Transcription
One of my favorite sayings about money is "I'm too broke to buy cheap." Also known as "buy it nice or buy it twice," which means that sometimes you have to spend more money, or it's going to cost you more in the long run. But lately, I've been noticing that that's not necessarily the case anymore. It's 100% polyester. Oh my god. Wow. And purchases that were once considered luxury or bougie aren't really worth the money. So today, I'm going to be sharing 10 expensive things that are no longer worth the money, because if I'm honest, they're kind of cheap.
Starting with the first one that is genuinely shocking me these days, and it used to be the smartest way to shop, and that is thrifting. I don't know what is happening in the thrift store lately, but it seems like everything has skyrocketed. Thrifting and shopping secondhand used to genuinely be the smartest way that you could spend your money. And it used to be the way that a lot of people on a fixed or low income had access to getting a lot of essentials. For years, you could genuinely walk into a Goodwill or Value Village with like $40 and be able to walk out with an entirely new wardrobe made of high-quality things and out of natural fibers like silk, cotton, wool, leather. The thrift store was like where it's at, but it just doesn't seem like that's the case anymore. And I think it's because it went viral. And I feel like when things go viral, the economics around it seems to change. And don't get me wrong, I think the thrift store and shopping secondhand is still a lot more affordable than buying brand new. And we will get to that in this video, don't worry. But the problem that I have in particular with things like the thrift store and resale websites is that the prices simply do not reflect the quality of the item and the fact that it is pre-loved. Sometimes the resale price can be more than buying brand new. But over the years, the quality of things like clothing, appliances, accessories has gone down, and that's what's filling up the thrift stores now. So, they're being completely filled with things like fast fashion, fast furniture, and pretty much everything is plastic and just cheap, but it's not being priced that way. So, even though I think thrifting and shopping secondhand is still a very affordable and responsible way to shop, I just feel like you have to dig deeper to actually find the good deals and the high-quality items that are actually worth the money. But the fact that it's also become a big business and something that is in higher demand, it also means that the prices are going to reflect that demand. So, even websites that promote secondhand shopping like Depop, Poshmark, Vinted, and The Real Real, the prices are still quite high. And in Canada at least, like, don't get me started. Why does it cost upwards of $65 just to ship a product? I just feel like lately a lot of us are turning to secondhand shopping because it does feel like the more affordable and more responsible way to shop. But, I don't know, they're kind of making it hard for us. I really feel like. And the other unfortunate thing about thrifting and secondhand shopping, too, is that I feel like the people who need it the most are getting priced out of it now. And don't get me wrong, this is not to say that I won't be shopping secondhand anymore. I just feel like it's a bit harder to do and a lot more expensive than it used to be. I feel like it's almost an Olympic sport these days just to not find plastic clothing at the thrift store.
Okay, now let's move on to the other end of the spectrum that I think is no longer worth the money and that is anything luxury and that's secondhand with the prices absolutely skyrocketing and especially brand new. It feels like for decades that luxury used to be the most desirable thing because it was seen as not only something that showed that you made it and it was a status item, but for decades it truly felt like the quality really did match the price. Luxury items used to be premium. They were made of the highest quality materials and they were designed to be durable, stylish, and they would last you for literal years. Like, why is this cotton t-shirt hundreds of dollars? And why does this vegan leather, aka completely plastic bag, cost you thousands lately? It just feels like even the most luxurious and high-quality prestige brands, a lot of their products just feel equivalent to fast fashion. So at the end of the day, what are we really paying for? And I'm kind of curious to know what changed and when. Like, in the '90s, Chanel used to use real gold in their hardware. And the markup was high, but it wasn't as bad or as wide as it is today. In 2010, a Chanel bag would run you about $2,000. But today, the exact same bag with no real gold on it, by the way, will run you over $10,000. That's going on a 500% price increase over the last 15 years with a reduction in quality and materials. Then we have the whole scandal of the $53 Dior bag and this Miu Miu jacket that cost thousands of dollars falling apart on camera in real time, not once, but twice. There's fast fashion, which we all know is kind of cheap and poorly made. But now we're moving into an era of fast luxury. And it feels like only a few years ago that you could say buying the high-end brand was because of the quality. But now I just feel like we can't really say that. And I just want to say before we go any further that everything I talk about in this video, I'm not necessarily saying not to buy it anymore, but I just feel like the price of the thing has gone up so much lately that it's really making me think twice before I decide to spend the money and just dig a little deeper, because a lot of the times that quality is just not measuring up to the price.
This next one I feel like is no longer worth the money because it almost feels like the price of this now is almost the exact same as buying the higher-end item, and that is drugstore makeup. I was at my local drugstore the other day and I was looking at the mascara and it was $27.99 for like a L'Oreal Telescopic. I was absolutely floored. So, it almost feels like the option that was meant to be a bit more budget-friendly and budget-conscious is almost the exact same price that you would pay for the premium product. I will include the caveat that I think drugstore makeup is worth it when you buy it on sale, especially, but even the ultra-budget makeup brands that, you know, you could get a blush for $3, even the prices of those have gone up quite a bit. So, it just seems like the truly budget options are disappearing.
This next one actually used to be cheap and quite affordable, but now it is absolutely not worth the money at all, and that is fast food. Fast food just used to solve a very specific problem. You need something to eat, you need it to be quick, and you need it to be cheap. Now, a combo at McDonald's will set you back anywhere from $18 to $20. And a coffee and a breakfast sandwich will cost close to $10. Even though not ideal, fast food used to be the thing that people would turn to when they couldn't afford anything else. But it is just not that anymore. And the companies even know that because they're making efforts to reduce their prices. And the worst part about all of it is is that it's not even good. It's just expensive. But the trade-off used to be that it was cheap. Now it's not good for you. It doesn't even taste that good and it's expensive on top of everything else. So it's just absolutely not worth it.
The next one, I know I am not alone on this one, and that is any streaming services. When Netflix came to streaming, it was absolutely revolutionary. For around $8 a month, you could stream your favorite shows ad-free. And at the end of the day, streaming was meant to replace cable. You could watch what you wanted on demand with no ads anytime you wanted for a really low price that you could also watch anywhere and even share your passwords. But nowadays, it is starting to look and feel and cost exactly like cable. Because if there's a particular show you really want to watch and it's not on Netflix, now you have to buy Disney, Hulu, or Paramount Plus to watch it. You can't share your password anymore. There's tiered pricing systems and now you have to sit through ads to be able to watch your favorite show. So when you put Netflix, Apple, HBO, Paramount Plus, Hulu, and all of those streaming services together, it easily can exceed $100 a month. And it's just not worth it anymore. The only streaming we pay for now is YouTube Premium because we actually watch more YouTube than we do any other TV shows. But the other thing we do now with our streaming services is basically churning the subscriptions. So, if there's a show that we want to watch that's on Netflix, we'll subscribe to Netflix for the month. And then, if there's a show that we want to watch on HBO or Apple TV, then we'll cancel Netflix and subscribe to Apple for that month. It becomes a lot more affordable. You can watch what you want to watch, and you're not paying for a bunch of useless streaming services that you're not using.
Viral junk trends. And you know exactly what I'm talking about when I say this. Think Le Boooos. Think jellys. Think Beanie Babies. Think the Stanley Cups. Listen, okay, I bought this like 5 years ago before they went crazy viral and I've had it since. It's got chips in it. It is well-loved. It is being used. But what I'm saying here is that if you can avoid buying into the viral expensive junk trends, then you'll be saving yourself so much money and it is not worth the money because these trends end up in the thrift store 2 months later. Like, some Laboos cost over $100 and I really don't know what for. If you like them, no judgment. But something tells me that you're going to find these in excess at the thrift store in the next couple of months, if you're not finding them already, that is. And that's because if you let yourself get caught up in trends, especially at their peak, that's also likely when they're going to be the most expensive. And if you don't end up using that thing for a really long time or just replace it with the next trend that comes along, like what's the new water bottle right now? Then it means that that money has been wasted. If you like it and you're going to use it, especially after it's no longer trendy, then it could be worth it. But if you're just buying into each trend because that's what everybody else is doing, then I'm sorry to say I think that you're just wasting your money.
This next expensive item I think is no longer worth it for two reasons. One obviously being that it just feels expensive for what it is, and two, it's probably just healthier and better for you to avoid these things at all. And that is protein snacks. I'm talking about anything that's marketed to have protein in it. So like protein bars, protein chips, protein coffee. It just feels like lately that a brand can slap the word "protein" on a package and then charge an extra $4 to $6 for it just because it has 5g of extra protein in it. And don't get me wrong, I'm all about the protein. Should be all about the fiber, too, by the way. But just eat real food. Not only is it going to be more affordable, but it's also going to be more satiating, more nutritious, and far less processed. I actually stopped buying all forms of protein bars, protein milk, any of that stuff. And the only thing I still do consume on occasion is protein powder, but it's because I'd rather focus on eating real food. And they're not very balanced or satiating. So, you're going to eat the thing thinking that you're doing something healthy and then you're still going to be hungry afterwards. A lot of the times, especially protein bars, are like glorified chocolate bars. So, for me, it really just hasn't been worth the money, and I'd rather spend that money that I'm saving on these protein products and put that towards real groceries instead.
I think we all collectively know that most fast fashion is fairly low quality, but it at least used to be affordable. It just feels like the most historically affordable fashion retailers like Zara, H&M are getting progressively more expensive, while the quality is getting even worse. I talk a lot about fashion on my channel and I get a comment at least every day about how your pieces from Zara, H&M, etc. from 10 years ago are so much better than what is made today. And it just feels like everything is getting overall. And you know what? The ultra-fast fashion brands aren't exempt from this. Even mid-tier and high-end brands really feel like they're cutting corners. Items that historically were made of natural fibers are now having synthetics mixed in. Fabrics are getting thinner. Construction is getting sloppier, and it really just feels like the trade-off of what you get for the price is no longer worth it. There are still definitely good brands out there doing great things, but it just seems like you have to work harder to find those pieces. At the end of the day, quality is going down and prices are going up.
And this last one I am not too upset about because at the end of the day, it is saving me money, and that is online shopping. And I find that online shopping is now both expensive and no longer worth it. Specifically because of shipping costs and duties. I have stopped shopping at a lot of places because the shipping fees and the import fees are absolutely outrageous. Like, for example, I was looking at buying an item secondhand off The Real Real the other day and it now costs over $65 to ship to Canada before taxes and duties, by the way. But I don't I can't tell you how many shopping carts I have abandoned because it just didn't feel worth the price. It genuinely feels like things are getting more and more expensive while the quality of things is not keeping up with the price. There's definitely ways that you can still live frugally and spend intentionally, but those are just some things that I now feel are just no longer worth the money. Let me know in the comments some things that you stop spending money on because they just feel way too expensive or, you know, they just kind of feel like cheap for the price. But if you want to know some little luxuries that I think are actually worth the money and don't need to cost a lot, then you can watch this video next. Thanks so much for watching and I'll see you next week. Bye.