Sunglasses or Happiness, you can't have both.

I only buy expensive designer clothes. At Marshalls or TJ Maxx. It cracks me the fuck up seeing someone pay over $100 for a Ralph Lauren polo shirt when I got the same one for $20-$30. I never pay full price for any clothing item.

 

Alt. Focus: I bought expensive Oakleys my senior year in high school. I lost them two weeks later. I got a replacement pair, which were then seized by the ocean during Spring Break. Third time's a charm, right? Wrong. The third replacement pair lasted two months before being lost. After spending nearly $500 on sunglasses in four months, I swore off expensive brands forever. I purchased $18 sunglasses from Target the very next day -- six years ago -- and I still have the sonsabitches. I think the universe was trying to teach me a lesson.

Focus: I splurge on outdoor equipment. It's like crack to me. I see an advertisement for a new car, or a new video game system, or a new television, and I shrug my shoulders. I see an ad for a new tent and I can't rest until I have it. Even though a Walmart tent would suit most of my needs perfectly, I wouldn't be caught dead without a tent that didn't have Mountain Hardwear or Marmot or North Face or REI stitched on the outside. The same goes for jackets, sleeping bags, headwear, etc. Generic brands would work just fine for the conditions I'm most commonly in. But I splurge to get the gear that would hold up in the fucking Himalaya, and I couldn't tell you why. My bank account weeps.

There are exceptions, of course. A brand name backpack will last far longer than a generic one, expensive hiking boots are way more comfortable, and so on. Splurging on stuff like that I can justify.

 

I've found that in certain areas, like sunglasses and cell phones, the more I pay, the longer they last. I bought a $300 pair of Oakleys that have lasted five years. I have another $150 pair with bigger lenses and a goggle effect for motorcycle riding. I've spent a minimum of $300/phone since 2003. But I've only had three of them.

I wear sunglasses nearly every day. Riding, driving, pretty much any time I'm outside. But I can't really find a good hat.

 

I've been trying to think about it and the only thing that I really splurge on is lumber. Fucking lumber. Not booze (95% of the time, it's pbr or simpler times for me), not clothes (I'm an artist who works in the ghetto -- nice clothes would only get me in trouble)... I had to sit down and think about this for like 5 minutes, and the only thing that I buy solely on quality with no regard to cost is lumber. I've been learning how to make furniture for the past couple of years and I love it. In this case, the quality of the wood really makes the piece. So I guess I splurge on lumber.

About the sunglasses -- I've always been a walgreens $9.99 sunglasses consumer myself. Why spend more when you're going to lose them in two weeks anyway?

 

I buy Oakleys, but only because I get the ridiculous military discount. 70 bucks for a pair of polarized, comfortable sunglasses is something I can live with.

You know what I don't understand? Fat girls who spend money on ANYTHING expensive designed to make them look good. Designer makeup, sunglasses, shoes, clothes, whatever. I'd rather date/marry/look at a sweaty, unkept skinny girl in a wifebeater and jeans than a 60+ pounds overweight woman wearing $5K worth of crap. It baffles me to no end.

 

Computer stuff is what I will get my money's worth on. Anything else really I don't particularly care.

 

I splurge on sunglasses and shoes. Nike SB, Supra TK Society, etc. I never pay retail, though. There's a few stores nearby that price match with online retailers so its cheaper for me to walk into the store and a choose a pair than it is to order online and pay shipping.

Every pair of sunglasses I've worn so far has looked really good on me. I'll feel good about it the first day I wear them, but afterwards I feel like a douche and have to take them off. I really can't understand the people who wear their sunglasses inside or at night. I hate wearing them anyway.

I buy expensive things that make me look good and then feel self-conscious about looking good.

 

I splurge on presents and clothes and anything materialistic that's going to make me happy. I skimp on things like birthday cards.

I love sunglasses and other accessories.

 

Focus: I splurge on gas, in that I don't ever make driving decisions based on saving gas. I will go for long drives for no reason and to no particular destination. If I want to go somewhere (or just to drive) then, damn it, it's worth it to me.

I skimp on clothing. I probably spent less than $200 on clothing this year.

 

I got this Nokia for 180-200 RMB, which I guess is maybe 20 USD, with a sim card and lots of credit, etc. By todays standards it is a brick, but it lasts. I have dropped it from high heights countless times and even throw it around. My friends who spend 1000-2000 RMB (maybe 150-300 USD) and get razor thin phones that are so fragile, must always replace them, because they break so easily.

Plus, in China, cell phone theft is very very common when you have such a phone. The thieves are very sly and it usually happens on a crowded bus when you can barely move. Some of my friends who always get the expensive ones have had to replace them 2, 3, sometimes 4 or 5 times. But I still have my brick. And it was cheap and it does what it needs to do, send texts and call.

I just spent lots of money on a. Birkenstocks (the most comfortable shoes I have ever had the pleasure of wearing). b. Ipod, which was a semi mistake, because some of the Chinese brands are cooler with more functions and more durable, but the ipod is cool in other ways too. c. Good food. After all, you are what you eat!!

 

You got in here and you're in China? Shit, their filters must have really gone balls-up.

 

Maybe he's in Taiwan (pardon me, Chinese Taipei) and really patriotic about it?

 

I generally spend a fair amount of money on booze and I used to spend nearly everything I earnt on cds back before downloading was commonplace.

As far as sunglasses go I very rarely go anywhere without them being a fair skinned Ranga kid my eyes don't like bright light. That being said the military does have its perks and i get my prescription sunglasses for free.

 

Actually, I've found that cheap cell phones last longer and if you lose it, it's no big deal. I've had my current cell phone for almost two years, and it costs less than a hundred dollars.

 

Since I don't often lose things I like to have nice sunglasses, but I don't understand how sunglass shops get away with charging as much as they do when you can buy the same thing online for 1/4 the price. I'm up to my second pair of Serengetis now - both were bought on ebay for <$100 and retailed for $400+. $100 might be a lot to pay, but they last for years, they're comfortable, and the build quality and glass lenses make it worthwhile. I feel proud of them every time I put them on, and I can remember at least one road trip that was started because I had a sudden urge to wear them whilst driving.

 

I actually buy converse because I thought it was great for your body. The whole So-Shitty-It-Simulates-Barefootedness thing. It's just something iyour muscles and joints slowly adapt to and grow stronger.

 

Penn and Teller just did an episode of Bullshit! on organic food, actually. I used to buy some stuff organic, but I won't anymore.

<a class="postlink" href="http://tv.blinkx.com/show/penn-teller-bullshit/qFYGFtstICViITML" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://tv.blinkx.com/show/penn-teller-b ... stICViITML</a>

 

So you mean to tell me none of those antibiotics and pesticides don't get into the food?

Edit: You never mentioned why and I haven't seen that Penn and Teller episode, so this is a legitimate question.

Anti Focus: I splurge on guns, ammo, computer components, work boots, leather dress shoes, music and fishing gear. (not necessarily in that order)

Focus: Everything else I don't give a shit about because it can always be found cheaply.