in a word, yes.

I carry around this Moleskine pretty much everywhere I go: http://www.moleskine.com/catalogue/classic/cahier/cardboard_...

They costs about $8 for a set of three which last me 2-3 years usually. The thing I like about this Moleskine is it easily bends to the shape of my leg in my front pocket so I don't even notice that I am carrying it.

Now, when I'm at the computer I use Noopsi http://noopsi.com (I'm the main developer) which I created primarily to scratch my own itch of having an easy to add/edit/search/share database of my thoughts and ideas.

Plenty of people seem to swear by them.

But here's the thing - it's not so much the cost (in absolute sums, it's not that large). It's whether you use it. You obviously sweat over costs; perhaps this sweating can be a cudgel to force you to write down whatever. The more a moleskine isn't worth buying, the more you will find yourself compelled to use it. Then wouldn't you be better off in the end?

Not familiar with Mead. It's subjective - the thing is worth whatever value you put on it. If it suits you better than the others it's worth it I suppose. But in the end it's just paper. Try different things until you find something that works for you.