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Besides owning and paying for the maintenance on a Rolls Royce...

A friends Dad said, "The best is not always the best." I agree on household appliances like Refergrators, TV sets and Washing Machines and Dryers...the Heavy Duty simple model with the least bells and whistles is the one I want..Good quality machine but not top Ohhh the line...

My Ford F150 falls into that catagory...relativily trouble free for over a decade now..Also my Toaster is the $7.50 Sunbeam Wally world special...it does the job.

What brings this up is the discussion about Espresso Machines...I fully admit I bought an expensive high end machine and Burr Grinder that could be considered to be a semi-commericial models. I feel that purchase was very worthwhile, because it is something that I use virutally everyday...not only am I getting my money out of it, it is getting used...

Rather than something that you buy and it just sits...

Some have suggested that there is a learning curve attached to using the cheaper to more expensive Espresso machines. I have bin down that road with BBQ's...

I started out with a Weber Kettle 29 years ago...and still am using that $39 Weber...I eventually when to a 35 Gallon Drum for $115 bought by a friend down on Century Blvd in LA...or is it Inglewood. Had that for 13 years beofre retiring it...and buying a New Braunfels Bandera for $259 at Wally World...finally got $175 out of it...I found the metal was too thin for consistent heat retention...moved to a Big Green Egg..which has a rather small capacity...and then finally to a David Klose 1/4 - 1/2 inch steel plate model that can be considered to be a home/pro style unit...

If memory serves that 35 gallon drum made some great Q....

So I would go with the..Weber for the Grilling..and the Klose for the real deal BBQing...if your a serious Qer the Klose is worth the dinero..even though its use is probably not going to be every weekend.

But what have been wastes of money...got all night...

1. About 10 years ago I bought a bunch of All Clad Pots and Pans..they are the snot...but I don't use very many of em...they just sit...What I do use just about everyday is a 12 inch Griswald Cast Iron Fry Pan...paid alot... $150..on the Bay...the key is I use it...I would say buy a coupla of the All Clads that you might use frequently..but skip the rest.

2. The Henckles Pro-line Kithchen Knifes..can't keep em sharp, use em but the cheaper ones work as well..why pay the dinero? Wouldn't mind trying one of those Jap hari kari models...though..you see here it is..its worth buying one to see how it is...to say yeah I have the experience of using one...in life its the experience of it that counts...

3. Furniture..if I told U how much I spent..20 years ago on that stuff I would have you try and commit me...First of all I woulda bought either second hand or antique..don't get me worng it is nice..but worth the extra dinero..not really. If I wanted to deck my house out I would hit the CONSIGNMENT SHOPS....and Auctions. Bought a $600 meat slicer for $100....and 3 Bougeat Copper Pans for $30 each.... I use that slicer just about every day to slice cheese....thats what makes that deal worthwhile...

4. Pouring untold $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ into a house to decorate or lanscape...NOPE..U don't get anymore than what the neighborhood goes per square foot...I owuld say a modest amount for paint etc is OK though, to make it a pleasant atomsphere. A POOL is the height of folly...you can spend 100's of thosuands and get 25K for it....ask me how I know?

5. Restoring a car....better to buy someone elses completed toy thats not wanted anymore..but U Boyz know about that one.....the reason I never did my 911S is that I had let me see now...a 69 Mach 1 428 Super Cobra Jet (still got that one), A 1970 Dodge Challenger 440 6 Pack, a 66 427/425 hp matching number Vette, and that eat me out of house and home RR....I simply got tired of writng the checks before I got to it....to be smart I shoulda just stuck with the 911..it would have bin cheaper....

6. Spoons...never buy NEW...always second hand. If you buy the right collectable spoons over time you can do real well. Especially if you get them right in the first place. The key here is getting them for the right price...never chase unless what your buying is super rare and super desirable. Ask me how I know...