This idea of a generalized hair treatment procedure then was commoditized by turning it into a product which can be purchase–our current idea of “shampoo” as a hair-specific cleanser in a bottle, used daily or every couple of days.

In truth, if you stick with massaging your scalp and brushing your hair (the “champu”, perhaps wetting it to help it behave, you can skip the liquid “shampoo” for as much as two weeks. Or at least to once a week.

This will save you a ton on hair care expenses.

Still, even if you take the $120 I used to pay in insurance, I can rent a car one weekend a month and come out even. For me, owning a car that I will only use for our of town trips makes little sense.

My understanding is that it’s including the purchase price spread out over the life of the car, then plus insurance, repairs, gas, and parking. I can’t guarantee it’s accuracy though; I got it from a reliable source (a book on urban planning), but I don’t have the time to track it down right now and anyway, statistics from a reliable source are not fool proof anyway.

That’s amazing. I’ve never spent anywhere close to that much for the vehicle I had for 19 years. And that’s including initial cost, all insurance and all repairs AND gas. Is $8,000 per year really an average, or just some statistic someone made up? 0_o

As for the book, eesh, there are so many people out there that spend like crazy over luxuries and “keeping up with the Joneses” and get themselves into hot water over it. That amazes me too.

Are there any books out there about someone who had a lot of things going against them, but was still frugal and responsible, and still ended up succeeding? I don’t mean people who made it rich by getting *lucky* in the stock market or by being a computer genius who invented the next hottest software or website, but stories about regular average-intelligence people who overcame dead-end careers and minimum-wage jobs and succeeded at reaching middle or upper-middle class status…and how they did it?

Come now, urban Trent belongs on a Vespa scooter.

Somehow I doubt that Trent would think I look just as “vibrant” with frizzball hair as without, but even if he does, so what? It’s my hair – I get to decide. Believe it or not, not everything I do with my appearance is to put on a show for men.

As for the $5 jumbo bottle of shampoo… sometimes it’s more complicated than merely cleaning your hair. For example, I know people with skin allergies and they really need to use the expensive kind. It’s not always about vanity.

$800 tank top? Okaaaaay.

Honestly, Trent, when you aren’t familiar with a topic you need to just either stay away or do some legit research to sound more knowledgable.

Point 9 is annoying as usual, but thanks for not using bathing suits as an example of how girls waste money.

I grant you, a car probably makes sense for you if you do regularly do extensive multi-day wilderness activities within driving distance from where you live even if you can cover all other activities through public transit. (Though since the average person spends something like $8k a year on their car – that’s a lot of weekend car rentals before you come close.) But it does occur to you that people live fulfilling lives without that being their personal hobby, right? I mean, my personal passion is international travel, something which I can afford in part because I don’t own a car; maybe I should proceed to judge everyone else for failing to structure their lives so this is their highest priority. Stunning.

Really? That’s a fairly limited view. I’ve been happily living that life for years, as have most of my friends. Well, a car share service combined with rental cars, planes, trains, and going places with the odd friend who does own a car. I love going to the wilderness too, but I live in the city I do because I love it and it certainly has more than enough to keep me out, about, and occupied a large percentage of the time. (And consider the average person spends $8,000 a year on their car; that’s a LOT of Saturdays with Zip Car.)