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Posts Tagged ‘Expensive’

STOP BUYING THIS CRAP

Thursday, May 14th, 2009

Some everyday items and products that have become too expensive and therefore don’t deserve are hard-earned money. Be frugal, dammit!

cereal

GIMME A BOWL OF COOKIE CRISP FOR BREAKFAST

I don’t think I know anyone who doesn’t like cereal. Cheerios, Captain Crunch, Frosty Flakes, Apple Jacks, Cookie Crisp, whatever your cereal is, you like it. And you can have a big ole giant bowl of it too. Not anymore. Cereal is around $4-7 a box and I think this is where we as the consumer tell Kellogg’s, General Mills and Post to go fuck themselves. Give us a break, guys! We’ve been gaining weight on your breakfast munchies since we were pre-schoolers. Drop the prices so we can enjoy being a kid again. These companies suffer from a syndrome I call “greediprix”. Uncle Sam suffers from this too.

cd-stack

DUDE, LET’S CRUISE OVER TO TOWER RECORDS!

There was a time where you could stroll into the music store and buy a compact disc for ten bucks. You gave the clerk your money and you didn’t feel cheated. Then, the prices got into the $12-15 range and you started getting hesitant. A little high, you would think to yourself. At the $15-20 range, you began seeking out the record executives so you could bitch slap them back to reality. If you want to know why the music industry is dead, here’s your reason. Don’t jerk off your consumers. Another terrible case of “greediprix”

movie-ticket

ANYONE WANNA SEE THE NEW STAR TREK…? ANYONE?

Not a joke: Ten years ago, me and my crew would roll into Westwood Village for movies every Friday and Saturday night and get in for $5 bucks and a student ID. Now, in Los Angeles as well as New York City and other big metro’s, ticket prices for an evening movie runs you around $12. Even during the day you’re looking at $8. It’s not just us big city folks either: in 1998, ticket prices in the US were $4.69 on average. Last year? $7.18. That’s an increase of $2.49 which may not seem like much. However, from 1988-1998, tickets prices went from $4.11 to $4.69, a difference of .58 cents. They were just diagnosed with “greediprix”.

dennys-grand-slam

GETTING SLAMMED BY THE GRAND SLAM

Another great destination for the young and broke used to be Denny’s where their $2.99 Grand Slam breakfasts (5 to choose from) were the talk of town. When I was a kid their ad campaign was bent on “$1.99? You’re out of your mind” to give you an idea of how cheap Denny’s was. If you want to know how cheap Denny’s is today, just peep the picture above. Those free meals they’re giving out is because nobody wanted to pay $8 for anything at Denny’s and people stopped stopping by. There should be a mandatory limit for how much breakfast can be. Like, no restaurant can ever charge you more than $10 for breakfast, no matter what. Even if you get 10 eggs, and 6 pieces of bacon and 6 pancakes and a pound of hashbrowns and a piece of ham along with another 6 pieces of sausage and infinite refills of coffee. And it would only be $10. Maybe this would help eventually heal all “greediprix” victims.

BY THE WAY…

YOU CAN HELP

HOW?

STOP BUYING THIS CRAP!!!

Tags: Apple Jacks, Captain Crunch, cd's, Cereal, Cheerios, Cookie Crisp, DeNNY'S, everyday item, Expensive, Frosty Flakes, frugal, General Mills, Grand Slam, Kellogg's, Los Angeles, movie tickets, New York City, Original Slam, Post, Tower Records
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STOP BUYING THAT CRAP

Thursday, April 23rd, 2009

I found 3 very basic items we’ve all had to buy or have to buy frequently that are really starting to piss me off with their prices. These products are pushing the damn envelope a little too far. One always has and is now paying for it. gum

GUM

What in the hell happened to gum? Didn’t it used to be, like, half a buck for a pack of gum? Now it’s at a $1.25-50 and I’m shitting in my pants. Gum, my friends, should not be this expensive. There should be a law enabling people free gum since there are too many citizens of the world walking around with disgusting breath. I feel we owe this people gum and they shouldn’t have to spend that kind of money on one pack. Dude, it’s friggin’ gum! Let us at least chew some gum without feeling it’s hitting our pockets.

lighters

LIGHTERS

Another thing that used to be super cheap. I’m talking three for a dollar cheap. Nowadays, a crappy lighter runs you a buck and the good ones are almost $2 unless you get them in bulk. I don’t smoke cigarettes but a lighter is a handy tool if you know what I mean. Many things can be done with one lighter but it’s a human necessity, not an item that should be priced beyond rationality. Sure, it ain’t much dough but for something that was 30 or 40 cents just a few years ago and has tripled in price, we’re getting screwed. Hard. Save money and buy a cool zippo. It will last you longer. Even a lifetime.

hp_ink_cartridge

INK CARTRIDGES FOR PRINTERS

You’ve got to be out of your fucking mind with this one, guys! HP, Epson, all the printer ink monopolizers are some of the scummiest, greediest bastards on the planet. When an ink cartridge costs an average of $30 for my printer, we’ve got a problem. Dammit, we’ve got blasphemy! A printer is a printer: It prints paper with ink so we can read it! Are you that lame and money hungry that you would rather us just buy the printer without the ink? I mean, what the fuck is the point of a printer if it doesn’t have ink and why did I just buy the printer? Why do we not get 5-6 ink cartridges included in our purchase of your printers? Would it be because you want us to buy your $30 cartridges every single time we run out of ink? Yes! Yes, I think that’s what it is.

Tags: basic things, Epson, Expensive, gum, HP, human necessity, ink cartridge, lighter, price, printer, save money, STOP
Posted in STOP | 2 Comments »

STOP…BUYING THIS CRAP

Wednesday, March 25th, 2009

bottled-water

HEADING DOWN TO THE STORE FOR A BOTTLE OF WATER…

You might want to just keep your ass at home instead. Bottled water is better than tap although I’ve actually heard that’s not even the case. Then again, when you’ve grown up in Los Angeles most of your life such as me and my crew, you don’t drink the tap water if you don’t have to. It’s a last resort. That being said, bottled water is bought up by the gallons all throughout L.A. and the warmer cities. Problem is, most people in these cities haven’t adapted to something called financial responsibility that embodies a person’s overall spending habits, what they purchase and if they really need it or not. Water is something we need. Bottled water is something we don’t. Hit up one of these new water stores sprouting up all over the place. They all have water machines that use a reverse osmosis system that filters the water and makes it crispy and clean. It’s great and at a quarter a gallon, it’s the best deal you can get on a day to day basis. I used to spend $1.80 at 7Eleven every other day on a gallon of their cheaper water. I’m getting about more than seven times that amount at the water store. Ya dig?

7eleven

…AND WHILE I GRAB THE WATER, I’LL GET ME SOME CHIPS AND ICE CREAM

Be responsible with your munchies, cowboy. The convenience of 7Eleven and the neighborhood liquor store are in business because of convenience and nothing but. When you’re craving that Ben and Jerry’s at midnight and a quick drive to the supermarket just won’t do. But while the convenient stores are beckoning at your every desire, your wallet is screaming in pain along the way. Think for the future (even for half a day!) and drop by the market on the way home and spend three times less for three times more and a much happier evening with the munchies

tits

HAVE TO GET TO THE SALON BECAUSE MY HAIR’S A MESS!

Young man, STOP!!! If you’re a dude and the word salon somehow makes it out of your mouth, something has probably gone awry. Men go to a barbershop or the haircut place or something of that nature, never a salon. But many men do spend their hard earned money on a stylishly expensive trim down at a salon by some chick who’s probably got her tits in his face looking for a little more tip. Look, I’m not telling you not to be a mess with your hair. Quite the opposite, actually. I’m just telling you that the barber ain’t charging you $50 a pop and up for the same pair of scissors snipping away your hair to make it look better. A simple $15 cut at my old Korean barber never fails to do the trick. It’s great, he speaks barely any English and knows exactly what I want each and every time. He always gets a big tip from me. And it’s not the salon.

Tags: 7Eleven, barber, barbershop, beckoning, Ben and Jerry's, best deal, bottled water, chips, cities, convenience, convenient store, craving, desire, embodies, English, Expensive, filters, financial, gallon, hair, haircut, happier, ice cream, Korean, Los Angeles, men, munchies, neighborhood, quarter, responsibility, reverse osmosis, salon, scissors, snipping, spending habts, STOP, STOP POP CULTURE, stylish, supermarket, tip, tits, trick, wallet, water, water store, young man
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STOP…BUYING THIS STUFF

Thursday, March 19th, 2009

mercedes-benz_m_class_2009ml500

GOT ME A FAMILY SO I NEED ME A NICE SUV

Or maybe you don’t need a nice SUV. Hell, you probably don’t need an SUV at all, especially since they’re the premier gas guzzlers burning rubber on our American roads. Even worse, the American made SUV’s are considered the bottom of the barrel along with, yep, you guessed it, the Mercedes-Benz M Class. Also included in the outlandishly annoying SUV group, the Lincoln Navigator (which breaks my heart since I’ve always loved Lincolns), GMC Envoy and the Jeep Grand Cherokee. Watching families who can’t really afford the Mercedes M Class, however, takes the cake since a current model of one of these bad boys is going to start you at $43K and could take you up to a measley $90K with accessories. Either way, it’s a pretty simple solution: YOU DON’T NEED AN SUV IF YOU AREN’T OUT IN THE COUNTRY.

meat-section

GOTTA HAVE SOME MEAT ON THOSE BONES

Get that meat, baby! Just make sure you’re getting the right meat and make sure it’s at the right place. Most people eat meat, unless you’re a vegetarian loser that wants to shove that vegan bullshit in our face. Don’t mind vegetarians and I don’t mind vegans but I do mind you throwing that pretentious philosophy in my grill. Don’t do it and I won’t have to smack you across your grill with a big, fat steak. Point is, I see people, mothers, fathers, families, whatever, buying up meat all the time at my local market. What kills me is they’re buying the meat they want out of pure convenience. When it’s not on sale, how can anyone pay full price for meat whether it’s beef, pork, chicken or fish? Even funnier still is how people don’t head a few miles to the east or west where another market may have that same meat you wanted at anywhere from 25-75% off. There are INCREDIBLE sales at supermarkets EVERY WEEK, you just have to look a little. But that “looking a little” could save you something they call MONEY. LOTS AND LOTS OF MONEY!!!

ivy-league

SHIPPING OUR BABY ACROSS THE COUNTRY FOR COLLEGE

And maybe your baby’s on their way back so they can enroll at the local community or state college instead. Unfortunately for private colleges, online universities and community colleges are kicking the ever loving shit out of them for tuition. Parents are much less hesitant these days about shipping Johnny back east where the room, board, tuition and books is priced for the moon. Remember when you were at the toy store and wanted that REALLY REALLY EXPENSIVE toy and your parents would just give you that “are you f-ing crazy” look? Well, parents are doing that today as well only this time it’s private colleges and not toys. Either way, parents doing this are thinking right, parents who think there’s nothing better than to be able to brag that you went to ”Princeton or Yale” are losing their money. Also, while private colleges can be marvelous, state colleges can be as well.

Tags: 25%, 50%, 75%, American made, back east, beef, bottom of the barrel, cheap, cheaper, chicken, community college, Expensive, few miles, fish, General Motors, GMC, GMC Envoy, Ivy League, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Lincoln Navigator, M Class, market, meat section, Mercedes Benz, Money, on sale, pork, Princeton, private colleges, room and board, state college, STOP, STOP POP CULTURE, supermarket, SUV, tuition, Yale
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STOP…BUYING THIS STUFF

Wednesday, February 11th, 2009

*another week, more signs of a recession, a worsening economy and TERRIBLE SPENDING HABITS! Let’s continue with some more things people can stop buying

out-to-lunch1

*I would have this sign at my business ALL THE TIME

LET’S DO LUNCH

Let’s do lunch! No, let’s not do lunch today. In fact, maybe we shouldn’t do lunch at all this week and only do it twice a month or something along those lines. Think about how often you mosey on over to the local Subway for lunch 3 days a week, which is to say better than millions of other Americans who go out to lunch every day. And, let’s say for the sake of the argument, lunch comes out to $8 a day, and I’m being super nice here:

3 X 8 = 24 X 4 = $96/month

12 months X $96 = $1152/year

Now, at this price, you’re at about $100 a month just on lunch 3 times a week. However, let’s be honest here: you spend a lot more than $24 a week going out to lunch. Multiply it and see that it comes out to more money than you need to be spending on something you don’t really need to spend it on.

starbux-latte

*the rice krispy treat looks REALLY good even though it’s a drawing, doesn’t it?

NON-FAT MOCHA LATTE W/SOY MILK, PLEASE

Yep, this one’s got to go so all you 9-5ers, yuppies, lawyers, servicemen, writers, artists, bums, soccer moms and coffee addicts across the world are going to have to figure out a cheaper alternative and please don’t go skipping over to Micky D’s for their “wonderful” $2 ice coffee because, for real coffee lovers, that stuff absolutely, positively, 100% sucks. But what’s it costing you getting that specialty drink at your local coffee joint 5 days a week? Well, let’s run it down, shall we?

5 X 3.50 = 17.5 X 4 = $70/month

12 months X $70 = $840/year

However, what if you bought a coffee pot to work, set up shop and got a pound of ground coffee from your favorite joint? MUCH CHEAPER!

girls-texting

*this picture implies something naughty so P put it up although I can’t friggin’ figure out what it is

CHECK OUT MY UNLIMITED PHONE PLAN

Yeah, I know you think you’re cool and everything with you’re super-powered unlimited phone plan but, honestly, you can take that plan and shove it where the sun don’t shine. Because many people who have these plans aren’t hard working people who actually need them, I had to pick this because too many morons have chosen to scoop these plans up left and right. Unlimited calling plans (nights, weekends, roaming, long distance, texting, internet, etc.) give you everything but, seriously, folks, how much damn time on the thing do you need? Here’s a little run down:

100 x 12 months = $1200/year

I bet, with a little research and hard work, you can cut that baby in half if you really wanted to. If you don’t and you’re bickering about money, someone needs to smack the ever loving crap out of you.

pizza-delivery-hot

*there was no way I wasn’t putting this pic up

DUDE, THE GAME’S ON TONIGHT! CALL DOMINO’S!

This is for all you dudes who order pizza more than once a week which is over a million of you to say the least. Hard to beat a perfectly baked, beautifully designed pizza pie on game night when the boys are over and you’re hosting. Sometimes it doesn’t matter if anyone’s over, calling for pizza is easy, fun and GOOD. But it cost you an arm and leg and maybe even your ass too.

I looked around and came to a rough estimate of $12.50 for a large one-topping pizza:

12.5 X 2 = $25 X 4 = $100

$100 x 12 months = $1200

All of this adds up over the year no matter how little you may think it comes out to be. Many of you dolts probably have all three making you a cool triple threat but a cool triple threat with empty pockets and that ain’t cool, my friends. That ain’t cool.

Tags: Americans, artists, bums, calling plans, coffee joint, Domino's, Dude, Expensive, ice coffee, internet, latte, lawyers, Let's do lunch, long distance, lunch, Micky D's, nights, one topping pizza, out to lunch, pizza, pizza pie, roaming, servicemen, soccer moms, Starbucks, texting, unlimited plans, weekends, writers, yuppies
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STOP…BUYING THIS CRAP

Thursday, February 5th, 2009

*so the economy is in the dumps, a huge recession cloud is over our heads and the good folks around the world are going ape shit trying to figure out what to do and when it will get better. So I came up with some ideas for all us to help push the global economy back up to the positive side, the main one being that we can cut down on spending our money on stupid shit

LUXURY CARS

bmw5_series_smal

*a nice car is only nice when you can actually afford it, not just drive it

You’d be shocked how many times I pass by apartment complexes with BMW’s, Mercedez, Porsches, Lexus’ and Cadillacs parked in the lots. If you’re such a big baller, Mr. Pimp, why the hell don’t you have a cheaper car parked in the driveway of a…HOUSE?!

This is probably my favorite “stupid shit” item people spend money on because it’s a lot of money, it’s done strictly to look good and seems to put LOTS of people in the hole. There’s nothing wrong with a car and nothing wrong with a nice car. But there is something wrong if you have a $30K car and you’re still living in an apartment. That’s just DUMB.

TICKETMASTER & LIVE NATION

ticketmaster livenationlogo

*this merger could prove to be the Anti-Christ for music fans

Yeah, apparently these two officially merged two days ago, making things even worse for music fans and concert lovers. Basically, by merging, the two conglomerates seem to taking a shot at monopolizing live music.

For you fans who are actually still buying tickets to live concerts, I have just one question for you:

What the hell is wrong with you?

First off, do you realize that many times, Ticketmaster is completely manipulating the ticket prices because, well, sometimes you try getting tickets to a Springsteen concert on the Ticketmaster website, for example, and then it redirects you to another ticket site that they own where the tickets you’re seeking at face value have now gone from their $55 face value price to the $80-200 range.

This is so criminal and corrupt that even Springsteen, who makes a gazillion dollars from touring, absolutely blasted Ticketmaster for redirecting his fans to a site that made them pay more than face value. However, if you do it, my friends, YOU are the fool.

QUIZNO’S

quiznos

*Want to save money? Go to Subway instead.

Mmmm…Toasty! Kiss my ass with that toasty crap. Toasty, hot, warm, crispy, who cares? Want to make things easy for your American customers?

STOP MAKING US PAY $10 FOR A LARGE SANDWICH

Okay, so the meat there is good when it’s warmed up but their deli meat is disgusting and their vegetables are like the L.A. Clippers compared to Subways vegetables which are more along the lines of the L.A. Lakers.

But hey, YOU also have to just stop visiting Quizno’s, no matter what. Sandwiches SHOULD NOT be more than $8 for a large sandwich with chips and a drink, such as Subway offers. At Quizno’s, that exact deal is probably $10-11. Ridiculous.

DON’T BUY ANY MORE SANDWICHES FROM QUIZNO’S

CRAPPY HOME TEAMS

knicks1 redskins2

I’m using the New York Knicks and Washington Redskins as examples for this one because, did you know, that both teams sell out their games?

ALL THE TIME!

THEY’RE BACKED UP FOR A FEW SEASONS!

Yep, in this horrible economy, fans are still attending Redskins and Knicks games and selling out the stadium so there’s no lack of love for those two franchises.

But, c’mon, you fools: THE KNICKS AND REDSKINS S-U-C-K

It’s one thing if your team is good. Then, you want to go to a game, fine. No matter what you pay, I believe it’s worth it for your favorite team when they’re good enough to make it past the first round of the playoffs, something the Knicks and Redskins don’t do. In fact, they don’t make the playoffs very often anymore.

Yet, people keep buying tickets to watch subpar teams perform horribly night in and night out just because you’re a…fan?

Hey, stupid, guess why your pocket’s empty?

BECAUSE YOU SPENT ALL THAT MONEY TO WATCH A TEAM THAT SUCKS

STOP BUYING TICKETS FOR CRAPPY TEAMS

redskins-cheerleader

*now if the Redskins cheerleaders go topless, that’s worth season tickets and I don’t care if they never win a game again

Tags: BMW, Cadillac, Expensive, Lexus, luxury cars, Mercedez, Porsche, Stop buying these things
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STOP BUYING THAT CRAP

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