Spending big on hotels while traveling. We normally spend very little time at the hotel so I prefer central location but not fancy (Holiday Inn Express type) hotels.
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Books. I’m a library woman all the way. I really only buy books, and usually it’s a used copy, if I’ve already read it and enjoyed and might want to re-read it a few times. I am ok with spending money on books as gifts though.
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Same on fancy meals out. I do enjoy having the opportunity to get dressed up to go out somewhere nice, though.
Honestly, food is just not that important to me whether dining out or eating at home. If I could just take pills that met all my nutritional needs, I’d probably do that. So much time spent on thinking about what to prepare, making lists of ingredients and checking to see what I already have on hand, driving to the store, buying ingredients, unloading and putting away food, preparing the food, cleaning up. All that time, and it takes about 15 - 20 minutes to actually eat. I used to enjoy cooking more than I do now.
For me a restaurant assessment is all about “value”. We don’t mind splurging now and then…. but it is a big disappointment if we don’t have excellent food and service. At the cheap end, a lunch out during errands often includes a comparison to Sam’s $1.50… and sometimes the unhealthy hot dog wins because there is such a step up in cost to a “cheap” meal out. (Ha, but that is a topic for the $12 thread)
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If the bar/restaurant has the means, maybe those could be converted to milkshakes, malts, swanky mango-passion fruit smoothies, milk of hippopotamus, etc.
ETA – a quick Google search revealed that hippo milk is pink.
“Mmmm, strawberry milk. Mind if I have a sip?”
“Sure (snicker).”
Hmmm Milk of Hippopotamus sounds rather refreshing. I will give it a shot 
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Never hurts to ask.
“Have you any exotic milk?”
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I’ve been thinking about this thread and I can’t readily come up with things I hate spending on. I just don’t spend time thinking about it.
I love my hair stylist and I enjoy my 2 hours with her every 6 weeks. She does a great shampoo. I also on occasion have a facial and I also enjoy her company so I don’t begrudge her the cost.
I don’t like paying for parking or valets and will walk a bit to save. I don’t love spending on home repairs but I like having things fixed.
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I call valet services car ransom.
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I’ve been thinking about this question since it was posed, reflecting on it as things have come up. I’ve decided that I really hate spending money on anything. I have money to spend; I just hate spending it. I need to get new blinds for my upstairs windows. I can afford it. I just don’t want to spend the money. I will eventually spend the money, but it takes time for me to get to the point where I will spend it. You’d think I was born during the depression!
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I hate spending money when the person helping me makes ten times or more the money I made at the peak of my earning career. (that would be lawyers, doctors, bankers, etc.) I guess I just think that the difference between the highest paid and lowest paid workers should be so much smaller.
I hate spending money on things I already did once. Example, built some new steps off the porch and went with the low price. Guess what? Going to be doing it again! Also household upkeep that you can’t see - just spent 4k on much needed electrical work - sexy!
Getting my hair colored - the prices are beyond outrageous, even at places like the Hair Cuttery. I do it myself sometimes, but I have a lot of hair and it’s difficult.
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This is controversial.
Destination Weddings. Why?
I get the whole let’s get together, it will be fun.
But asking people to take a time off, spend a ton of money to vacation with people you may or may not want to. At a time you may not want.
I will go happily and since it’s my kid, I would go anytime, anywhere. But it seems like it’s a gathering of the big fancy people and the haves.
All the big fancy are staying at the very expensive resort and the haves are staying at what the MOG called the “truck stop of the island”. The have nots are staying home.
We are happy with truck stops so we are not going with the $700 a night room. 
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I thought most destination weddings were expected to be small, because not many people would take time off/spend a lot. That said, my 30 year old seems to be going to expensive (and large) weddings in places like Florida and Martha’s Vineyard, so I am not really sure what constitutes a “destination wedding”.
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They think it will be around 60 people when all is said and done.
Is that small?
I guess my point about not wanted to spend money on something that other people have decided.
But then we don’t travel that often. And while I’m happy to go, I feel bad for those who can’t afford it. Or who it won’t work out for.
And although the wedding couple says that they don’t care if you attend, in reality there are hurt feelings.
We encouraged S and DIL to have wedding wherever worked best for them. Our extended family would likely fly wherever. They wanted and chose Honolulu and their family and friends seemed content to come here.
We would have been fine with them choosing SC ( where bride grew up), DC (where they lived for a decade), NYC (where they’re now living) or anywhere. Our extended clan turned out not to have to travel, except those who had moved elsewhere (like some young adults). We were fine with being hosts.
I think a destination wedding makes the most sense in situations when many friends/family would need to fly in to couple’s (or parent’s) hometown location anyway. Then they could turn it into a longer vacation if desired. When the majority of the guests live near (or can drive to) that hometown location, it seems less practical to do an exotic destination.
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Ugh re hurt feelings.
I thought destination weddings, like on a Caribbean island, would be something like 10 or 20 people. Immediate family and a handful of close friends. That’s my definition of small.
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Our definition of small was under 100. S had a small wedding with just over 80!
I think different people use different definitions of destination wedding.
I use it when a couple chooses a spot that has no special meaning for them (i.e. hometown, current town, where they met) because it’s exotic or beautiful, i.e. a vacation spot.
Other people seem to count a destination wedding if most people have to fly to get there. But, IMO in this day in age, most people move away from their hometown and/or have a lot of friends/family that moved away from their hometown.
I always pictured a destination wedding using the first definition as having the bride/groom, the parents, and maybe 1-2 attendants on each side. Using the latter definition, I’d say a small wedding would be < 100 people.
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