I don't think it's ever a waste of money to keep yourself safe!
This is a
totally personal thing to me, but I feel guilty about the amount I cost the NHS anyway (for non-escorting reasons), so I never accept free condoms. Plus, they're so reasonable at the Freedoms shop and have a good range of shapes and sizes - you can get a year's worth for probably about an hour's booking fee (13-15 quid for 144), which to me is money well spent; I wouldn't feel comfortable with the NHS subsidising my chosen line of work any further, especially as the clinics are so great at looking after us completely free of charge. I think clients appreciate a choice of decent condoms, too.
It's about balance for me: for example, I buy non-scented J&J wipes, but in bulk from amazon. Whereas make-up apart from a couple of more expensive things it's mostly decent high street brands: the day I pay 30+ quid for mascara, I shall be having a sharp word with myself...