people that pay $5 for a power bar or bottle of juice

[~bs]

the economy is doing (relatively) well, so people that spend frivolously have more to spend frivolously. you see it in every economic cycle. Once the economy turns, most non essential spending grinds to a halt.

[AJSimon]

In basically every sector of the consumer economy, you have folks overpaying for things based on a perceived value that's basically imaginary.

If someone charges $5 for a bottle of water, and their competitor charges $1 for the same size bottle, some percentage of the public will blindly assume that there's something Better about the $5 bottle of water. Odds are, the only thing that's different is the thickness of the plastic bottle.

[Singuy]

In basically every sector of the consumer economy, you have folks overpaying for things based on a perceived value that's basically imaginary.

If someone charges $5 for a bottle of water, and their competitor charges $1 for the same size bottle, some percentage of the public will blindly assume that there's something Better about the $5 bottle of water. Odds are, the only thing that's different is the thickness of the plastic bottle.

No the difference is in the packaging. Check out a bottle of Voss water. I should buy some just to display it in my house.

My multimillion dollar idea--
"Organic Water", motto "distilled by the heavens"
Actual product: Rain water collected and stored in a bottle

[disneysteve]

No the difference is in the packaging. Check out a bottle of Voss water. I should buy some just to display it in my house.

My multimillion dollar idea--
"Organic Water", motto "distilled by the heavens"
Actual product: Rain water collected and stored in a bottle

A number of bottled waters are nothing more than filtered tap water. You can do that yourself for a tiny fraction of the cost. Buy a Brita or PUR and you're all set.

[greenskeeper]

A number of bottled waters are nothing more than filtered tap water. You can do that yourself for a tiny fraction of the cost. Buy a Brita or PUR and you're all set.

This is so true, it's almost comical that people fall for this marketing ploy. I wish I got in when "bottle water" because I think. But back then, as now, I still think it is ridiculous.

[~bs]

A number of bottled waters are nothing more than filtered tap water. You can do that yourself for a tiny fraction of the cost. Buy a Brita or PUR and you're all set.

to add to that, get a hydroflask or some other type of canteen and bring it to work if you don't have a refrigerator to store the brita in.

[bennkar]

We go to Disney World regularly. All day long, I see guests buying bottled water for $3.50 a shot for themselves and their family members. Meanwhile, my family has a refillable sports bottle that we carry. We freeze it half full overnight and top it off with water in the morning and throughout the day from fountains or restaurants, adding more ice as needed.

We take cold water with us to Disney, but not partially frozen. I need to remember that trick for next time. On a side note, I am hoping to make it a two week trip instead of our 1 week stay. We plan on using various techniques to add only a few hundred $$$ of expense to add that second week. Oh on another note, last year we used the monorail to go between Epcot and Magic Kingdom. Interesting way to go and at least we can say we did it once, but if you already paid for parking like we did it really didn't add anything to the experience.

[snafu]

I thought the craziest mark-up was Women's Make-Up products. If women read Paula Begoun's Don't Go To The Makeup Counter Without Me, they would choose better quality products instead of marketing words.

[Mjenn]

I will admit I purchase these things occasionally if I am on the go and need to grab a quick breakfast. I like organic juice and I like the unique flavor combinations of some of the more 'fancy' juices (I like a shot of ginger in my juice, for example). I'll grab an organic power bar with more protein or less sugar over a candy bar even if it is a bit more expensive -- but I would say I do this no more than 1-2 times per month. .

They may be 'healthy' but juice still has a ton of sugar and a protein bar full of chocolate and 'fruit sugar' is still a fancy candy bar.

Bottled water I avoid -- every family member has a small reusable water bottle that we fill up for excursions. My husband gets livid at the fact that bottled water costs more than gasoline by the liter here, and we pay a small fortune for gasoline.

[TexasHusker]

I'm a health food nut. I pay $1.67 every day for a bag of Sathers Cherry Sours. The nutrients derived from the cherries makes it worth it.

[97guns]

I'm a health food nut. I pay $1.67 every day for a bag of Sathers Cherry Sours. The nutrients derived from the cherries makes it worth it.

healthy or not, the value is there even if it makes you diabetic

[Like2Plan]

We go to Disney World regularly. All day long, I see guests buying bottled water for $3.50 a shot for themselves and their family members. Meanwhile, my family has a refillable sports bottle that we carry. We freeze it half full overnight and top it off with water in the morning and throughout the day from fountains or restaurants, adding more ice as needed. So we spend $0 while a family of 4 may spend $28 if they each have 2 bottles/day, maybe even more.

We take cold water with us to Disney, but not partially frozen. I need to remember that trick for next time. On a side note, I am hoping to make it a two week trip instead of our 1 week stay. We plan on using various techniques to add only a few hundred $$$ of expense to add that second week. Oh on another note, last year we used the monorail to go between Epcot and Magic Kingdom. Interesting way to go and at least we can say we did it once, but if you already paid for parking like we did it really didn't add anything to the experience.

We used to buy bottled water at WDW because we couldn't stand the taste of the water due to the high sulfur content (this is going back to 1991). But, I believe the water is now filtered--at least it tastes better. So, I learned that you can ask for a glass of ice water at nearly any of the places that sell food.

[Nika]

I am one of "those people" perfectly willing to waste money on pricey food.
I have a latte and a pastry for breakfast each morning. We buy ready lunch even though I stay at home with baby right now. (something like SweetGreen or sushi) My son gets a fresh smoothie as a treat after school.

Would I say I'm a health nut? No.
But I do not buy health bars on a regular basis. Never buy packaged juices.
Why? I simply do not view highly processed, long shelf life products as food.
Even fresh juices are not great. Why remove all the fiber?

Generally, the longer its shelf life, the less likely it is to actually be healthy.
So might as well have a freshly made creamy pastry, made with real milk, eggs, etc... than a full of sugar bar with even more full of sugar juice. Just as much sugar, so you may as well enjoy it and not pretend one is better than the other.

Mostly, I just want food that has been made fresh today. Is that too much to ask?

[JoeP]

Bwah-ha-ha, I visited my mother over the weekend and went to a nearby surplus store. I bought 5 six-pack boxes of the 20-grams of protein power bars. Cost me $10 total, or $0.33 per bar . I eat around 4 of them per week (after my daily workouts), so they should hold me until my next visit there sometime this summer.

I bought similar ones: Pure Protein at Walmart. I think it was $18 for 10. I have a quarter around 10:00 AM and another quarter around 2:00 PM, plenty of water throughout the day. Small lunch.