Kate Hunter
By KATE HUNTER
It’s hard to decide whether tyres or termite control top my list, but I’m going with tyres as the process of getting them fitted irks almost as much as the expense.
At least when the termite man comes I don’t have to sit in a lounge reading the August 2008 issue of ‘On Four Wheels’ and drinking frothy Cafe Bar tea.
I don’t mind spending money per se. I’m reasonably good at it. Much better than saving, in fact, but I do like to have something to show for it. Not show off – no one wants to see my groceries, but shelling out cash for invisible, unattractive things that you may or may not even need, pains.
Termite control is a good example. It is the FEAR of something that makes you pay up. The feeling that the year we miss the inspection will be the year our home will crumble like meringue and we’ll end up on A Current Affair, crying and telling other families, ‘don’t let this happen to you.’
There’s also school shoes. I was brainwashed as a child by that ad for Clark’s in which an ominous voiceover warned, ‘A badly fitting school shoe can do lifelong damage to this little foot.’ Yikes. So although Aldi sells what I’m sure are fine shoes for under $10 a pair, fear of my kids growing up with munted geisha-feet saw me shelling out $300 for three pairs of shoes that AREN’T EVEN PRETTY.
There are other items on my ‘grudge spend’ list. They include:
1. Dental work. Painful both literally and metaphorically.
2. Vet bills. My grandpa had a dog called Spotty who lived to 16 and never had a checkup, vaccination, wore a tick collar or had flea treatment tablets. I left the vet last week $200 poorer and had NOTHING TO SHOW FOR IT. The dog wasn’t even sick, but who wants to risk kennel cough?
“When did hairdressing get SO expensive?”
3. Weird things when the car gets serviced. What does it mean, exactly, when my brakes need ‘machining’? Is ‘machining’ even a word? Is it a new thing? I don’t remember my parents ever worrying about unmachined brakes. I suspect mechanics are giggling about this over their iced coffees every day, ‘Hey, there’s another chick who’s fallen for the machining thing again.Bloody hilarious.’
4. Hairdressing. When did this get SO expensive and why is it increasingly necessary to have a ‘colourist’ as well as a ‘cutter’? And how much better is a senior anyway? It’s the fear factor again, ‘Well sure, you can save a few bucks if you’re happy to a have a JUNIOR have a crack with the scissors. Under supervision, of course’ Gulp, no thanks.
5. Water. Happy with tap. Delighted in fact, so please, waitstaff, don’t sneer if I ask for it.
6. A surcharge for using ANY credit card at a hotel. SERIOUSLY? You really expect cash in this day and age? No, of course you don’t. It’s just a nice way to take another clip.
That’s my little rant for today. Your turn now.
What are the things you resent spending money on?
Comments
264 Comments so far
GST on feminine hygiene products!!!!
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Lemons.
I hate having to spend $1 when every second house has a tree and my own supply has just run out.
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Nit treatment..ugh…
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Application fees for primary and high schools. They don’t even enrol you, it’s just for you to put your name on a list to say you want to attend that school. And because you don’t know until close to the time your child would attend school you then end up ‘applying’ at a few schools at $80-100 a pop. These are just catholic and independent schools, I’m not talking about private schools (don’t get me started on the enrolment fees they charge, as a former teacher at a private school I was shocked by what parents had to pay as part of their enrolment, aside from their school fees).
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Private school fees! Why is there such a big difference between what a State school offers vs a private school? Time the government invested real money in our teachers, schools and children.
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Really??
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Car rego: Detest it. I know why we have and need it but I hate it.
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Good advice I read on reddit.com: Always invest in things between you and the ground: tyres, shoes and a mattress.
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WEDDINGS and any thing to do with them! :-/
I can not stand the fact that when you mention the word “Wedding” venues triple in price!!! One person wouldn’t normally spend $140 (plus drinks) on an average 3 course meal, well if you had the cash to splurge it would want to be the best meal you have ever had. Then you have to pay a venue hire also! Argh
Also yes photographers and videographers are talented, their equipment is expensive and they spend a lot of time after the big day editing etc… but why does it cost so much???? $4000 for one day is just CRAZY.
I am a busy make up artist (good one too if I don’t say so myself) I charge brides, bridesmaids, MOB one flat rate same as any other make up application…. I don’t see the point in ripping someone off to make them feel special on “their” day.
I’m sure you get my point!
Rant over.
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Even if I hit the lottery, spending money on toilet paper, diapers and feminine products IRK the heck out of me!!
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Female hygiene and contraceptive products! So expensive, so necessary, so annoying!
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-RTA
-Greenslip
-Insurance
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Stamp duty when you buy a house. Especially here in NSW where it is so exorbitant. You can look at a house and think that’s in my price range then just add another 10-20 thousand on top of it. Then you don’t even get a lousy certificate or bit of paper to say I paid all this money to the government.
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Speeding tickets and parking fines – doh!
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Hair removal…it just grows back and costs more money!!
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Gifts! I love buying for those who share with me how they used/enjoyed the gift – but really resent the no reply or the lack of thanks. Have to admit I don’t mind paying for good insurance. When the workcover insurer refused to pay for prescribed surgery, it was priceless when my private health insurer said ‘of course, no problem,’ and It could happen immediately.
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Learn how to do your own hair. It’s not that hard and in my case it looks better than when I went to the hairdresser because it gets done when it needs it, instead of when I can spare the time.
I can’t believe how much I spent at the hairdressers over the years and it was largely unnecessary.
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I also cut my own hair – always get the exact look i want and get complimented all the time. For many styles, it’s not hard at all but we all have a fear that ‘only’ a professional can do it. I’ve had some great stylish cuts in the past by some really talented hairdressers, but once i have the ‘base’ i can trim and cut it in the same style myself. I save SOOOOO much money.
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I am so jealous of you guys. I am clueless I tried to cut my own fringe once and it was sooo very bad lol. Good on you guys.
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Parking. I will walk long distances to find a free parking zone.
and the ‘handling fees’ on tickets when I have to print them out at home. I should be getting a ticket-printing discount!
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Cold sore treatment. Egghhh
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I have to shell out upwards of $200 to go to a relative’s hen’s night. Absurd.
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BUYING PRESENTS!!!
It has been nonstop with events that you have to bring gifts to:
Oh you got engaged? = Engagement party $100, kitchen tea $50, hens night $80, wedding gift ($150-$200).
Oh you’re pregnant? = babyshower, visiting baby in hospital gift and then christening gift followed 12 months later by 1st bday present.
Not to mention never ending birthdays, christenings, housewarmings and donating to the office cash pool of events.
Include Easter, Mothers day, father’s day (including in-laws), Valentines Day, wedding anniversary and Christmas and I am officially broke.
And these days people don’t open their gift in front of you so you dont even end up seeing their happy face? And rarely get a thankyou??
Don’t get me started on how much is spent on outfits for all of the occasions either….
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Oh working2jobs, I hear you!! I seem to be stuck on this endless gift spendathon rollercoaster too. Any ideas on how to rein it in a bit without appearing to be a tightass beaitch? I am not good at homemade (sadly) so not confident in giving nice biscuits or other cute homemade-y things – although I love getting those types of gifts myself. It’s time to stop the gift giving madness
but how!!!!
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A possible solution is to spend $4 on Betty Crocker and bring a platter of chocolate brownies (substitute as house warming/non-milestone bday gift).
It’s hard to scrimp especially when you come from a big family and have lots of friends!
I think everyone should put on invitations:
“no presents or if you must give then make charitable donation to xxx charity” and give a website link!
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I would so love if someone would make me Betty Crocker brownies for a gift! that’s a very good idea.
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The “Bushland” levy on my rates. I live in an inner city suburb – where is the bush and what are the council doing with it that requires all these dollars? Heck, I’m me and a couple of the neighbours would happily get busy with the secateurs for an hour or so one weekend a year if it meant no more levy.
Feminine hygiene products. If men had them they’d be collectable free from a variety of outlets, like the servo, the pub, fast food shops and the TAB.
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Feminine hygiene – I have gone resusable. Lunette (aka “diva cup”) and backup cloth pads. Saving so much
and it is a lot easier than you might think.
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Parking fines… I had a few when I was younger and the annoyance factor has made me VERY careful about where I park my car! hehe
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Insurance. It costs us thousands each year and I hate it. The more stuff we have, the more fear we have about losing it, thus the more we spend to protect it… All while running the risk that if we haven’t read the Product Disclosure Statement properly, we may not be covered in the event of damage / medical bills etc anyway!! A vicious cycle.
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Water connection. $200 a quarter just to be connected….
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This is my husband’s favourite rant. Up until this year (don’t be fooled by the weather predictions on tv, it’s been a really dry summer in Brisbane), we hadn’t used the town water for 7 years, so my husband used to rant every bill about the water connection and sewerage licensing fees.
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Water rates!
Not happy about paying for something that falls out of the sky, free.
Next they’ll invent a little meter embedded into our skin which will measure the amount of sun we take in, and slap a tax on that!
And postage! Parcel postage.
Bad enough sending something in Oz, but sending overseas really empties out ones purse. It’d be cheaper for me to go over to Baa-land and hand the gift over in person…
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Major appliances that were working just fine yesterday but have now decided to stop functioning altogether. You need to pay a bomb to get someone to take a look at it then another bomb to order the spare part and come back and replace it. You’re back to square one with the same appliance but $350 worse off wondering why you didn’t just buy a new one.
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I hate the airline credit card surcharge – Seriously the only quick way to pay and they sting you for it.
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I hate spending money on sports club fees at uni! I play hockey and that’s $300 a year plus $50 cos you have to be a member of the sport and fitness club. Then in my first year of hockey I had to pay and extra $50 for uniform, $70 for hockey shoes (didn’t REALLY need them, but they provide better grip). And last season my stick broke cos I’m an agressive player and so another $120 spent on a new hockey stick.
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You’ve got it good! If you were a goalie your kit would be closer to $2,000.
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Yeah that’s true but once you have your kit you have it! At our club if you wanna be a goalie you can borrow a club goalie kit. I’m too small to be a goalie anyway so yeah, i do have it good haha.
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Haha brake problems with the car – why is it always that? Oh, I know, the fear that the next time you go driving you’ll sail through a red light in a busy intersection. Mechanics always charge me for that one, too.
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-Fixing my bike wheel since a pathetic individual trashed my bike while chained up
-TV Licence grrrr
-EXHORBITANT Council Tax
-Overpriced & underserviced Public Transport
-Transport/show/whatever tickets that NO-ONE ever looks at!
-Overpriced haircuts when I never requested the ‘senior’ hairdresser but they were assigned to me
-Awful customer service
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I have a business and i can tell you that Surcharges on credit cards are bank imposed so if I didn’t charge that to the customer I would lose alot of money! It’s not much on small purchases but if its big stuff it can really add up. Most places would offer you other options besides cash though…
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But surely processing cash costs you money too? It’s just indirect, so you may not have noticed it.
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Medications! Hundreds a month and I keep feeling worse. Am now trying a new lifestyle to try and ditch them.
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Right now, as a teen, I don’t have to spend a lot of money on stuff. But there is one thing I absolutely detest spending so much money on: my bras. Since when did having a big chest mean me spending three to five times as much money on bras as my smaller boobed sister? And what happened to places actually stocking my size? My complaint is me being charged $80 for a simple t-shirt bra. I can’t even find anything cheaper, since my size (small band, large cup) is very hard to find now. Companies don’t seem to realise that skinny girls can have big boobs.
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I hear you – except I have the opposite problem. I need a small cup with a larger band. The only difference is that I see the value in a decent bra so I’ll fork out the big bucks. I only have 1 set of breasts and I try my best to look after them!
They are ridiculously expensive though. Surely they don’t cost that much to manufacture?
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I see the necessity in buying good quality bras but I absolutely abhor handing over my money for them. I think the price has to do with the fact that many underwear companies – Bonds, La Senza, etc – don’t make bras in that size, so the companies who do make them nonchalantly go, “Well, where else would these girls get their bras? Why not rip ‘em off!” It’s also the time and effort that goes into designing bras to support bigger boobs or to manufacture “weirder” sizes, like a large band but small cup.
It’s just frustrating and I can’t afford a bloody $90 Curvy Kate bra!
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I can relate. I too have a large cup and small back so my size was only in the higher end brands and rarely on sale. What really annoyed me was for years I was unable to even find a sports bra in my size – what, slim girls with big boobs don’t do exercise huh?! Thankfully times have changed and there is more variety now (no more parachutes with underwire!) but I still have to buy higher end bras. Ah well, and people always wish for bigge boobs. If only they knew!
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stating the obvious here. but, groceries! why are you so expensive!!!
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I hate spending money on petrol!
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I don’t mind paying for things that provide a service or a product. What I hate is paying for things that are either not good value or no value at all:
- Insurance (of any kind)
- Parking
- ATM fees
- Paying council to register my dog
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Some days I pretty much resent paying for everything, but the vet bills irk me, as do flea and tick collars etc.
Pumps for the pool, water tank and sewerage annoy me too. Our water tank is playing up after only 3 years. 3 years! They’re not cheap pieces of equipment either.
Replacing white goods and tvs etc after only a few years drives me up the wall as well.
Insurances of all types annoy me, despite the fact that our house and contents has paid out a complete claim, we’ve made small claims for the cars and I’ve claimed for income protection and trauma insurance. It’s just the constant payments….
Wedding stuff.. Do “they” see the word wedding and just double or triple the price for everything automatically?
Rates: that bill that comes regularly for services in your area, like umm, road repairs (that actually never get done, or done in the cheapest, crappiest manner possible).
I really need to stop now.
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Re your wedding stuff observation: Yes, I believe it’s been proven a few times that if you ask for something for a non-specific function, it’s much cheaper than if it’s for a wedding.
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I’m not surprised. Fortunately I don’t think my daughter will turn into a bridezilla, or spend thrift. She’s too concerned about money. We’ve booked an average price venue and she just put a deposit on a 2nd hand gorgeous dress for under a grand and is looking at calling in flavours for cake and flowers etc. The general expense of it just shits me to tears.
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Ugh – I resent most of all, spending money (and time) on a gift for someone that is simply not appreciated. Either it’s “too thoughtful” (yep, had that one) or “That’s awesome, but I don’t want my cool uni friends knowing I’m in to Manga!” (yep, that one too).
*sigh* I know it’s my own fault – I thought I was putting consideration into it. But some people have different personas for different groups of friends. And I’d much prefer to buy a gift that will actually be used, rather than wasting my money and your time. Gives me more time to argue with the mechanic.
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Uni books. I am happy to pay, but can they be subsidised please!
Uni fees (300 bucks a semester!)
Sports bra (my boobs are big, I dont want to get smashed in the face, I’m happy to buy them.. But the good ones cos an arm and a leg!)
Hmmm that’s probably the biggest ones.
I’d like things to cost less (groceries, petrol, tampons etc) but I am happy to pay for stuff.
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I really don’t like spending money on stuff. Ornaments, DVDs, CDs, appliances, furniture, clothing. That sort of thing. I don’t feel it adds anything to my life. Sure, if you socks all have holes in them you ought to buy some new ones. However, I mean buying stuff for the sake of the experience. Buying stuff outside of the utility of it. How many pairs of socks do we need? And do we need to spend $30 on a pair when a $1.80 pair from Rivers will do?
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And less stuff = less insurance too
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In the vast stack of bills we have had of late, I think the one for having our septic tank pumped out was the crappest. Oh, and having to buy in water, depressing.
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Insurance! I was insuring myself for a while and it worked perfectly (saving money into an account that I never ever touched). But my husband was all ‘ we need insurance! ‘. It still bugs me to see that money going nowhere. (and kinda touch wood it never does)
Bettina @ http://www.littleoldsouls.com
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At the risk of being an insurance nerd, your money isn’t ‘going nowhere’ – it’s going to other people whom you’re sharing your risk with, just as theirs would go to you if you made a claim. Oh, and some for the insurance company, too
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I hate having to pay for daycare when one of them are sick and can’t go (and yes I know why I have to pay and yes I think they do wonderful work but I hate having to pay for something that isn’t being used! Especially when the other week I took the kid to the doctor who said he wasn’t even sick!)
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I especially hate it when some other snotty nosed kid at the centre infects mine and then they exclude my kid until he gets a doctors clearance. Or they decide they are understaffed and simply don’t open for a couple of days and still charge us all – my husband had to take 3 days off work which cost us hundreds and yet we still had to pay the freakin centre for NOT providing a service.
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Can they actually just close and still charge you?? That’s outrageous, I would be putting in a complaint to somewhere!
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I’ve had pet cats all my life and never once had them vaccinated. All three cats lived to over 15 years old. Only go to the vet if they’re obviously injured or sick.
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Out of interest Pumpkin Eater do you vaccinate yourself or if relevant your children?
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I’m not Pumpkin Eater but I don’t vaccinate my 2 cats however my children and I are vaccinated. I am not willing to spend that much on a cat. I am not a member of this new club where we treat our pets the same as the human members of our family. Our dog is 16 now and she has never been vaccinated either. It probably helps that she does not visit boarding kennels or dog parks, if she did then I would consider vaccination.
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Oh dear God. Of course I vaccinate myself and my children. I’m a pet lover, just not a vet donater.
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House insurance. Just got our annual bill of $600. Then found out our neighbours have NEVER had house insurance. WHAT THE?!! How can people take the risk? Then I got our bill and thought hmmm….Will pay it anyway… what if it burnt down?!
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Yes, they do, I can vouch for that one personally, unfortunately. Keep your home insurance.
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Your insurance is sooo cheap!
I live in Nth Qld and our home and contents is now $4,500. Last year it was $3,000 and the year before that it was under $2,000.
I really begrudge having to pay this much more as a result of a couple of big natural disasters…I certainly doubt our insurer will be offering a refund after a few years of no natural disasters!
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Some people don’t have a choice when it comes to insurance they just cannot afford it so have to take the risk. Insurance is unfortunately a luxury in many cases
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GST on tampons. Hate that.
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pads/tampons! its not our fault we get our period.. surely the government would have subsidised this by now..
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I suppose you could say the same thing about lots of products, though. Nappies, for example. Babies can’t help pooing!
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I HATE spending money on anything that means I have nothing new or different to show for it: car services, insurance, electricity bills, replacing or repairing broken appliances, parking fines, etc! Happy to spend on clothes, food, entertainment – anything for which the use is tangible and consumable is fine!
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I resent every kwh of electricity I pay to watch TV whenever Sam Kekovich does those stupid Australia Day ads for lamb!
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WAXING!
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