Coming up to Xmas, think before you buy.
Fad: An intense widely shared enthusiasm for something, especially one that is short lived.
Are you like me and tend to buy the latest fads? On looking back I can’t believe how guilty I, sorry we, have been of jumping in and buying something because it seemed like a good idea at the time. So I’ve had a look back at the things that we have bought that have turned out to be a tremendous waste of money.
First of all the 3D TV springs to mind. Remember a few years ago as you entered those electrical shops like Currys and at one time Harvey Normans, you were invited to sit on a sofa in front of a large TV screen and watch the latest innovation TV. We ducked and screamed when it looked as if something was going to come out of the screen and hit us. It was so exciting, so new and such a waste of money. “We have got to have one of those” said the hubby, after watching the 3D golf. “the grandchildren will love it.” “Hmm,” I thought, ” didn’t know the grandchildren were into golf” The oldest was nine at the time. Anyhow we bought the TV and extra glasses so nobody would miss out. Not sure we had thought about enquiring as to how many programmes were available on the 3D channel at the time because ( a) the same programme played over and over again, (b) one of the grandkids felt sick after watching it and ( c) to be honest we felt extremely daft sitting in our front room wearing the 3D glasses. So big disappointment all round. Some of the glasses are still in their original boxes. They could become a collecters item in 50 years!
The next waste of time was a Smart TV. It could do everything bar making a cup of tea. All the apps were on it, Netflix , Twitter Facebook and the Internet. Turned out the control box was a nightmare and the time it took trying to type in anything meant it was quicker to do it on the iPhone or the iPad. So we now use the TV…… yes you’ve guessed it, as a TV.
Which takes me to the iPad. I really should have shares in Apple for the number of devices we have purchased from said company. What I should have realised is that I can do practically every thing I want on my iPhone. Well, that and a Mac Air. Grandkids have all had tablets but they invariably spend most of their time on their iPhones too. I suspect that they will soon become obsolete and we will do everything on our phones.
Remember when juicing was the in thing? Yep, we bought a juicer. The amount of fruit it took to get a half glass of liquid would have cleared Tescos shelves. Buying the juice proved easier and cheaper. So it gathered dust in the cupboard beside the George Forman grill. That seemed like a good idea too. But cleaning burnt oil was rather messy and it was a lot easier to clean a frying pan. There was also a lot of smoke produced during the cooking process. Yes, I know it was healthier! That fitted nicely beside the cafetière. All those coffee grounds! A Dolce Gusto machine with neat little pods put paid to the wafting smell of fresh coffee and the coffee grounds. What’s that behind the cafetière? Oh yes it’s the chipper. My mum had one and the chips were lovely. Had to have fresh chips. Much tastier than frozen or bought. Tried that a couple of times. Had 
to cook them in the oven as I had got rid of the deep fat fryer. Thought it was unhealthy. So we ended up with pale looking, not very crisp chips. Back to Aunt Bessie’s. I justified this by thinking that my mum probably had no other choice back in the fifties and would probably have been happy to buy ready made chips. The device for poaching eggs never actually saw the light of day as I forgot about it after I bought it. Lakeland has a lot to answer for. Lakeland is the kitchen goddesses’ ultimate orgasmic experience. Here you can buy such useful items as a ‘wavy trivit’ and a’rabbit cookie cutter’ along with other unheard of kitchenalia. I usually come out with the Kendal Mint Cake which will not last long enough to gather dust at the back of the cupboard.
We’ve also had one of those devices where you could watch Sky in another room. However this meant if I changed the station in the bedroom it also changed the main one. Angry shouts from downstairs. Apple TV seemed a good idea at the time too, no idea what happened to that. It may be stored with the device for measuring the distance from one hole to another on the golf course, the cover for the iPhone that acts as a charger i.e. until we got a new phone that no longer fits, and oh yes, what about the photo frame that used a photo card to display a constant stream of photos? Who prints photos anymore? Must throw out all the photographic paper lying in the drawer.
Then there’s the karaoke machine that hasn’t been used for over two years. Pity that, cause I love Karaoke and have never needed encouragement to sing. Note to self, I’ve got to organise a Karaoke party.
I’m sure like me you also have a drawer full of leads and chargers without a clue what they belong to. But the hubby says not to throw them out as you never know when you might need one. Aye right!
We are a nation of money wasters. Many of us buy on a whim or are influenced by advertising. I think the test before you buy is to consider how you are managing at present without said item and if you are managing ok then you probably don’t need it.
CHATTER 