Wednesday, February 13, 2008

What Not To Buy

Do you ever wish you could get your money back for every stupid purchase you ever made? I do. Sometimes I imagine the thousands of dollars I would love to have back - spent on stuff I never really used - or even wanted in some cases.

So today I give you the gift of never having to spend the following $17.95:

Starting with this purchase from Costco.

Looks good, doesn't it? I was imagining the fruity taste of mangos on my tacos, in a salad, maybe even with some pork roast - right?

And it's delicious if you like a little 3 Bean Salad With Extra Vinegar and Salt.
I tasted it right before I served it, and though I almost gagged, I just went ahead and put in on the table, hoping that if I bluffed my way through, everyone else would just eat it and smile and say how delicious they thought it was.

Ummm, not so much. This garnered a rating of 5 rotten mangos ( on a scale of 1-5).

Everyone in my family thought it tasted like puke. Which I realize sounds pretty harsh. (But not really harsh enough for this product. )



Next -
I really wanted this Costco offering to be good,

but as much as I continue to wish for it, there is just no substitution for fresh avocados. None. And with this, you get not just one, but 3 (three) packages of the gooey green (un)goodness. I give this a rating of 3 rotton avocados. It was edible, but certainly not worth spending your hard-earned calories on.


And finally, this:


has been sitting on the shelf in my cupboard for so long now I can't remember when I bought it. Actually I do remember that I got it free with a coupon. I had 2 bottles, but after trying the first bottle, I'll never open this one. I'm throwing it out, because I wouldn't even wish it on the homeless at the next canned food drive. Nasty stuff.

Now you can say you saved $17.95 today and justify going out to dinner. You know, to celebrate being so good at saving money.

24 comments:

Heidi said...

My budget (if I had one) thanks you. You take the pain out of spending carefully. Way to take one for the team!

The Duncan Proect said...

Okay, Costco sells a bag of dried mangos from the Phillipines for 9.95. They are totally delicious and very addictive. A treat with little guilt.

Yvonne said...

Thanks for saving me money. (Yippee!!!)

I agree that there is nothing like fresh guacamole--I've never found a "processed" one that is any good.

Janssen said...

Oh, I would have a LOT of money. Great post!

Tonya said...

Thanks for the heads up, I love mango Salsa and could have been easily fooled.

The Wiz said...

I avoid packaged guacamole of any kind. I swear guacamole was the first thing I ever learned how to "cook" and I've never looked back.

That mango salsa called to me as well, but I also tend to avoid salsas I am unfamiliarwith, as they often contain the demon weed of cilantro. Glancing at it, I thought it had it in there, although I did not peruse the ingredients.

Can I get my money back for the 'Zone' bars I just bought there? They looked good, and I thought an extra protein punch would be great with all the valentine sugar that will hit. They are VILE. Now I have two boxes of totally inedible bars that my kids keep asking for and then throwing out. I should just toss them, but dang, they cost money. I try to eat one every now and again.

mindyluwho said...

Whew...thanks!

Sheyenne said...

Randi,
You are wrong! Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce is awesome! The answer to this "Is it just me?" is YES! How can you not appreciate the awesome goodness of Sweet Baby Ray's?!? I make shredded pork sandwiches with it and it's DE-licious.

Lippy said...

Wonderful public service today, Ma'am :)

Gotta admit, those mango thingys look a little scary, and "tastes like puke" cinches the deal!

Vern said...

I'm with stacey - the dried mangoes are awesome!!

Super Happy Girl said...

Say no to fake guacamole :P

Once many years ago I bought that Baby Ray's sauce. Bad idea. Ewww.

Thanks for this PSA.

Nancy Face said...

So you're telling me I can really purchase an entire tub of chunky industrial waste puke at my local Costco?

Who knew?

Marilyn said...

oooh, I was at Costco last Sat. while they were sampling this and I was sorely tempted, so glad I didn't give in.....

Randi said...

Sheyenne- email me your address and I'll send it to you. (really!)

That way I don't have to feel bad about throwing away toxic chemicals. ;>

Melissa said...

I will learn from your experiences here... thank you for being willing to step forward and talk about it. :)

goddessdivine said...

Thanks for the tips. I wish I could get money back for things that ended up being a disappointment.

Mrs Andy said...

So you're telling me I can really purchase an entire tub of chunky industrial waste puke at my local Costco?

I think you can buy just about anything at Costco....would you like some living room furniture with your 10 gallon tub of butter today?

Agreed on the BBQ sauce...the only BBq sauce that is worth eating is Bill Johnson's, it's an Arizona thing, but you can it more places these days...

Busy Bee Lauren said...

By golly, you are hilarious! You always have the bestest, funniest posts! Girl, you rock!

Ok, excuse me...I am off to Hollister for the jacket I couldn't bring myself to buy.

Anonymous said...

Don't you just hate the impulse purchases. Boy that looks good....NOT! I am sorry to hear about the mango stuff. I would have bought that too. Thanks for saving me the horror. :)

Caroline C. Bingham said...

That stinks. Especially when you plan a meal around something and then it is just plain nasty.

Anyways. Thanks for the reviews.

The Dillon 6 said...

first of all, Costco is the devil. And those Sample Ladies are his Evil Elves (I know, because I once was one).

Next time it happens, sit yourself down -- I mean stand yourself up at your blognasium and WRITE TO THE COMPANIES telling them how much you despised their product, how it embarassed you to serve it to out-of-town company, and how much your kids threw up when they tried a teeny-tiny taste. You may end up with coupons for the same product, but most will send you a full refund...and some coupons to boot. :)

elasticwaistbandlady said...

I'm only using Costco......for their giant muffins. :)

Salt H2O said...

Hint for that Sweet Baby Rays-

Sunday morning around 7 am take that sweet baby rays and some frozen costco chicken and throw them in the crock pot togeter with some water. Let it cook for 8 hours or more.

Get yourself some buns and WHALA! You've got yourself some Southern BBQ Chicken Sandwhiches with out doing any work at all!

Babzanne Barker said...

Did you know Costco will take back anything you don't like or that doesn't work the way you thought it would without a receipt? That's why I'll be a Costco fan/shopper forever. So if you still have that nasty mango salsa I bet they'll give you your money back. If you really don't like the guacamole enough to finish it you can always bring it over to me. It's not as good as fresh (or QDoba's--now that's good!) but we've gagged it down a few times and nobody really complained. :)