30 Things People Spent Money On Only To Realize Later How Stupid It Was
Interview With ExpertNo matter what your old economics textbooks might suggest, human beings aren’t entirely rational. Emotions, hype, and assumptions drive all of us to a greater and lesser extent. What this means is that you’ll find very few people who have ‘perfectly’ optimized their spending.
Meanwhile, the majority of us will have at least one big purchase in our lives that we deeply regret wasting money on. Thanks, hindsight, you’re still 20/20! The members of the popular r/AskReddit community spilled the tea about the dumbest things that they’ve ever bought, and their regret is almost palpable. Scroll down to read their stories and for a relatable reminder that buyer’s remorse is a common visitor in many a household.
We reached out to personal finance expert Rick Orford, the author of 'The Financially Independent Millennial,' for his thoughts on emotional spending and compulsive buying. Read on for the insights he shared with Bored Panda!
This post may include affiliate links.
Cigarettes. I didn't mind at the time, but having been off them for a decade, it is such a stupid way to spend money in retrospect.
Even more so in Australia, where a pack of 40 cigarettes costs approx $75. Glad I quit, couldn't afford it otherwise.
After 40 years of smoking 2 packs a day I finally quit two years ago. No regrets.
I had a nasty case of walking pneumonia that lasted for six months. When I got better, I just didn't want one so I stopped buying them.
I am spending as much now on vapes as I did on cigarettes back then but actually ingesting more nicotine.
I loved smoking when i was doing it. If it came down to cigarettes or groceries, I'd skimp on groceries. I loved the feeling of a good smoke. Then I quit. Took me a while to put together why I suddenly had so much more money.
When my parents both stopped smoking they put the money aside and spent it on a foreign holiday each year instead. Oh boy, did their house smell better for it.
Impossible to afford now. Glad vapes are so cheap with the bottle refills.
"Emotional spending means buying something to make yourself feel better. It could be as simple as buying a favorite dessert to make yourself feel better after a long and difficult day. Unfortunately, for some, it can become a behavioral issue, leading to compulsive buying,” personal finance expert Orford told Bored Panda in an email.
He warned us of the fact that the benefit of emotional spending is usually short-lived. "Stuff purchased online or in a store quells our emotions—only temporarily. Once eaten, the dessert is gone forever."
Extra lives on candy crush.
I don't even want to think about how much money I spent on Simpsons Tapped Out.
Same. I forced myself to stop playing because of the cost. I had to ask myself "why?"
Load More Replies...Gardenscapes. An entire paycheck one month during Covid. I cried I was so ashamed. Deleted it and never looked back.
Be proud that you found the emergency brake so fast!
Load More Replies...Paying for extras in a game is against my religion. A game should allow you to finish it by yourself, no help, no magic pay boxes and all the extras should be found or earned in the game itself.I know I'm old school but when I started playing with computers, that's how the games were.
I never spend money on games like this. If I can't pass a level then I delete it and play something else.
One game I played kept wanting me to go ad-free. 24 hours ad-free play was only $7.99!
I have never spent a dime on a free to play mobile app. Same reason I've never bought a lottery ticket.
A pair of Christian Louboutin stilettos that I absolutely could not afford and paid for with my whole credit card limit. I wore them twice. They are INDESCRIBABLY uncomfortable, the soles are paper thin, and the red scrapes off pretty much immediately if you wear them outside. I was young and clearly very stupid.
My first pay as a teenager, I got some Chanel mules (little heels), I got them from the sale rack so they were around $800 in 2005 and I wore them as much as I could and they fell apart after about after maybe a month 😂 paid $20 for Betts brand wedges around the same time that I wore daily in the bar serving drinks in my skimpy days and the $20 wedges lasted 15 yrs
Worst money I've spent on shoes was a pair of reebok pumps in the late 80s/early 90s. They fell apart after a couple of months. Conversely, the best money I've spent on shoes was the pair of Doc Martens I bought back when I was finally able to start expressing myself as a goth (I think around 1995?). I've still got them and wear them whenever I go out.
Load More Replies...I don't know what people see in Loubotins. Many expensive designer shoes looks pretty, and I really would like to own some, but Loubotins? My feet hurt just by looking at them.
I used to wear them a lot lol. I rarely get to wear heels tbh, but when I do, I love when they're really high. I blame my mother, I believe she sleeps in heels 👠
Load More Replies...My son saved money from his first job as a teenager & bought a pair of Gucci trackie pants for $1000. That was about 5 years ago & they are still perfect because he hasn’t worn them 🤦♀️
Years ago I got a pair of fancy-looking high-heel shoes through Freecycle. I wore them once - to a New Year's party. In about an hour my legs were ready to declare war on me. I have never worn high heels since. Low heels are fine by me! I see women walking in ridiculous spike heel shoes, sometimes with really thick soles, and I wonder how the Hello Kitty they manage to walk at all.
Yup, people that spend money on stuff like that deserve what they get. Probably a 5000% markup on it
Some shoes and things such as perfumes by certain designers are actually worth investing in. I have a bottle of perfume by Vivienne Westwood that I've never opened, it's still in its original sealed packaging. It's since been discontinued and apparently worth quite a lot of money to collectors...... Anyway, if you invest in a pair of shoes? You either make really dayum sure that you will be able wear them!!! Or? If you've tried them on once on carpeting so you don't scuff the soles and they don't fit? Keep them in the box they came in with all original packaging and the receipt. Depending upon the designer? Some do go way up in value after a few/number of years.
That monetary value only matters at time of sale, though. Something can easily be worth hundreds, thousands, millions even, but if no one really wants to buy it, it's not actually "worth" that at all. It is an investment sometimes to buy things, keep them as is, and later sell them at at least their value or higher, but you run a massive risk that when you want to sell them, there will be a buyer. Collectors exist for all sorts of things, but that doesn't mean a collector will want to buy your item, the risk vs reward is massively skewed towards risk when it comes to "designer" things.
Load More Replies...According to Orford, emotional spending can be characterized as an addiction to shopping. As with any addiction, it’s possible to try to replace it with a healthy (or, well, a less harmful) activity in order to curb the negative effects.
"In my own experience, the key to limiting emotional spending is to replace the addiction with something else—ideally less expensive. For example, when I quit smoking, I took up house cleaning, starting with my own home. After a few weeks, I had the cleanest apartment in my complex," the expert opened up to Bored Panda.
Never loan money to friends.... you'll never see it again.
Never loan money to friends or family. If you are able to afford it, and wish to do so, give it to them. I have a friend who would not take money, unless it was loan. She 'owes' about £500, but, in my head, that money is gone; it's served its purpose of helping out a friend who was in need. If this money come back to me I'll use it for something fun.
I've had this opinion for decades. It finally came to a head when a friend from childhood, who was down on his luck, would meet up with me every couple of weeks for a few drinks and a hearty lunch at a local 'gastro-pub'. I alway paid. I told him I would. A little luxury for a ~$250 including tax and tip. I then gave him any change I had left in cash, ~$40-80 or so. - THAT I could afford, not a problem. Twice a month. But THEN! when he was getting worse and was unemployable, he, when drunk, made a pitch to 'borrow' $10k. I told him flat out, many times, I don't loan anyone money. This time, as kindly as I could, I reminded him of that. He said okay. Two weeks later, it happened again. Same reply, less kindly. I realized he couldn't remember the previous discussion. Happened the next two times, and I realized I was enabling him without helping him, and he was degrading my own joyfulness. So I went No Contact 5 years ago and that's the end of that.
Load More Replies...This is BS. If my friend needs help, and I have the extra cash, I am going to help. There's no time limit on paying me back; if you can, you can, if you can't, you can't. My friends are more important to me than money.
Then it's not a loan. Loans are given with the expectation of repayment.
Load More Replies...My dad taught me to never loan money that you can't live without, and never expect it back if you do. Consider every loan a gift; that way if you don't get it back it won't matter.
A very wise person once told me never to lend money. Either give it with no expectation of getting repaid or say “no.” People who borrow money are often irresponsible with money. Many MANY friendships have been ruined over this issue.
Yes, I had a coworker who was having a crisis with a loved pet. I gave her several hundred dollars to help out because I like her, and I have pets and could understand. And at the time I could afford it. I told her it was a gift and she did not need to pay it back. I don't expect any return.
Load More Replies...I've been burnt -- severely -- by a "friend". I realized far too late that he cultivates friendships with people only to manipulate them. On the other hand, I've lent money to a different friend who has paid it off in record time. But, yes, the basic rule would be, "Never lend money to a friend."
Although I was living month to month, I loaned $300 to a dear friend struggling to pay rent. We were all below the line in the film and TV industry; work was slow, and savings were being depleted. A few months later, I asked her about it and told her that it was no big deal and that she could pay it back whenever. Her money problems were more extensive than she could handle; she had borrowed from almost everyone in our circle. Eventually, she moved and ghosted everybody. That was 15 years ago, and I still miss her. I wanted the $300 back but valued the friendship much more. I wish she had understood that.
My Go-Pro camera 10 years ago. Turns out, I don't live the exciting life I thought I did.
Smoke weed. You'll find something to film and your life won't be as boring, but don't smoke so much that your curtains turn brown.
My wedding. We are now divorced so I feel I could have used that money for something more worthwhile. Lesson learned.
I work with somebody who married with a huge reception etc. Six years later they divorced and they were still paying for the wedding.
For anyone planning to get married, don’t spend a fortune on a day that should be yours only for the sake of others, best one I ever went to was a back garden, a bbq, obligatory British buffet (cheese and pineapple etc) lots of booze and lots of laughs, it was amazing
One of my aunts did the big wedding thing. They were divorced within five years. She married her current husband in Reno, NV. They've been together for over 30 years.
"While I'm not suggesting you clean your home specifically, there are other things one could do instead, such as volunteering, engaging in light to moderate physical activity (e.g., walking, hiking), or taking a free class. And if you're really craving to buy something, try looking for companies that send free samples of their items online," Orford suggested.
"Anything one can do to limit their spending will go a long way towards improving their own mental health, relationships with others, and hopefully their bank accounts."
Probably nobody is completely immune to making silly purchases or buyer’s remorse. That sort of thing can happen to anyone, whether they’re living from paycheck to paycheck or they have lots of savings and a history of fiscal responsibility.
Not all bad purchases are equally dumb, though. It’s one thing to buy a candy bar and instantly regret it because you’re supposed to be eating healthier and spending less on random snacks. It’s an entirely different ball game to go all-in on a hyped-up gadget, appliance, car, house, or major investment while riding a wave of intense emotions. The burst of impulsiveness behind both decisions can be similar, but the consequences are going to be vastly different for your wallet.
Honestly, fast food. I always crave a specific thing and buy it and then it’s just ok. Why did I spend $20 on a s****y burger and fries? I could have just taken my lazy a*s home and made better for cheaper.
Well everyone knows that homemade food is better and cheaper than fast food, but sometimes when I'm tired, hungry and don't want to wait another hour before my food is ready, I just buy fast food.
Because crinkle-cut fries? They just aren't the same at home and I love them. Better burgers, less often.
I can make much better burgers (and fries!) at home, but it's enough of a pain the tochis that I hardly ever do. Sometimes, the drive-thru is just what you need.
But if you have to make it yourself it is not at all the same treat.
I got given a voucher for a iwantoneofthose.com about 15 years ago, and could find nothing I wanted, so I now “own” a square kilometre of the moon.
Let's hope OP got a good plot and wasn't swindled into buying a mosquito infested swamp up there
If they're lucky they have a place real close to the cave.
Load More Replies...Nah I don't recommend holidaying on the moon, that place has no atmosphere.
Load More Replies...do you know where your square kilometer is? Maybe there's a lander or a probe or something on it. You could charge rent.
Can companies even sell areas on the moon? I thought it is international, not owned by anyone.
Can't sell the moon or names for stars or asteroids. Nobody owns the moon and there is an international organization that handles names in space.
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Once, just ONCE, I purchased in-game cash with real cash in a videogame.
I felt *dirty* afterwards. Never again.
i don't think it matters too much if it's in small amounts and its a game you play a lot
I agree with this if it's a free game that isn't inundated with ads. If I play a game a lot for more than a week, or if it's a particularly good game, I'll buy a "pack" equivalent to the cost of most paid games. Somebody spent time and energy creating and maintaining that game, and I don't see a problem with compensating them accordingly. I see it as try before you buy, or those walking tours where you pay what seems appropriate at the end. I've definitely bought games that I've invested less time into than some free games
Load More Replies...Now I have done this once, for a cosmetic that I wanted for a particular character that I did not have the time to earn the money in game to turn into the cosmetics shop currency. The game allows you to exchange money earned in game into the cosmetics shop currency, so you don't have to pay real money, but it takes a lot of effort to do and some cosmetics roll in and out randomly. The game in question does not have anything in this shop that is P2W, it's purely cosmetics. I haven't done that since, because I convert in game currency if there is something that I want for my character (rare that I do - I'm a roleplayer, my character appearances are set once they are correct)
Only time I've ever done it was for EVE online. I needed something to do back in 2020 so I bought some ISKies and got into it again. My account is almost 20 years old. When the world crawled out of the pandemic, I got bored again and quit again. MMOs just aren't my thing.
As I said before. Paying for extras in a game is against my religion. A game should allow you to finish it by yourself, no help, no magic pay boxes and all the extras should be found or earned in the game itself.I know I'm old school but when I started playing with computers, that's how the games were.
Broadly speaking, there are two types of buyer’s remorse. The first is immediate: you feel bad the moment you fork over your hard-earned cash. In short, you start double-guessing your choice because now that you’ve already parted with the money, the way you feel about the purchase might not be what you had expected.
The second kind of remorse comes much later when you’re reviewing and analyzing your life decisions. Hindsight is both an ally and an enemy. It can help us learn hard lessons about our behavior so that we can shore up our weaknesses and avoid making the same mistakes in the future. On the flip side, though, the guilt you feel might not always be warranted.
It’s very easy to look back on your life and judge yourself for being so rash/dumb/whatever. You assume that if you could redo everything, you’d make better decisions. The caveat is that you can only make those better decisions with the extra information you have now. Namely, about how you could have saved more, invested smarter, chased better employment opportunities, and been more frugal.
But back then, in the past, you were making the best decisions that you could with the information that you had. Not to mention that your choices largely depend on your character, personality, and values. Being more aggressive/frugal with money might have made sense at that particular period in your life.
I bid on a guitar signed by Metallica through a radio station auction, where the proceeds would go to a charity. This was over the phone (before cell phones were big and everyone still had home phones) and live on the air. Me and one other dumb a*s got into a bidding war for this guitar signed by Metallica. I "won" by making a crazy ending bid of $8000, $1500 more than the last bid. The goal was to be the crazy one, and it worked. The other dude bowed out and I "won" it.
I went down to the radio station to pick it up. No party hats, no "great job!", no greeters, just me and my shame of paying waaaay too much for a s****y, Chinese made Fender with 4 sigs on it. They gave it to me in an open cardboard box with no COA.
It's worth about $300 now, probably. Even worse, I played it a few times and wore down one of the sigs. I mean, it's still there, but you can tell it's been rubbed off a little.
The only saving grace was that I got to write it off on my taxes and got back like 6K that year or something like that.
So yeah, used a credit card with 12% interest. Luckily I had a good job, so it only took 6 months to pay it off.
Do I win?
Guitar signed by all the four active Metallica members are a common memorabilia of the band, still produced and sold in a few online shops. They retail for $2k-4k. Guitars signed by former members sell for five times that. Guitars signed by the early 1980s formation featuring Cliff Burton -who died during the Master of Puppets tour- are very rare and sell for much, much more. Not having a Certificate of Authenticity shaves a lot off the price, but in OP case it would be trivially easy to have one made since all the members are still alive, there is plenty of documentation on the campaign and he has the payment stubs.
I spent too much money on a nice 9" tall statue of Lemmy (of my favorite band, Motorhead). Not the most cost effective purchase, perhaps, but my Bluetooth speaker is about the same size as his Marshall stacks to scale, and he looks bad@$$ standing in front of it! image_5039...e08979.jpg
I paid upfront for a 4 year gym contract.
Price was mind blowing.
I went once in 4 years, my own fault.
90% of people who joined a gym in January can relate.
Load More Replies...Gyms gross me out for some reason. Sweat. Smells. Dead skin flying off people into the equipment. Farts. Grunts. People.
This is why I stay far from away gym contracts or special offers for one. Knowing me and my lazy, super-introverted a**, it would be a waste of money. Alas, if only I could bring myself to indulge in some work-like activity at home, where I'm by myself - but then there's the computer, there's internet, the couch...
Drones were such a fad. I bet 90% of people found themselves in a single situtation where they thought "Damn, I wish I had a drone here" bought one and never did again.
My nephew has one to track the position of our cows in the mountains (yes, they are contained by an electric fence, but sometimes they escape nevertheless). Pretty cool timesaver 👍
Friends got one they use for checking on the fields. Makes things a lot easier
Load More Replies...They're amazing for farmers - my cousins have them, and use them to check the fences, check for flooding, look for damage/downed fences after storms, check the cows in calving season, etc. All the stuff they used to go out on a ute and look for, they check by drone, then go where they need to be.
Seems they are becoming very useful in many serious ways, like mountain rescue & fire fighting & fabulous wildlife photography. But not just for fun!
I bought one for my dad, the second time he flew it he lost it in a really thick hedge. He had to wait until winter to.find it again. Luckily I don't spend very much on it.
Like others, we use ours mostly for checking the property, surrounding properties, critters, escapees (animals, not humans, usually...) and other such stuff. They're also fun to play with, but they really are useful as long as you live somewhere you can safely, and legally, enjoy them. We have a friend who bought one for fun. They live within a certain distance from an airport....they're illegal to fly there, lol.
I would certainly fall for a cheap offer of a drone, except if I remembered, that it is illegal to use them where it would be really interesting.
Moreover, it’s not like you can predict what you’ll need money for in the future, how much you should allow yourself to splurge, and which purchases are smart and which ones should be avoided no matter what.
Yes, it’s a good idea to have an emergency fund to last you half a year or more. It’s smart to save or invest a large portion of your paycheck. It’s admirable to take the time to research products and think about their impact before buying something.
That said, there’s nothing horrid about having a budget for your ‘wants’ as well, not just to cover your ‘needs.’ It’s all right to have fun and enjoy life, whether that’s going to the cinema, traveling abroad, eating steaks with your friends, or buying art supplies. Life is meant to be lived! That, inevitably, means spending some of your cash on experiences and things that might not look rational on a spreadsheet.
A Porsche
Because midlife crisis.
...ummm, there's something he forgot to mention.
Load More Replies...I'm scheduled for a mid life crisis, 44 tomorrow, and all I want is a decent apartment.
I knew a guy that was in commercial real estate when the economy tanked. When asked how he was doing, his reply: 2 years ago , I had a yacht and a mistress Last year I had a bass boat and a hooker Now this year I have an inner tube and a hard on and they’re both going down fast
I will never understand the Porsche SUVs. They look just like every other SUV (or whatever the right term is for the mom vans). They're not even remarkably shaped, and every one I've seen is just black. Booooring.
Every time I hear about Porsche SUVs, I think about Janet Evanovitch's books where the main character keeps getting them blown up. LOL.
Load More Replies...Another bit of advice from same friend: if it F**ks, flies or floats, you’re better off just renting.
Very much depend on the Porsche. A "dentist's wife" Porsche, such as the Macan, Cayman, Cayenne or a current 911? There are so many of them and their upkeep is expensive; that it's not an investment, it's a liability. A vintage 911? Not bad, a decent investment car especially if it's one of the 2010s limited editions or an OG 1970's Carrera. A limited edition, V10 top-of-the-line 918 Spyder? Well, that's good money, we are talking upper six figures or even into the seven. But all of this is nothing compared to the racing stuff. Either the Porsche 956, or the 917 (aka Queen of Le Mans and Can-am Killer), in any of their variants, commandeer well over $10M at auction.
I almost did that when I was young but I asked about the maintenance costs and got cold feet.
A life-size Danny Devito cardboard cutout. I use him as a seasonal decoration so right now he's wearing a flower crown. In the winter he become a Christmas tree.
I have one of the 10th Doctor standing in my office. Many years ago my son put a clown wig on it and it never came off. He's still standing there with that wig.
I got my degree in audio engineering right before everyone stopped buying CDs and the music industry completely changed... So that.
Degrees have a few basic functions. The first is to teach you new information, and at a higher level than school. The second is to enable you to learn how to learn. A person with a degree should be able to take this knowledge and apply it to other areas. Move sideways.
Totally agree! I have also said that higher education teaches you how to learn and find information. Thank you!
Load More Replies...My friend had that happen with art school for animation, just as everything started to go digital.
Artist here- It's not hard to transition to digital, if you have the artistic skill and knowledge you can transfer those to digital. The skill of seeing and reproducing is the critical one, not what medium it is. Maybe your friend was just too lazy to learn the tech.
Load More Replies...Time or money spent with people you care about doing the things that you love isn’t wasted. However, this shouldn’t be used as an excuse for bad spending habits. If you know you’re an impulsive buyer and you deal with stress by shopping for things you don’t need or use or binge on fast food, alcohol, or nicotine, then you need to sit down and reevaluate some of your priorities. Speaking to a therapist can help reframe your relationship with money.
What is the dumbest purchase you’ve ever made that you regretted a ton, dear Pandas? How did you deal with buyer’s remorse? On the other hand, have there been any purchases that you were on the fence about buying that ended up being very useful or enjoyable? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments!
A soup tureen. I thought a married lady who throws dinner parties and fancy brunches (which I was at the time — widowed recluse now) just HAD to have one. I searched for two years to find one that blended with my taste and looked good with my China but not so good that it was all matchy-matchy. Finally found the perfect one, bought it (expensive!) and put it in a cabinet. And NEVER used it, not even once. Turns out I’m too control freaky to serve from a tureen — have to plate the soup so I can get the swirl of sour cream or truffle oil or scattering of minced chives just right.
Kept tureen for a few years then took it to my cousin’s annual yard sale. It didn’t sell.
I inherited a soup tureen from my aunt. I don't like soup, and have never cooked soup. So I turned it into a pot for growing herbs. Currently has a batch of lemon grass coming along nicely.
Too much effort to transfer the soup to a tureen. I'll just plonk the pan on the table and serve from that. #lesswashingup
I very recently gave away the family soup tureen which had sat on the counter in the kitchen completely unused since about 1983. the new owner claims she's going to use it for soup, but i bet she gives it away in 40 years, completely unused.
There was an episode of Roseanne where Jackie was acting at the local theater. The entire family went to hear her say her line: Tureen of Beef.
And when you live alone you can just put your soup directly into your bowl & heat it up in the microwave. Minimal washing up.
The tureen in the photo without its matching ladle is giving me anxiety
Have one made for me by my mother-in-law. She was into pottery and was very good. Did actually use it twice, and she was there to dee it used - she was so happy. Haven't used it since, but it still holds an honored place in my china cabinet, along with my good china and crystal.
Actually my first cat.
I saw her and fell in love. Knew she had never seen a vet, was way too small and ill.
Regret came after I brought her to the vet.
I was dumb a f ... that was expensive. (Cat is healthy now - and I am broke) .
I once taken stray cat from streets.Took her to vet, and turned out that cat was pregnant, and had cancer.It was untreatable. Cat had three kittens, and two dies soon after birth. One remaining kitten was healthy, but it's mother died before kitten learned to eat on it's own. So I fed kitten with syringe and bottle. It cost a lot. Kitten is now big cat that owns my house.
You are an angel! Years ago I took in a pregnant stray, but she was quite healthy and had five kittens, all of whom lived at least long enough to find forever homes. Sweet Ragamuffin lived with me for 17 years, and passed peacefully in her sleep.
Load More Replies...I spent $10,000 to learn that cheap squeaker toys can be dangerous for large dog breeds.
Your cat will give it back to you, believe me. Her currency is purrs. And love in general.
When my daughter moved away to attend college, I told her to go to the pound and rescue a pet and not, under any circumstances, buy a pet store cat because they often come with issues. She didn't listen. A week later, she called hysterical because the kitten was dying and needed all kinds of expensive vet intervention. I don't have any discretionary money, so the credit card comes out because I'm her mom. Still, if my grandkitty were a person, he would have just graduated high school. He's 18 and going strong, so it was money well spent.
The pet store chains get cats from local shelters though.
Load More Replies...OP is not broke. OP is far, far ahead. There's nothing so precious or dear as true love, whether from a cat, a human, or a tse-tse fly.
You know that box on your tax form that asks for $1 or $5 for the presidential re-election fund?
I checked it.
Once.
Wow, can't even imagine seeing that on a tax return - in Australia government departments, agencies and non-political public servants are apolitical - they simply serve the government of the day.
This donation doesn’t go to a specific party either. It’s a pool of money given across candidates to cover some primary expenses etc.
Load More Replies...It's internet again, believe me. It's not the "presidential re-election fund" but the "presidential election campaign fund", non-partisan election financing, not partisan candidate campaign financing. Actually better than Citizens United granting corporations personhood and the unlimited purchase of politicians. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidential_election_campaign_fund_checkoff
I'm still trying to work out why on earth non-partisan election financing would be funded through donations on a tax form. When a country has any form of voting, the funding to allow this voting MUST be part of the total budget. It's not an optional extra, it's a core responsibility.
Load More Replies...Guys this is a bad example for this list. It does NOT increase your taxes to check it. You pay the exact SAME amount whether you check it or not. It is just earmarking one of the dollars you already owe to this fund. I actually wish they would do more of this. If I have to pay taxes anyways I would like more control in how my tax money is spent by the government. Imagine if your taxes came with a list “How would you like tax dollars spent? Social programs, defense, humanitarian aid, national parks, politician’s salaries, etc” and you could just check off how you want your money to be used. They probably don’t do that since almost no one would pick to fund politicians’ salaries.
If it was to go to feed, clothe and/or house a people in need I’d happily do it but I can’t trust our government (US) to do the right thing
I saw that on my taxes this last year, and when I looked I could find NO indication of which side it was for (not that I would pay anyway, it just felt super sketchy).
It’s not for a side, the money gets split across all the major candidates.
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$40 on a pair of jeans and belt just to get into a club with my friends never wore them again.
I went for one of these stuffed animals vending machine with a claw. It was a big machine with a lot of empty space but a few animals on the right side. Actually it was so big that it had two payment terminals, two claws, etc. I paid for it using my CC on the left side and went for the controls. Well, guess what, it was not one big vending machine, but two separate machines with a god damn glass window between them, and the one on the left that I was using was completely empty.
The laugh my fiancee and I had was well worth the $1 I wasted. Actually after that I went for the other machine and... Also didn't manage to get the stuffed animal. But my fiancee tried and got one in her first try!
they are rigged to the hilt, even to the grip strength on the claw.... avoid
Everything from the cost of the toys, how tight the pack, how smooth the travel... do you want a bounce at the end before it moves forward... how much swing do you want before the drop... how tight the grip on the claw... soooo many variables to tweak. Source: Worked in an arcade with three of those things in the 80s.
Load More Replies...There was a crane machine before the claw, usually found at carnivals and fairs. Each go cost 25¢ (45 years ago). The machine was much smaller, and a typical booth would have 15-20 machines. The crane, in its glass cage, sat in sand, and there were toys and do-dads scattered around the sand. Turning the handle let the crane arm spin around and lower the bucket. The bucket opened and shut, and it had fingers to grab the item. My mom was excellent at this game. The amount of spin on the arm was related to how fast you turned the handle. Mom could almost always get the bucket to whichever toy we wanted. She hated the claw machines, as they didn't have the same feel. The crane machines disappeared in the '80's.
I put 3 dollars in a slot machine in Vegas and I lost. I felt so ripped off, I never gambled again. Then I went and bought a few 6 dollar beers and that made it all better...😐
My daughter used her bank card last week at the claw machine, she had 15 goes before the bank blocked her card thinking it was suspicious. $5.40 a turn! Had to call the bank & get them to unblock the card. What a waste of $$
There is a claw machine at Pinball Hall of Fame here in Vegas that we can win almost every time. But it's full of pretty crappy items. There's a new arcade here that is all claw machines. The workers will watch you, and help you by opening the cabinet and situating the stuffed animals to make them easier to get. In one machine were different characters from an anime. My son won one, and they offered to change it for a different character if that wasn't the one he wanted. They have a box behind the counter for kids to pick out a plushie if they didn't win on the machines. But I imagine it's rare not to win. They set it up so you will win something. You can also exchange a number of smaller stuffed animals for one larger one. It's a pretty cool place.
A factory sealed copy of the Bibleman PC game.
You misspelled "amazing". (I just read the PC Gamer demo playthrough and it seems everything any one could never want.)
Load More Replies...That's an actual collector's item though. Factory sealed is incredibly hard to find.
I bought a copy of Limbo of the Lost right as the huge scandal broke, figuring it would shortly become a valuable collector's item. I was right - my copy only cost about twenty bucks and these days copies go for hundreds of dollars on eBay.
But that can be yours for the low, low price of $59.99!! 🤮
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DLC and pay-to-play on phone games.
those "free" ones are full of predatory microtransactions and content walls.
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Know that replica frostmourne blizzard and epic weapons made? yeah one of those.
Doesnt even steal souls, what a rip off.
Didn't a guy get arrested recently for taking one of those to the airport? Or maybe that was the Master Sword from Zelda.
My brain wanted your comment to say “for taking a soul at an airport” but TSA already does that so
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When I was around 10 I traded some Pokémon cards for a nude picture from a Hustler magazine.
The correct way to get porn in the olden days was to find a rain-damaged magazine, that's gone all wavy and stiff, in the woods or under a hedge. Everyone knows that.
You're a weird pervert.. Who the hell goes into the woods to get porn? The correct place is by the side of an old railway track.
Load More Replies...There could of been gold in that small deck 😂
Load More Replies...Seriously? What cards were traded? Hope you didn't give away something real good...
A Furby. I actually still got it somewhere, more than 25 years later.
My daughter had one and we could never figure out how to turn the f*****g thing off. Would hear it making sounds at the most random times.
I bought one (I was way too old, but anyway) and eventually the batteries ran down. Or so I thought. A month later, from deep in the cupboard, at 3am... noises. I about shat myself inside out.
Load More Replies...Bought one for my (now ex) bf, when we were in HS. He and his dad shared a car, where the Furby lived. Dad thought he was going crazy because he kept hearing voices and didn't realize it woke up after driving over RR tracks. 20ish years later, I still laugh when I think about it.
I got one of these for my daughter and she left it on the bus on the way home! I rang the lost property and they said yes we have it can you please come and pick it up immediately as we can’t turn the damn thing off!
They are back in the stores, hope they don't catch on as crazy as ladt time....and tamagotchi.....help
I had one, but my father took it away. The one thing for which I will never forgive him.
My ex-wife, of course.
One of my old friends from 20 years ago was a "mail order bride" from Czechoslovakia. Sorry for dead naming the country but it was that long ago. Turns out her husband was the kind of abusive a-hole who needed to buy a wife.
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A diet program that cost a fortune. Ended up binging on pizza instead.
healthy balanced diet , everything in moderation,and exercise,it really is that simple....as I was once told "remember that the in hole is bigger than the out hole"
Everything in moderation, including moderation.
Load More Replies...Never go on a diet. It drives you crazy! Better to try changing bit by bit to healthier eating.
I've fallen for many of these magic diets, pills, drinks, meds, etc. I feel you on this.
My bestie spent thousands of pounds on a slimming program. It’s a well known one so I won’t name it.. it relies on shakes and soups….she’s even heavier now.
My coworker's daughter was overweight, so she paid for some diet program, where she got a nutritionist and they supervised what she ate. She also received some instant foods in the form of powder. It cost a fortune, but it worked, and she lost over 30 kilos (without exercise). I don't know whether it's healthy or not, it seems dangerous to me, eating instant food and not exercising, but I'm no expert. But after two years, she started gaining weight again. As far as I know, she tried that service again.
I currently have 130 untouched games on Steam. 120 beaten games. I am buying less games but I know the summer sale starts next week.
I have 375 games on the epic launcher and I have neither installed nor played any of them. Upside though, they were all giveaways so I never paid a cent.
I'm hopefully getting a Switch soon. I HAVE to get Little Kitty, Big City and Stardew Valley! Mostly I'm interested in the retro games. A friend will be buying me a subscription for Christmas, if I have the Switch by then.
After my son got Steam he blew through about $5,000 of his savings in the first month or two. He's better about it now, but still drops several hundred a month on games he doesn't play.
Yeah I have 350 or so games, most of which I've never downloaded. But I have better internet now so I can grab more games from my library. After I play the new ones I got in the Summer Sale...
When QVC was new I came home a bit tipsy & ordered a bunch of caboodles.
Caboodles were like tackle boxes but girls would put their makeup or earrings or little collectibles in them. QVC was (is?) a TV channel that showed products on the screen and you could call a phone number to purchase the items. It was maybe mid 80s through mid-90s, not sure if I’m remember correctly.
I picked up a few old ones for a buck and use them for my jewelry tools. Totally useful and solid as hell. Plus fun colors! Yay!
Load More Replies...Here's a link to the Caboodle and QVC websites for those of you asking: https://www.caboodles.com/ https://www.qvc.com/
We have lots of caboodles. One of them has a ton of tiny polly pocket bits and things. One is actually a tackle box with fishing stuff. One holds a whole bunch of random fasteners, screws, nails, washers, nuts, bolts, hooks and such. One is full of those sticky hands and other sticky type toys like wall crawlers still in wrappers (I only know this because I found it this morning looking for the one with the screws in it, lmao). One is fully of candy, though I'm not sure why. One is full of hair ties, scrunchies, barrettes etc. One is full of dremel accessories and bits. Two are empty but there are apparently plans for them. Not sure about others. They're pretty handy little boxes.
My art box held all my art stuff, paints, oils, oil pastels etc etc etc and my make-up... So... £5 from an art shop? 👍
I still have my Caboodles from the 80s. I love it. I acquired a couple more over the years. They sure do hold up well and are actually still sold. I saw some over the weekend at a Belk department store.
If I don't know what caboodle or QVC are, am I in the wrong country or the wrong gender?
Panera.
A bakery franchise that is crazy expensive and medium-low quality. They tried to bring the Euro bakery/cafè business model to the US, for a while they offered decent value (at least for American standards), then enshittification ensued. Cost cutting and "process optimization" (i.e. premade stuff replacing fresh) slowly took away all the good value leaving only the high price point, that also further increased.
Load More Replies...They used to have good food - you couldn't beat their tomato or broccoli-cheddar soup, or their bread, with a baseball bat. Now it's gotten to be meh. Last time I was there, I ordered a yogurt berry parfait (or something like that) and got yogurt and berries in a plastic container with granola on the side.
Have an up vote because you shouldn't have been downvoted for your opinion. It's wrong, but you're still entitled to it. ;) (J/k btw. If you like it, great! Personally I think $20 for a small meh sandwich is highway robbery, but I'm lucky enough to live where there are better and cheaper options)
Load More Replies...Alcohol.
I have calculated that I am spending about £300 on alcohol and vapes a month. Yes, I am addicted to both.
I drink beer, but to appreciate the beer rather than for the booze - which is why I drink craft beer.
When I just turned 21, I went to a casino in Vegas where I played War, the card game, for $25 a hand. It was like being in the casino from National Lampoon's Vegas Vacation.
When I was in Vegas I had one go on a slot machine. I won, but only a couple of dollars. I quit whilst I was ahead!!!
I'm headed to Vegas in a few weeks just to see two concerts and I will avoid the gambling floors at all costs!
Load More Replies...Have lived in Vegas for nearly 18 years. Can count on one hand the number of times I've had a go on a slot machine. Just don't get the appeal.
A t shirt from Philip Plein with bedazzled skull on it. Never wore it once. I was THAT embarrassed.
Philip Plein is c**p. Quality is terrible, and the secondary market is basically nonexistent. I am not totally against investing in high fashion, with some common sense and some capital you can get good returns (preying on the gullibility of the rich, so it's also fun), but Philippe Plein is a very, very bad choice of investment.
His stuff is soooo ugly and he is a idiot and a*****e. why would anyone buy that?
I spent $3k buying LuLaRoe leggings. I only wear about 10 of them. Total waste of money.
I bought one of those dumb fkn space helmets to wear in the height of the pandemic. 😭😭😭 It was like $700. 😭😭😭 Long story short, turns out I have ADHD. Anyways, I made some dorky videos with it.
I got a Soviet gas mask for s**t and giggles. Was worth it tho, I wear it on Halloween and comic con now
Be careful with that. Some Soviet-era gas masks have asbestos filters (or asbestos in the filters).
Load More Replies...I already owned one because I'm a weirdo. Bloody damn hot that summer.
My 1 month old baby is dumb as rocks, can't even do algebra.
Or maybe they CAN but they can't tell you yet. Might be there, in their crib, just doing algebra all day.
For real. Don’t judge that baby. You don’t know her life! lol
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Gym membership for a year and a Switch with ring fit. They weren't dumb in the beginning but when I stopped going/using it.
Door dashed from next door.
I did Door Dash once, but that was because I was stuck at work since I had to be on hand for a package that needed a signature.
At least tell me you were stoned and drunk and didn't know wtf you were doing.
I would say counter strike skins back in the day but I actually did the math and came out ahead. I unboxed a sapphire Doppler m9 bayonet and sold it for like $2300. I have since sold all my skins and haven’t played in a while though. The obvious answer for me is nicotine pouches now. I am 30 and have played baseball all my life, even play now. When I was 12 my coach introduced me to dip and I dipped from 12 to around 28 years old. Then I switched to nicotine pouches because it’s healthier. The problem is that I spend a ton of money because I use 4 nicotine pouches at once on my bottom lip to mimic the feeling of dip. Loved that coach but hate him for introducing me to dip at such a young age. Such a waste of money!
Yeah it’s chewing tobacco. Disgusting habit. And that coach is a monster for giving it to a kid.
Don't use it anyway, can give you throat or mouth cancer
Load More Replies...I am sure these words have a definite meaning. Not sure what it is though. Yet, they convey a general lack of common sense on OP's part.
damp, chopped up tobacco leaves. You pinch a wad from the clump and stick between your lower lip and lower gum. You get nicotine straight into your system. Oh. And yes, it does make nasty brown saliva. You spot that out. A lot. 🤮
Load More Replies...Apparently it's chewing tobacco. I've got it from reddit, so I'm not entirely sure.
Load More Replies...A little tiny speaker that danced side to side.
My ex girlfriend.
My daughter had that problem with her girlfriend, too. $20,000 later...,
I fell this one. I loaned my ex-GF $500 at one point and never got it back. Then she started stalking me after we broke up. I don't know where she is but if she ever turns up again it's call the cops and renew the restraining order.
As a then 27 year old, a bunch of Beyblades and some Beyblade arenas. Shockingly expensive. But whip those bad boys out at a Halloween, Christmas, or any other boozy kind of party, and watch an actual pit form around the arenas as grown men and women jostle for their turn to let it rip. Oftentimes money will begin changing hands as actual betting rings coalesce around the arenas. It's like the ethical man's gladiatorial combat entertainment.
I'm not looking them up but if I remember, they are like spinning top battles? Those things in the pic spin and you spin yours against another in a little arena pen. I think that's what the old commercials were about anyway. No one I know would have that much fun doing that at 27 lol
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Bottle service at the Wynn club in LV. Blew roughly 5k and only had a few drinks as most of the big bottles were sucked up by females who migrated from table to table.
Upside was that Joe Rogan, Pink and her husband Carey Hart were sitting next to us and were very nice.
Thank you for saying it before I could. Now, what was the notoriously feminist, left leaning and outspoken P!nk doing with him?
Load More Replies...Ok, I see the word "females", and a positive mention of Joe Rogan. F**k this person .
Suppose they dropped 5k on bottle service in hopes of impressing said "females"?
Load More Replies..."feeeeeeeeeemaaaaaallllllleeeeeees!!!" - The screech of goddamned incels everywhere.
For me it starts with "why would Pink be going out with Joe Rogan?"
Load More Replies...My viper, which at the same time is the best money I’ve ever spent on something.
Hopefully the sportscar. Of all the snakes that make a good pet, a viper is definitely not one. They are venomous and aggressive when tampered with. They are not very active by themselves and spend most of their time in hiding.
Load More Replies...Online gambling. My wife won $72,000 playing on her phone, so I thought hey I will try my luck. First I have to say I am one who normally does not touch my savings, but the thought of making it back got the best of me. I kept on moving money over to play and about $4000 later I had to tell myself enough is enough. I opted to close the account with the option to never be able to open it again. Every time I go to my savings I think about what I wasted, even though I still have a really nice amount of money in there. It was hard work making that and its been hard work trying to put that amount back. I would of been better off getting cash and throwing it out the car window.
Supposedly asleep with the aid of Ambien, I ordered a bunch of stuff from QVC. It was a big surprise when it arrived, and it was even bigger when I checked my credit card statement. One of the things I couldn't even figure out what it was. I sent it all back. I stopped using Ambien.
Shoes and jeans bought online for the most part. Exceptions are my "water shoes" whcih I have in five different colours/patterns, and my Reiker boots x 2.
An incredibly cheap double bass that is too big for me, not just a waste of money, but a waste of space too. I mutter angrily to myself every time I play it, lol.
A few months ago, I spent nearly $20 on ice cream when I should've saved my money for the tablet I wanted to buy.
Shoes I have so many I can wear a different pair every day of the month
Online gambling. My wife won $72,000 playing on her phone, so I thought hey I will try my luck. First I have to say I am one who normally does not touch my savings, but the thought of making it back got the best of me. I kept on moving money over to play and about $4000 later I had to tell myself enough is enough. I opted to close the account with the option to never be able to open it again. Every time I go to my savings I think about what I wasted, even though I still have a really nice amount of money in there. It was hard work making that and its been hard work trying to put that amount back. I would of been better off getting cash and throwing it out the car window.
Supposedly asleep with the aid of Ambien, I ordered a bunch of stuff from QVC. It was a big surprise when it arrived, and it was even bigger when I checked my credit card statement. One of the things I couldn't even figure out what it was. I sent it all back. I stopped using Ambien.
Shoes and jeans bought online for the most part. Exceptions are my "water shoes" whcih I have in five different colours/patterns, and my Reiker boots x 2.
An incredibly cheap double bass that is too big for me, not just a waste of money, but a waste of space too. I mutter angrily to myself every time I play it, lol.
A few months ago, I spent nearly $20 on ice cream when I should've saved my money for the tablet I wanted to buy.
Shoes I have so many I can wear a different pair every day of the month
