Friday Un-Frugal Finds

The farther I propel myself away from the consumerist status quo, the more I seem to experience a sense of incredulity at the way in which other people choose to spend their money.  I find myself in shock and awe, with “Really?!?!” echoing in my head.  Instead of trying to educate people in the store, let’s have a little fun with those things that simply boggle the frugal minds among us.  I might even have a little contest in the future 🙂

Today’s Find: The iRobot Roomba for the amazing deal of:

$499.99

(the website has other models that go for $599 and $699)

They even have a payment plan if you can’t buy it outright today – because obviously you need it immediately. 

This handly little robot will vacuum any type of surface in your home.  It even uses a back and forth “elbow grease” method when it “senses” excessive dirt.

I can just imagine the new owner of an iRobot talking with bragging to a friend:

“It is so neat and only cost us $500”

(without tax or any accessories)

“Yeah, it can be a little noisy but it frees up so much time”

(to later complain about being bored and sit in front of the TV for two hours)

“I used to vacuum every single day”

(because your house needs to be absolutely spotless)

“I threw that old-fashioned vacuum right out to the curb”

(even though it still worked just fine)

“There was a good coupon on orange juice in Sunday’s paper”

(saving $0.50 is being frugal when you just spent hundreds of dollars on a robot)

“When do you want to go the gym?

(instead of doing physical activities around your house, spend money on the robot, then drive somewhere and pay fees to work out)

Mr. and Mrs. Fugalwoods make workday lunches for both of them for $3.90 per week. For the cost of this automated vacuum cleaner (without tax), they could prepare their lunches for 128 weeks. That’s approximately two and a half years!

It is ludicrous to spend so much money on a robot vacuum cleaner. Vacuuming does not take that much time. It’s not exactly hard labor either. Why do we need more shortcuts when people routinely complain of being bored, out of shape, and keep finding new ways to waste time? Yet, advertising tells us that we need this in order to achieve a better quality of life, so it will continue to be purchased.

We still have the vacuum cleaner received at my bridal shower, approximately ten years ago. It works fine and I can think of much better ways to spend $500. Would you buy a robot vacuum? What is the most ridiculous product or service that you’ve seen advertised lately?