The cost of desserts - I am SHOCKED!

[debilorrah]

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Nope, I was dead serious and if you knew me, you'd know I wasn't kidding. There would be no $50 cheesecake for me, don't care what my bank balance says. I'd make my CPA one, if I even had a CPA. Heck, yeah, I'd still shop at Walmart. No one would know I was rich by seeing my day to day lifestyle. All money means to me is peace of mind and being able to help someone else have peace of mind. Maybe having someone else local build me a chicken coop rather than my poor DH, who has degenerative disc disease, build it.

My SIL bought a new BMW recently, purely a status symbol. Left me shaking my head. Overpriced car with overpriced parts and overpriced insurance. Cars don't impress me. Fancy houses don't impress me, nor do I want one--went in plenty of those as a realtor. I want peace of mind that bills can be paid, that I know the money is there for car and home repair when needed, not for status symbols. I don't want to travel, don't care anything about clothes or shoes or jewelry. Money is not going to change that for me.

So, if you want to buy expensive desserts, that's fine by me. I just won't do it, even if I could afford them. I'd rather have the satisfaction of doing it myself. Prices are so bloated, it's just plain stupid. You don't stay rich by spending it all on frivolous stuff-just read stories about lottery winners who go bankrupt.


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Kel, you can make those for me anytime, m'dear!

This is me and Ken too. This post actually got us talking about it. No sense in paying $5 for toothpaste when it is $2 at Target. Would I shop at Neiman's or Saks? Hell no. Those people are snooty and I would have chicken poop on my expensive muck boots

I am just not a material person. Substance of the heart matters most.

 

[Happy Chooks]

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Kel, you can make those for me anytime, m'dear!

C'mon over anytime and I'll make them for you.

 

[punk-a-doodle]

Just out of curiosity for those here who feel it is silly to pay that much money for a cake -- how many of you baked your own wedding cake?

If my husband and I decide to have a wedding someday, we want to hold a ceremony on our land, and have our friends do things that suit their talents rather than buy us presents. Ie. We have an awesome punk rock friend who always puts on the best shows (involved in B-movies too...sweeeet), and we would ask him to help with the music, a few friends who are good at baking to each bring a small cake (and I'd be making a larger one, as I love baking), etc. But again, if I'm going to spend a ton on a cake, it had better be *darn* tasty! Wedding cakes often taste pretty dry and nasty to me. XP It'd have to be worth the money to me, and it isn't.

PS. And just on a personal level, any ceremony would really be for friends and family. We don't need one to know how much we mean to each other. It'd be to allow others to celebrate with us. We have had friends ask us to have one for this reason, so we'll see.​

 

[BlackBrookPoultry]

Most brides are much to busy getting themselves ready to have the time to bake and decorate a cake. I went to a wedding fair when I got engaged. I picked out my $600 cake, reserved a musician, bought an expensive gown . . . Then I realized that the $30,000 + we were going to spend was for 1 day! One day! I hear so many people say they regret going all out and starting their marriage with debt. I still have that expensive gown hanging in my closet with the tags on it. I bought a different one for $250 on ebay and we flew down to Jamaica to get married. We paid for our parents, siblings and a couple of friends to come along. The ceremony and food was less than $1000. Best piece of cake I've ever had! We saved money and the people closest to us got a vacation.

 

[eggbuster]

I didn't have a wedding cake. Could have made one but what for? Justice of the Peace, a .25 cent ring from one of those kiddie toy machines. Phone calls later to tell VIP s the news and I would do the same again. Wouldn't pay for a wedding or expect my parents too any more then I would pay for a cheesecake. You can make a substantial downpayment on land for what people blow on weddings. Its all in what one values most. My farm doesn't fit in a closet and I like it better then an expensive dress. Same song different key.

 

[AquaEyes]

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I hear you on that. I remember as a kid going to the wedding of my aunt's best friend. They took out a loan to pay for their wedding. They were still paying it off when they got divorced five years later. Sometimes I think people get married for the wedding. Oh, well.

My favorite wedding was for a cousin who had it at her mother's. They got married in a church, but had the reception at the house. The yard was set up with tents and tables, the food was catered and wait-staff was hired, and the guest list was relatively small. It still cost money (they had money), but nowhere near as much as some of the big ones I've attended at halls. Some people like to do it big, others simple. Me being the way I am, I'm more comfortable in small settings, so I wouldn't want anything grander than what my cousin did. But that's just me.

 

[Judy]

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I am with Speckledhen on this: no, I wouldn't live much differently. I'd change a few things, I think most anyone would, might hire some stuff done (fence the property) and might possibly even move, but I wouldn't appear to be much richer than at present, nor would I be wasteful with money. I've done all the traveling I want to do, and have no desire for a yacht or beach house or anything like that. Most of it would be invested. I live modestly yet buy what I want, because what I want is not luxury items but new jeans or shoes, or a new piece of furniture. And I've known my share of wealthy people who do much the same.

 

[Frosty]

I bake bread for our local farmers market. I make Sourdough Potato Bread and Cinnamon Braids (they have cinnamon in the dough and butter, cinnamon and sugar in each strip that is braided). I start making the dough at 2 AM and the last of the bread is coming out of the oven as I rush out the door so they are still warm when they are sold. I hand knead the dough because I don't like the texture if I use a mixer (plus my mixer can't handle the volume when I am putting in around 18 cups of flour). I sell the bread for $5 a loaf. Some people don't bat an eye and will buy 4 at a time, other people look at the price and say they will make their own. No problem, they are more than welcome to make their own. I usually take 18 with me. Personally? I shake my head and marvel that so many people will pay that much, but I won't lower the price because from start to finish that is about 10 hours of my time (between making the dough, baking, and taking it to the market) so $9 an hour before figuring in cost of ingredients, electricity, and fuel to transport. I should probably think about raising the price a little, but the same people who will pay $6 for a dozen cookies would probably balk.

 

[Royd]

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Good on you, for embracing the entrepreneurial spirit. What annoys me, is people who willingly pay a large company whatever they choose to charge, but think the small business man should make concessions like free shipping or travel.

 

[CluckyJay]

I got married in my livingroom, in a borrowed dress from my grandmother with my mom and grandparents standing beside me. It was great. We didn't even have a cake! But my mom and grandparents got to be right there with me and hubby and our baby.

I am still working on my wedding gown. It is all 100% handsewn with the most amazing fabrics and embroidery work. Fabrics I have collected for years from yardsales and thrift stores. Its gonna be a many thousand dollar dress--all for around 10.00-20.00 (so far). It is all my own design and I cannot wait to use our money to pay for a really good photographer and a few mementos to give to our most cherished family members.

My bouquet is something I am crafting out of clay too. It will look realistic but I can hang it on my wall forever. Lord willing anyway!


I'd never spend $50.00 on a cheesecake. The main art in a regular type of cheesecake is long gone--the art was in creating the recipe. Now the recipe is made and all the baker does is follow that recipe and bake. They use machines to mix most of the ingredients so there is not much back breaking and arm straining work involved anymore. A lot of bakeries have assembly-type lines so the work goes faster. That is not art, that is good time management, lol.

Now, getting into super expensive ingredients and hand crafted flowers and other cake additives, it may be worth that price. I'd still not pay it though, LOL.