morimoto. That was totes worth it though.

a side question of mine is whether frequent haircuts are worth it

Think I've been to a barber once in my life. I didn't pay for it because I was 12. I now just cut a couple inches off the end of my hair every 12-24 months.

this does result in an intermediate period where i don't look optimally fly

This does happen with my beard trimming. The couple days after the trim is too short and looks kinda like skeevy stubble (e.g. Don Jr.). And depending on how motivated I am to shave and can let it get too long where I look a bit homeless.


I think the only thing I feel like I currently waste money on is shoes. But that's because I've started getting plantar fasciitis. So I have to buy new shoes every 6-8 months or it flares up. I had the same sneakers for maybe 8 years prior to that. My toes were coming out in multiple places. At the end of their life, I only wore them at work, but that was like 80% of my non-sleeping time anyway.

I guess I also waste a lot of money on my ice cream hobby. Costs at least $10-20 per batch, often more depending on ingredients. But I only do a few a year, and it's literally my only hobby.

[Psyche]

wow a shaft.ed wallpost you don't see those every day

[Errantparabola]

agree on not spending a lot on tech. havent owned a desktop computer in my life.
i would say cutting unhealthy eating habits can often be cheaper (more time costly etc)
havent gotten my hair cut in a while. almost always have my hair in a bun.
agree with shafted for most of it.
makes sense to waste a lot of money on a hobby (hobbies being "thing you care a lot about that other people dont care as much about" fitting pretty well in this thread in general i think)

[shaft.ed]

wow a shaft.ed wallpost you don't see those every day

im passionate about my cheapness

[SleepyKrew]

Sometimes I feel like I can spend more than the absolute minimum amount of money on something but am unsure if it would be worth it.

is this Iowa shitshow your fault

[Psyche]

oh about desktop computers
i have a subscription to this thing called shadow pc
right now it's just 12.99!
it streams a desktop computer w/ desktop-quality specs to you like netflix and can run on very basic devices - eg smartphones - w performance only really gated by the quality of your internet
every day i just connect my tablet/laptop thing to a monitor and go to town

[shaft.ed]

shadow pc

really...

[Psyche]

yeah i know

[Equinox]

is this a california thing or a reflection of your not at all lavish and in fact middle american lifestyle

It's not so much a California thing as a Bay Area thing. There are cheaper barbers out here, but they require a bit more looking or word-of-mouth.

when you're on the job market, a good fitting suit is a must. Appearances play a large role in people's perception of you

It's also important to your perception of yourself. I used to get by with $35 blazers, $10 blouses, and $15 slacks, which were enough to be more toward the "business" end of business casual but still felt like slapping together an outfit. At some point, someone with more experience in this arena strongly urged me -- and took me -- to get a properly fitted suit. The suit cost $250 and fit me perfectly. It felt qualitatively different to go to an interview with that suit than with the other outfit, and that was important to me in terms of self-confidence.

---

Things for which you would want to drop premium dollar:

• mattress
• shoes
• backpack
• toilet paper
• pet food

[hiplop]

psyche ur the first person i know to use that is it good

why not use stadia

[Psyche]

iirc stadia is just gaming. shadow is a computer you can use for mostly anything.

i will say that it takes very good internet if you want to play games that need super low reaction times (eg a fighting game). usually that means plugging up an ethernet cable for me rather than pretending i can get a great experience on my phone