10 Purchases You Think Will Improve Your Life, But Won’t
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In this episode, Chelsea reveals the "aspirational spending" purchases we think are going to improve our lives, but are actually huge wastes of money. She also offers tips on how to really weigh the cost of an item vs. how useful it will actually be in your life.
SodaStream cost breakdown:
Myth of diamonds as in an investment:
How to buy better furniture:
Generic vs. name brand foods:
Medication regulations:
Dry cleaning costs:
Skincare article:
Weight loss scams:
Do you need a new smartphone?
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I struggled with acne for years until I finally saw a dermatologist. I asked her about some of the remedies and skin care hacks that I had read about on the internet over the years (drinking lots of water, washing your pillowcase after every use, etc) and she seemed confused as to why I would take any of that seriously. After years of feeling like a failure for not being able to make astringent work for me, I finally got medicine that worked and threw away all of the Proactiv in the trash where it belongs. TL;DR: stop spending money on random over the counter acne medicine and talk to a doctor to find out what will actually work for you. Also – free tip for all skin types: USE SUN SCREEN. EVERY DAY. NOT JUST ON BEACH DAYS. EVERY. DAY.
Yes to all of this. The only remedies that ever truly got my acne under control were prescribed by my family doctor or a dermatologist. Fortunately, I live in Canada where cost is not a barrier to accessing these medical services. Biggest takeaways from my dermatologist were anything over the counter is just a “feel good” treatment and always sunscreen. Again, the tinted face sunscreen I now use is only available through my dermatologist.
Yes! I went to dermatologist after finding Dr. Dray on yt. She’s a dermalogist herself and explains everything in more detail as there’s more time than in the appointment.
For me, sunscreen is a big deal. Even know that we dont go out often, my skin has improved bc I am not out in the sun for long.
Most skincare companies are modern day snake oil salesmen. If you have a problem with an organ (your skin), go to a doctor.
Doesn’t make sense to use sunscreen every day here on 60° latitude, at least when you spend less than 3-4 hours outside every day. Not just from my experience, but from many other people, including ones much older. I used sunscreen once, on my trip to Bulgaria (the most southern place I have been to)
1:05 Items that necessitate buying parts or refills
3:31 Expensive jewellery
5:41 Furniture that’s more stylish than well made
8:03 Name brand over generic foods or medications
10:01 “Grown-up” clothing that you didn’t read the instructions for
11:24 DIY supplies for projects you didn’t follow through on
13:30 Home skincare that promises big results
16:21 Scammy weight loss programs or supplements
18:11 High end workout clothes
20:17 The latest smartphone
The real MVP.
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God bless you Jacqui
Thank you! Was scrolling through the comment section just for this comment! Don’t have time for an almost 23 minute video
good looks bro
“So I won’t name names here… We’ll call this brand… Shmu shmu shmemon”
Omfg I laughed out loud 😂😂♥️
Haha! 😉😉
– Saidah, TFD
Haha, me too!
Is that Lululemon? 😁
I felt personally attacked on that one
Same!!! That one really got me! 😂
Never wear jewelry so when my husband and I decided to get married I figured no point in wasting the money on an engagement ring. Then come to find out my mom saved her rings from when she was married to my dad so maybe I would one day wear it (it’s a set of three rings, the engagement ring with a simple diamond, a wrap with rubies, and the wedding band). Probably worth more than anything we would’ve paid for but it was free and has sentimental value that is beyond any dollar amount. Definitely got lucky there.
My mom gave me her rings, too, even though I’d told her my husband and I weren’t going to wear any. The weird thing about it was that she and my dad got divorced. So, I got divorce-tainted rings! Geez, Mom, glad you love me so much you’ll pass on your bad juju jewelry to me.
@@nataliefontane Bad juju… Omg I laughed so hard. 😂
My husband doesn’t wear any jewellery and I wear only my simple wedding band with a few pairs of earrings, none of which cost much. We had an amazing honeymoon trip overseas rather than an expensive wedding. Do what suits you, I say :))
I have a strange Wyoming resident attitude towards engagement rings. I think a good handgun preferably in a caliber that begins with 4 is a better statement of a man’s intentions than a diamond ring and costs less. Any man who will give his intended the means to blow him to smithereens has made a clear statement about the likelihood of inflicting abuse on his future spouse.
Aw that’s so cool. My husband and I wear his great great grandparents’ rings
Chelsea not being able to hold her laugh as she says “Crispy Hexagons” is the content I am looking for 🙂
Scrolled looking for this comment – that made me laugh so hard!
@@rebeccasather literally every time someone goes “pffft” at their own script i *must* replay, i love it so much!!
Omg.. she took me all the way out!!
🤣
SodaStream: I use mine instead of bottled water, not flavoured soda drinks. It uses less space than a stash of waterbottles, I don’t have to schlepp the water up three floors, doesn’t use singleuse bottles (though here in Germany, reuse glass bottles are an easy but heavy option), and I actually drink water at home. So, for me: good investment, independent of the money I spend more or less in it.
This☝🏻
And, here in Germany, it’s so easy to get a new canister. Take the empty one to almost any store and get a (generic) replacement for almost no money.
You can even get the refills at most stores for 50% off. Soda stream is a good deal, and how is it ‘bad for the environment’ compared to bottles and cans? A lot of these videos have started to feel like an obnoxious stretch for content.
Why not a Brita filter?
Completely Agree!!
@@jacquelinele9170 A brita filter doesn’t make soda water
Med student here. I would like to point out that in MOST cases generic drugs are the same as brand name. However, there are situations where the brand name medications are more effective/have better absorption/have fewer side effects. Especially with things like Thyroid medication, the dosage may need to be adjusted if switching between brand name and generic. Make sure you talk to your health care provider if you have concerns about medication costs; they may be able to help find a more cost-effective regimen.
Autumn B In my experience, for prescriptions there can be a difference between brand name and generic in both dosage and side effects. It’s definitely something your health care provider will have to discuss with you.
I don’t think she asks people to swap it themselves. I ask my Dr for the generic brand of everything if it exists while he’s putting in the prescription. He can then adjust as needed.
I have heard about that regarding thyroid medicine. When I worked as a pharmacy tech, it was basically the only drug that the pharmacists didn’t roll their eyes at when people requested name brand. But lbr, most people aren’t on thyroid medication. The amount of people wasting cash buying Zyrtec and Tylenol is ridiculous.
There is also a cardiac medication (can’t for the life of me rennet the name) that contains a form of synthetic bee venom minus the allergen factor and the generic contains actual bee venom. I remember years ago when my dad was in hospital the cardiologist got me to go to a pharmacy to get it for my dad because the hospital only stocked the generic and my dad is anaphylactic to bees.
I agree, personally I have purchased many different brands of ibuprofen of the same dosage but nothing works as well or as quickly as Advil. I will still take/purchase generics but I always notice that it doesn’t work as well. Who knows if thats just placebo though
Our brains are such an essential piece in how and why we spend money. Check out this video listing other ways our brains trick us into purchasing things we may not need: https://youtu.be/VukTIbgitRQ.
How come the Xbox One isn’t on the list? That thing is a fancy paper weight to me:)
😂😂our brains do not trick us! marketing experts do! Everything you debunked is called Marketing and is the life line of the capitalist U.S! 100% true but also, people LOVE spending money!
hey TFT id like to correct a missinformation in your video, Apple didnt throttle phones to force people to upgrade, as phones get older batteries degrade and phones will die faster if kept under the same energy demand and since iphones batteries arent interchangable without investing in repair services this was a problem. the controversy was that they didnt clarify to people this was happening and didnt give them the option to opt out of it
Hi TFD. I know this may put a little more strain on the editing team, though I think the gains outweigh the labor. I noticed you guys put up links to most topics discussed in the video, but it would be amazing to have the option to skip to the next topic if one so desires (like chapters). Sometimes, a topic that’s being covered is not something I need to hear about because I’m already well informed or it’s not applicable to me, but it takes time and patience to sit there and listen through it all, and brings down the overall enjoyment of the video and use of my time. Please consider working around this, because I feel like it’d be a great benefit to your channel and all your viewers. Thank you!
please check out some of my videos for some similar tips!!
In Scandinavia, having a Sodastream makes sense. Financially and environmentally. Sugary drinks have high taxes (varies in each country), and you can buy the cannisters in the supermarkets, where you also take your old ones for recycling.
The reason sugary drinks have taxes is so that people avoid drinking them. Just don’t drink soda, that’s the whole point of the taxes. It’s trash for your body. If you’re getting that much sugar just eat it instead, why drink it?
@@chinchillamdgamer you can just carbonate the water without adding syrups if you want:) I do have a soda stream and on the odd occasion I feel like a flavoured drink I like having the control over how much sugary and/or alcoholic goes in
Honestly the soda stream was the absolute BEST purchase I ever made. It cuts down on SO much waste, I drink plain seltzer all the time and it cuts down on how many cans/bottles I use. It’s also nice to have just one glass of soda on the rare occasion I want one, rather than buying a whole 2 liter bottle I can make it a glass at a time. It saves me so much money. This purchase is TOTALLY worth it. Don’t listen folks- get a Soda Stream if you drink a lot of fizzy drinks lol
Most people I know here in Canada use their Sodastream strictly for water. Hardly anyone I know buys the syrups. And each returned canister means a discounted refill. It makes financial and environmental sense here as well.
Silly to encourage people to buy bottled or canned drinks instead. Plus- hardly fair to compare a Sodastream to say a ridiculous environmental blight like Keurig.
100% agree. My parents bought me the soda stream with glass bottles for my birthday – which has meant since October, we as a family have literally saved HUNDREDS of 500ml plastic bottles and reduced the demand for new creation!
I’m sorry this is probably irrelevant, but it’s a huge pet peeve. Chelsea, corsets were basically the bras/spanx of their day, and women generally weren’t trying to free themselves from them. Women were a big part of the market that made them, including making and even designing them. it was a very female thing. Which was why it got slammed by male doctors in medical journals, or shamed in newspaper editorials. Corsets were designed to be comfortable and supportive. Women just wouldn’t have supported or maintained the industry so long if they weren’t. It took a World war to get rid of traditional “corsets” and even then they were replaced by girdles and bras that did the same job.
I loved the rest of the video, but as a historian, there are few things that aggravate me more than seeing yet another unresearched perpetuation of the myth that corsets were patriarchy-imposes cages, and super uncomfortable. It’s just not the truth. So I try to correct it where I can, even if it seems minor. That lie needs to die.
if corsets of the old times were supportive, can we ditch shitty modern bras and go back to them?!
Zoe Granville girl, you can wear whatever you want
AquaMoonMaiden plus there are healthy/useful corsets too. Like literally an hour ago I was looking at a medical corset to help with some of my lower back pains after long days of standing. There are also corsets for scoliosis, posture, etc. they may not be as fashion forward, but they are very useful health tools. Also yeah bras. They used to be what they used as brad. Also spanx. Don’t forget people use spanx nowadays for basically the same thing.
also corsets were made for the wearer. I have multiple corsets 5 from a shop and 1 I made myself, the ones I brought are a bit uncomfortable after a while but were never bad and the 1 I made for me I can wear all day with no issues. At the end of the day anything thats tailor made will always be comfortable
@@zoegranville7607 they’ll literally move your organs
My mom fooled us for a long time with generic cereal by putting the bags of the generic cereal in the boxes of our favorite “real” cereals. We already weren’t consuming a lot of cereal, so that helped. She still likes to bring that up even though we’re all in our 30s 😁
That’s such a cute story. 😂
Your Mom is a boss!
*Taking notes* BRILLIANT!!!
That’s a mom who knows kids! 😆
One of my daughter’s can’t stand cereal, and my younger just loves that it’s colorful. I prefer the generic cheaper brand because it has less sugar and tastes better.
One thing of note, is I’ve heard the term “throw away” a couple times in the video. May be a better “financial” decision to donate/sell. Thanks for sharing your insights!
She’s a condescending hypocrate
But who isnt? To be biased (typically heavily in your favour) is to be human
Donate/sell is delayed throw away. Most donations end up in the trash… tons of videos on it on YT. Selling used items extends the life of furniture… but other items eventually get thrown out too. Our landfills are filled with decisions based on society influences rather than true necessities.
@@AskMiko that’s like saying the recycling system in the US is flawed so there’s so point even trying to be mindful of packaging/ wash your plastics/ reduce your landfill contribution
@@a.n4031 I think she’s being as honest as she can. Condescending or not. At least she’s talking about an issue that’s real and trying to help people make better purchases. What are you doing to help?
I like how she stated there is a difference between “worth it” versus “worth it to you”. I know it was in reference to expensive jewelry, but it is a true statement for anything you purchase. And, I also agree about West Elm – that chair I bought didn’t last two years!
The expensive workout clothes aren’t about being cute. They last longer without fading, pilling, stretching out. You can confidently downward dog without them being see through. They don’t fall down when you run. They preform better than cheap leggings.
@@rribbonss could you give out the brand names you tried and worth the money
@Christina Phillips they suck. They pill between your legs so you have to keep shaving them down until they’re basically threadbare.
@Christina Phillips I’ve had multiple from them through the years and they were pretty see through
Lululemon are expensive AF but their quality is shite, so no, not every expensive brand is worth the money.
My wife found a great LuLu off brand that is pretty high quality. I forget the name, though. I’ll update later.
Well, in the part of the world I live in , we RENT the wedding dress. We see no point in buying one!!
what’s your part of the world?
I’ve been wanting clothing rentals to become a thing in the U.S.
@@driftingdruid it’s been tried on and off but I don’t know of any right now. Wish it would take off.
I love that
@@driftingdruid In Korea it’s very rare for people to outright buy wedding dresses. Wedding dress rentals is the norm.
Slovakia as well… definitely better
Jewellery not being a good investment is soooo true! My first husband bought me a nice diamond and gold enagagement ring. When we split up I got it valued and while the value of the ring for insurance purposes was higher than he’d originally paid for it because it would now cost more to replace it – the actual resale value was barely a third of what he’d paid. Obviously it wasn’t bought with the intention of reselling it later, but when I did come to sell it I discovered just how overpriced diamond and gold really is and while it’s expensive to replace it’s actually pretty worthless to resell – not a good investment at all!
It’s an extension of the insane wedding mark-up industry. They prey on the extreme emotions in play during engagement and marriage to do some of the worst price gouging you can find in the western world.
What about the gold plate? I sold my grand ma heirloom gold jewellry and the shop wont even take it. As it too old like 80 years old jewellry.
Yeah. The reason to invest in real gold is because the more precious metal is in a piece the less it will corrode. Not for resale purposes.
I don’t have a lot of jewelry but what I have I had to be careful what what I bought bc of contact dermatitis.
Saving money on trying new hobbies is so underrated, thank you for mentioning it! I love trying my hand at things, but usually they don’t stick. Between getting creative, borrowing things, and second hand items, most hobbies can be started for VERY cheap, if not free. Those that cannot be are worth finding (or making) a friend you can learn from and enjoy that activity with before committing.
Yes!! For example with crochet and knitting, a lot of estate sales in my area will have yarn stashes! Sometimes fabric stashes and vintage sewing machines that STILL WORK too. Yard and estate sales are great to source materials for a new project
I freaking love my Soda Stream…I only use it for sparkling water and have 2 CO2 canisters on rotation so when one is empty I have some time to exchange it while still having sparkling water. I keep 3 Soda Stream bottles in the fridge with filtered still water so they are ready to “sparkle” at any time. And if I want cold still water, I have that too. So good.
Same here. At the start of lockdown last year we bought a Soda Stream and an ice maker. It made isolation a lot more festive.
Thanks for this! I love carbonated beverages but hate how unhealthy tradition soda is, and let’s face it, diet isn’t that good for you either. I love being able to create my own with better stuff. This was a big win for me when I bought it. Definitely not a great impulse purchase though if you’re not an obsessed fan of sparkling beverages like I am.
Same – I have been using my Soda Stream on a daily basis for years – probably over 10. I always drink carbonated water with no added flavors .
I have four canisters. Bought the two extra with a bonus from work. It was the best decision ever!
I use mine a lot… tons of carbonated water with a squirt of lime juice 🤌🏻
When it comes to dry cleaning, I thrift 90% of my clothes and have never had any problems from machine washing an item that said it should be dry cleaned. Of course, risking it on a $5 thrift purchase is different from risking a new item that you’ve paid new prices for. I use a delicate wash load with cold water only for “dry clean only” items, and usually air dry them as well rather than risking the dryer. For wool, I’ve almost never had a problem with cold, gentle wash with no soap or vinegar and then line drying.
Me, too. The only times I sent things to the dry cleaner was for jackets after years of use and brushing them off wasn’t enough.
Aah, wool. I ruined a beautiful wool scarf once before I then learned about wool and laundry. No, my Mom didn’t teach me.
It still hurts a little when I think about the scarf. I loved that thing. It was completely matted and sad when it came out of the machine.
@@francookie9353 RIP to the scarf. It’s such a terrible feeling pulling something out of the washer and realizing you can never wear it again <3
I do a light spray with a tiny amount of woolite and line drying for wool. Or the same as you for things that say dry clean only or which are lacking a tag.
@@justrachel4496 thank you. <3 yes, I kept it around for about a week before I threw it out because I kept clinging onto hope that I would somehow find a way to fix it. But no. Anyway, I learned my lesson that day.
As someone who has experienced many of the same skin issues/situations as you shared in this video, I cannot express how refreshing it is (especially as an aspiring YouTuber) to watch a content creator be real and honest and transparent about their skin. Not only that – but you look incredible so kudos to you or whoever is doing the makeup. Thank you for normalizing REAL talk about skincare and skin expectations. Truly refreshing. <3