When we all attain certain levels of our personal existence it is normal to do away with certain foods, activities, habits, etc since we have now "made it" so to speak. So my question is how have you all evolved and what have you evolved from?

Are you now tasteful in your purchases where once you'd purchase "generic" or just lower quality items?

I myself have learned to expect to pay at least 80 bucks and up for nice shoes and actually won't settle for anything less. I think I have only ever eaten "spam" "top ramen" "vienna sauges" "sardines" etc, once or twice in my life....yeah yeah....I was spoiled in college....I wish I could apologize for it...BUT I CAN'T!!

I don't have a problem paying hundreds of dollars for simple items now, like paintings, end tables, etc. But still will see my ass on Craigslist and Pennysaver dammit!

Where are you all in this?

Yes. As a kid I wanted to buy fashionable items from time to time. These days I'd just buy the cheapest item I can find that still looks good to me.
Last week, instead of buying an original Camelback back pack for $60 I bought one that looks the same, for $20. And the quality is the same.

Same with food. I can feel the difference in taste between a real Nutella and a fake one, but I can adjust my taste and save money.

And women too. As a kid, you always go for the cheerleaders. Nowadays they're just nice to look at (sorry if I'm offending anyone) But I like a real woman. a bit of meat on them, some flaws that make them humans, and ones that don't need 4 hours to get ready to go out.

it's something i work on all the time, because i grew up in a household where we ate a lot of cheap, processed foods and skimped on a lot of the stuff that was good for us.

i still struggle with junk food from time to time - in fact, i have a box of little debbies in my kitchen right now - but i will pay a little extra for groceries i trust and that i know are better for me, and i have cut out a LOT of crap foods from my diet over the years.

basically, if i know eating something is going to make me feel awful later, i don't eat it.

most of the time, anyway.

i'm still kind of a cheapwad with clothes, but i'm getting better about that. i've been all about kenneth cole the past year or so, so at least my wardrobe is getting sturdier.

Definitely.
As for clothing, (and many other things) you get what you pay for. I mostly try to be natural fabrics, such as silk, wool, cashmere, cotton, ect and nto rayon and polyester. The clothing holds up much better, lasts longer and feels better
Same for shoes and purses. Leather only for the same reasons as above.
As for food - I most definitely have an educated palate (I evaluate 5 star restaurants part time) and don't mind paying more for gourmet and organic food. I will not eat crap like Spam or other processed food like that. The thought grosses me out. I do eat fast food once in a while, though.
I like to save money as well, but I go for quality over quantity for the most part.

I don't think my taste really evolved that much. It's more a matter of
having been ignorant for a long time to what was out there beyond our
home.

With venturing out and exploring the world and myself and people, the
tastes and foods just followed.

I guess from there on I learned to appreciate "whole food" a lot more
like all grains (oats, millet, quinoa, amaranth, buckwheet etc) and a
particular love for vegetables and seeds etc.

Sweets and sweet food really doesn't do that much for me anymore. You
used to be able to make me extatic with a chocolate mouse and now you
would do me the biggest favor with a bowl of fresh organic salad

concerning clothes i really like the basics. stuff you can wear
with everything, like a good black or white dress shirt and some
casual sweaters in earthy tones.

i used to like all the frills and follow fashions etc etc but
now i just like a clean, simple and semi-casual look that will
work in the office but also when i go out with friends.

it's shocking to see how much decent clothes cost these days or
a good pair of shoes. so i tend to think a lot more before i do
buy something these days.

IstenSzek said:

Same.

I will say, one area I won't skimp is beauty products. I just had a perfect storm where I ran out of absolutely EVERYTHING at once and replacing shampoo and conditioner and moisturizer and face wash and under eye cream and face moisturizer and hair products and such all at once was one mighty expensive shopping trip.

But my tastes are still reasonable, I think. I have products I like that are somewhere on the high end of the middle. Not the cheap stuff, but had I the money I could blow a heck of a lot more.

I no longer eat white beans in tomatosaus

For a number of years, I got all "Let's spend it, baby!". But now I'm all like, "Simplicity's where it's at". I could be happy with just a bed, a laptop and a TV.

It seems like the less I have, the happier I am. I like to refer to it as "Secular, Buddhist Dilettantism", but we might need a ruling on this from Imago.

Ace said:

I only have a bed and a laptop and I'm happy.

You're absolutely right about this.

For example - I won't touch a frozen dinner. There was a time when I would, but not now.

I won't eat canned spaghetti, canned aspargus, bologne or any packaged lunch meat.

I won't buy cheap clothes for work. I will buy cheaper things for weekend wear and hanging out, but my work clothes I don't cheap out on. I also don't buy cheap make up of perfume.

I won't get a cheap hair cut either.

For the most part, I believe you get what you pay for.

Ace said:

i'm generally that way, though i have moments of "damn, i'd love some new shit" where i'm not really sure what i want - just a new pile of clutter in my living room of some sort. then i feel like crap for spending so much and i go back to that...yeah, what you called it.

Empress said:

I disagree. I believe that for the most part, when it comes to expensive items, you pay more for the brand name, than for the quality. There are plenty of items that are same quality or even better made, and cheaper, just because their name is not as famous.

ArielB said:

You might be right about some products. I guess I just like what I like and it seems that when I've tried cheaper products or no name stuff, I don't seem to like them as much.

FOOD: complete 180 about 10 years in the making. Fast food was a weekly thing, I would cut a mf over some white bread I'm so much more conscious of what I eat now, not just from a health standpoint but flavor as well. If I'm gonna mess up, I'm gonna choose something amazing instead of succumbing to some crap that isn't worth the calories. So quality, flavor & health are definite priorities now. & can I just say I've FINALLY started making my own baba ganoush (instead of trying to find a great one all these years) & it's fucking fabulous!!

CLOTHING: My philosophy is pretty much the same as it's always been - I only buy things that I love & I know I'll get years of wear out of (no matter the cost, but usually not too expensive), nothing trendy. & the only super cheap stuff is socks, drawz & layering tanks from Target But I loves a sale And with purses I've loosened up quite a bit - I used to be leather only, but now it's whatever I know I won't be sick of a year from now. & I only replace my main purse every 2-4 years anyway. I don't care about name brand anything (though I've become incredibly flexible w/ what I'll pay for jeans these days ), it just needs to fit, flatter & last.

HOUSEHOLD: I still want the best deal I can get, however I paid for sturdy pieces that I adore & will take years & years to get sick of. I could have got a tv stand for less than $100 but got a media cabinet I truly loved for almost double that - I dunno, sometimes you just have to bite it to make yourself happy. B/c I know I would have just looked @ the $100 stand, hated it & plotted to replace it in time (which is more $ in the long run) And there's a painting I saw years ago that I've wanted ever since - it's about $500 & I still want it. & now I'm ready to have it, so I'll be getting that soon. It still knocks the wind outta me to spend large sums of $ on one item, especially something that's not absolute necessity. But you can't take it with you, so if you're responsible w/ it just have fun, save & don't guilt trip yourself too much. I have to tell myself this w/ every purchase b/c I do find myself feeling guilty & I have no idea why. I work like a fucking dog, deserve every penny & should free myself to spend it however I want - I'm working on that...


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[Edited 5/16/07 12:29pm]