The Chronic Consumer

One topic my husband and I have been discussing a lot recently is whether or not we should spend money on expensive home electronics or simply settle for the cheap stuff. For instance, we decided to go with a high-quality Sharp Aquos LCD flat-panel television instead of a cheaper model because we didn’t want to run into any problems down the road. However, our DVD player is just a piece of junk $79 model that we bought on sale about 7 years ago.

The question is: are we losing out on anything by not having a “real” entertainment setup? I mean, I suppose we could pay a few thousand dollars for a Bose home theater, but how much value would that add to our viewing experience? Are good speakers and so forth worth the investment?

I’ve talked to a couple of friends about this issue, and as far as I can tell, opinions are divided on this matter. Some people think it doesn’t matter at all, while others believe we’re shortchanging ourselves (and our television) by not having proper accessories to go along with it.

Hey, if money wasn’t an object, I’d go out and buy the most expensive home theater equipment I could find. But that’s not the case here, so we’re really going to have to think about how much we’re willing to spend on these products.

Have any of you started to receive your tax refunds yet? If you filed early and opted for direct deposit, then there’s a possibility you’ve gotten your payment already. If you have received your refund, what are you planning to do with the money?

I’m only scheduled to get $42 back from Uncle Sam, so it’s not as though I’m going to be able to go out and buy beachfront property or even Branson lots with my check. Still, it’s a lot better than owing money on April 15, so I’m not complaining.

What I’m really waiting for now is the $600 that I’m supposed to get as part of the economic stimulus package. That’s enough dough to buy something good for sure. I’m currently putting together a list of possible purchases that I might make. Thus far, my list contains a bunch of items ranging from books and DVD box sets to more expensive items like a PlayStation 3 or a weekend getaway with my husband.

Whatever I end up buying, I know I’ll have fun just shopping again!!

My son went to play at a friend’s house over the weekend, and the other boy had a trampoline. The boys bounced around on that thing for hours, tired themselves out, took a break, and then went right back for more. My son loved the trampoline (that was the first time he had ever tried one).

The problem is that now he’s asking for one of his own, but unfortunately, we just don’t have anyplace to put it. Our backyard is far too small to accommodate one, and every room in the house is too crowded to add something like that.

Maybe we can get one if we ever move to a single-family home, but for now, it’s a no go. Sorry, buddy!

My husband spends a lot of time in the garage working on his motocross bikes and our son’s ATV. Over the course of the years, he has amassed a pretty impressive collection of hand tools that allow him to make minor repairs and adjustments.

Recently, however, he’s been thinking about buying some air tools so he can tackle a few bigger jobs instead of having to take the bikes to the dealer for expensive overhauls. These tools would be a big investment at the start, but I think we’d end up saving money in the long run. It’s worth a shot, at any rate, so I’m going to give my husband the green light on this idea!

I don’t know about you, but I can’t stand all the kiosks that are set up at one of the local malls around here. It used to be that those booths and carts in the middle of the walkway were just put out on a temporary basis for special events like craft sales or whatever. But now, they’ve more or less become a permanent fixture, making it impossible to go shopping without getting accosted by 50 different vendors on any given day.

These kiosks offer everything from cell phones to Crocs sandals to mens gold watches, and I admit that I can occasionally find good deals on these products. But I hate having to walk around with my head down, trying to avoid eye contact with the vendors so I don’t get stopped every 10 feet by yet another sales pitch.

I wonder if these kiosks are common to all malls or if this is just a Midwest thing. I don’t recall seeing these when I went to San Diego and Honolulu, so I have no idea….

I love shopping online for most things, but one thing I can’t stand about the process is when websites offer limited shipping options. You’d think they’d want to offer their customers the best deals on shipping in order to build good will and loyalty, but that’s simply not the case at all.

For instance, this morning I wanted to order a motocross t-shirt for my husband and was all set to pay the $19.99 asking price — until I saw that I would be charged $12 for shipping! WTF???

It turns out that the website only shipped via UPS, which is why the charges were so jacked.

Obviously, I didn’t go through with the order. There’s no way I would pay that much for shipping on a $20 item. Plus, that site has now essentially lost my business since I’m not even going to bother checking for merchandise there anymore. Why would I when I’d just end up paying so much for shipping?

How hard would it be to stuff the tee into a big envelope and mail it through the post office? It would cost $5 tops, and would probably result in more sales for the site.

Well, whatever, it’s their loss. I just had to vent for a minute!

I was looking online for a new acne wash tonight when I came across something called Asso Soap. I’ve never heard of this stuff before, but I read that it retails for over $100 per bar.

Why so much? Because it contains actual bits of 24k gold, which I guess is good for acne-prone skin.

I’m all for trying new products that will help me control acne, but there’s no way I could afford to pay that much money for a bar of soap! Luckily, I’ve seen some sites that sell Asso Soap for just $25 or so, which is far more reasonable. Maybe I’ll give one of those places a try when I have some extra cash available.

24k gold soap… sounds very interesting!

I’ve been looking at a few different products that are supposed to help alleviate PMS symptoms. I suffer from some really bad periods, and while I won’t go into details here, suffice it to say that I dread my monthly visitor more than you can imagine.

Midol has never done much for me, but I’ve heard some good things about the benefits of using progesterone cream. Apparently, progesterone helps balance out the amount of estrogen in the body, thereby canceling out the negative effects of excess estrogen.

There’s really a lot of information to take in, and I don’t want to post anything misleading, so I recommend that you check this stuff out for yourself if you’re interested.

As for me, I’m willing to try anything at this point. Creams, pills… it doesn’t matter. As long as I get some relief from my PMS symptoms, I’m in!