43 Things You Should Never Buy

Greeting cards

It’s hard to get out of a card store without spending at least $3.50 per card. And there’s a card for every occasion: birthday, anniversary, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Easter, Thanksgiving, first Communion, confirmation, graduation — and even, heaven help us, Halloween and St. Patrick’s Day.

To say nothing of “attaboy” cards, get-well cards, “just because” cards or cards that purport to be “from me and the cat” or “from the dog.” Seriously? E-cards are free. Pen and paper are cheap, and you probably already have both in case you need to send good wishes.

If you’re absolutely determined to send cards, buy them at discount drugstores and department stores that sell boxed sets; you’ll wind up paying about 30 cents per card. Don’t need a box of 10 or 12? Then buy at the dollar store, where they’ll probably be two for a buck.

Oh, and if you make even a single donation to a nonprofit agency, chances are good that you’ll start getting batches of cards from them in an effort to get you to donate again. Since households like mine receive so many of those things, we tend to give them to thrift stores — so check your local secondhand shop.