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30 Things That People Thought They Wanted So Much, Yet Regretted After Finally Getting, As Shared In This Online Group
The human mind is a strange thing, especially when it comes to our desires. They can arise completely spontaneously, occupying all our time - and then, when we finally achieve what we wanted, it suddenly turns out that the main joy was not so much from possession, but actually from the desire to possess.
So it turns out that over the years of our life, we have collected a whole lot of various things that once seemed absolutely necessary, and now we don’t even have a clue what to do with them. It's really like a suitcase without a handle - so hard to carry, such a shame to throw away. Yes, these are mind games, there's no denying it.
There is a popular thread on Reddit where people talk about different things they once thought they wanted, but really regretted afterwards. More than 12.7K upvotes and almost 8.4K comments suggest this topic is very close to people.
Bored Panda has compiled a curated list with the most popular and really ingenious things from this discussion. We strongly suppose you'll be interested in reading and watching - and, perhaps, will also have something to share.
More info: Reddit
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A backyard pool.
I always wanted one until I had one.
It was a huge pain in the a**. Had to buy chemicals, had to test the water, had to clean it, found dead snakes in the skimmer baskets, had to get the pump replaced, etc.
I agree with what several commenters have said. If you can afford to have someone do the work for you then it's something really nice to have. If you can afford the mortgage on the house with the pool but still mow your own lawn, clean your own house, etc. The pool is likely to be more trouble than it's worth.
I bought a collection of lockdown gym equipment I had all good intentions for. It turns out a lack of free time wasn’t really the reason I wasn’t ripped.
Being an adult...
As a child I couldn't wait to grow up. As a working adult, I couldn't wait to retire and I'm finding it isn't what I had hoped. It is easy to focus on the what you will gain in the next phase of your life, but you don't realize what you will lose. Just enjoy the good things in each day.
Marine fish tank. They look absolutely gorgeous when clean and running well however I didn't bank on how difficult it would be to have it clean and running well..
Ex husband had one of these. I really didn't want a small section of ocean in the living room, OK. A year later: SO MUCH MONEY. SO MANY DEAD FISH. SO MUCH FREAKING OUT OVER MONEY AND DEAD FISH. Then he got into reptiles.
Taking out student loans to achieve a degree that will never pay me enough to pay back the student loans.
Anyone in the US that reads this. Very few professions care about what school you went to. Or even physical locations. The few I can think of are doctors, hyper specific job that are also based at MIT, ect. For everything else. Get your generals done through a community college. History and math 101 are the same there as they are at Harvard only way cheaper. Do as much online as possible. And if you are still in highschool. See what programs/classes your school offers that will count as college credits. If you stack your classes right you could walk out of HS with an associates degree. Also also, once you start the Bachelor's degree things at least get funner. They are classes you care about. Because they are in the field you are interested in.
To add to that: Don't get a degree that you haven't first researched as to its future monetary value. And for grad school, take any program (in your field) that will give you a path to earning the degree without loans (work-study, assistanceships, grants, etc.)
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27, electrician. Own a home, 2 vehicles, and support a wife and two kids. Trade school is the way to go.
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The cost of higher education has become ridiculous. I started at a state university in the early 1970s on a scholarship that paid $1000/year (equal to ~$7400 today). It was enough to cover room, board, books, tuition, fees, with enough left over for a little pocket money. Not a fancy life, but I was comfortable. My university's website estimates an annual cost of $33,650 today, which is 4.5 times the inflation adjusted amount I spent. That's just wrong.
Part of the problem in the U.S. with student loans falls on the schools & the federal government - the horribly high interest rates is what's keeping people in such deep debt. I've heard of people borrowing 50k & 10 years later they owe twice that due to the interest. It's pure greed on the part of the lenders, just like payday loans.
Why is this something that people only figure out after they've already gotten the degree and amassed 10's of thousands in loan debt? Several generations of kids have been sold on the idea that the singular path to financial security is through getting a degree. That's it. That's the whole "plan" no one acknowledges that spending 7 years and $150k+ becoming a lawyer means that you are now 1 of 5 people competing for the same open position. No one dares to think that one of those other 4 people might be better qualified. People just want to bank on their optimism and misplaced confidence. Job to worker ratio's are closely tracked and freely available, as are salary scales. I get wanting to believe in yourself, but this has been a problem that's existed for decades and continues to grow. There are 7 or 8 million unfilled SKILLED labor jobs, jobs that are actually pivotal to the functions of society. (electrician, mason, welder, plumber, carpenter etc) have a backup plan.
My mom's a teacher and my aunt is a PhD psychologist. The pair of them really tried to push me to becomes doctor, scientist, or in some way a stem lord, the only real feminist path for this generation. My whole life they kept telling me how only stupid people don't like school and that smart people go to college. That if i want a good future i have to focus on school and grades and college. And you know what? I was so abused that i didn't care. I just went along with it cause i didn't know what i did want to do and the soak of money was enough to keep me entirely focused on school through my second semester of college. I dropped out to get away from my family. I had some debt and nothing to show for it. And found i had to unlearn nearly everything from school to actually know anything. It was entirely pointless. A lie to keep me complacent. I'm more of an artist. I focus on crochet, music, and gardening/baking/fermenting foods. Not super profitable, but mine.
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I never realized until I immigrated to North America how blessed I had been by the time I was born, wherein, both my first BA Hons and my first post-graduate degree were paid for by the UK government. I did have student debt…of £400, which was paid off during my first year of work. I can’t imagine having to cover hundreds of thousands of $debts simply to qualify for being an acceptable candidate for a job.
Mostly a USA only problem. But student debt to some degree is fairly universal.
In the UK you don't have to pay them back unless youre earning over a certain amount. I guess that's not a thing in the US
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Never have kids if you have debt that may surpass your life. The debt will be passed down to them.
It better not fcking be. I'm still kinda upset that my mom made me take out student loans to pay her bills bevause she was so in debt she couldn't get any loans in her own name, even from her sister. If I get even more screwed over, despite never taking out any loans for myself ever, I'm gonna be really really pissed off
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You get a degree to get a job. Always figure out the job you want and where you want to be before the degree. Or else you have a $100,000 piece of art hanging on the wall. For example if you want to live near your hometown and there's 10 X ray schools near you I'd be willing to bet there's a lot of people not in X ray. If there's no X ray schools near you it's probably easier to get a job and jobs will pay more.
I at least got lucky enough to have a college fund set up by my grandfather, but I still feel bad. I basically have a useless degree now. It came in handy when I lived in a big city but since moving to a small town for my husband's job, there's no room for me now. If I could have had one chance to see into the future, I would have done anything to avoid this. I'm grateful he makes better money than we both did together in the big city, but I no longer know what I'm meant to do.
I'm sorry to hear that @Lynz, it must be so frustrating for you. Is there a way that you could possibly WFH in your field? Or, if not, do you perhaps have a hobby or passion that you could turn into a business? Or, perhaps you could volunteer for something in your small town that may open up opportunities for you? (Eg. volunteer as a candystriper and the next thing you know, you're the hospital administrator! ;oP. Sorry. Bad example. I've obviously watched too many movies/read too many books). Could you write a book? Is your husband able to support you both, on a single income? (I don't mean to bludge off him forever, just wondering if perhaps he could, while you found something to do). And obviously, these are rhetorical. I don't need an answer unless you wish to share. I was just trying to offer up some possible solutions for you. I do hope that you can find fulfilment in this new era of your lives.
Load More Replies... Get a qualification in something you are passionately interested in. Don't study something just because it might pay well. The best plumber around will always be able to get a job and probably earn more than a bored run-of-the-mill lawyer who really would prefer to be professional SCUBA diver. The main reason for attending a prestigious school or university is the networking - essential in some professions.
Go to a trade school after high school!! that pays off MUCH quicker!
Why cant these students find work at the weekends to pay for your uni costs like i did,but no,they need to have drinking & holidays,no future.
I used to be terrified of all the stories I heard about US student loans. So glad we are in Australia.
I got really sick and couldn't finish school. But I didn't need a degree to work in Hospitality and Tourism. I will say that I was in hospitality and that it was changed to sustainability in hospitality which is VERY IMPORTANT! Hospitality and Tourism is a HUGE industry & lots of money for so many places but we have to learn how to work with the environment & global warming. There will be flies in Antarctica soon if we aren't careful. If you care about the tourism industry and helping it sustain in a proper way working with the environment not against it please take a class or two!
Probably shouldn’t have taken fluff courses like gender studies and Sanskrit with a minor in medieval history!
I have 2 bachelor's degrees in psychology/sociology for 1991 which was required for my job in case management of foster care services. 2011 a bsw where I switched to to be hired at County CMHs.
It took me 15 years mostly going to night school to finish my degree and it has never paid me back. If I had known then what I know now I would have gotten into a trade or taken a college course to work in a hospital or nursing home where the jobs are now.
You can learn for free on the internet. A degree should have a return on the investment. Some degrees are well worth the money.
True, but try NOT having any degree. You'll never be paid enough to LIVE on without a second job, or more.. Oh, and good luck finding decent health bene.
100% Agree with this one...at graduation for my Master's degree I owed $45,000 in student loans. Seven years later (no new loans) income driven payment plan current at all times (two years with no interest) I now owe $67,000...so yeah 👍 that was a good deal🤦
As someone who goes through a lot of CVs I can tell, that I almost never look at the Education section. What I care for, are skills and experience (doesn't need to be professional). I truly believe that people that would ditch the university and spend those 5 years self learning some skill, experimenting and practicing with it would become much better candidates than some actual professionals with 2-3 years of work.
Other countries offer their citizens free basic college, health care, paid paternal leave, mandatory vacations, etc. We used to have affordable college, job security, livable wages, pensions and employer-provided healthcare. That is, until we stopped voting in people who cared about us because we thought old movie stars and reality TV stars were a better choice. (BTW, thanks to those who allowed the Republicans to, apparently, overturn Roe so women's lives could be even more difficult than they are now.)
i still believe that a college education ought to be something a young person shouldn't have to pay for and at those astronomical levels!
My mother is in her 60s she got her bachelors degree in her 30s this year her student loan payments went up by $400 a month she will literally die still paying on these loans! And she makes really good money now but she will pay on this for the rest of her life.
"cause she pays the minimum. It's like with credit card - you shouldn't pay the minimum, but 20% up.
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My daughter will have a diploma and a college degree when she graduates, and if she chooses to attend a four-year school, it'll be paid for through a full scholarship...agreed, its ridiculous to have to go into debt to earn a college degree...it takes a little more work and more time, but if you do things just right, you can graduate debt free.
I appreciate social workers, but they don't pay you enough for the cost of that degree...
Yeah but a lot depends on what field you choose. I have a bachelors degree in social work. I can safely say money wise it will never be worth it (and I live in a country where university is free but need student loans to afford to live). If I would have paid for education too it would have been a total ripoff. But, sure, I got to study what I wanted and it was, and still is, interesting. Just not the thing you want to choose if you care about earning money.
Working a job that involves skills from one of my hobbies. Now it feels more like work than the hobby.
I found the opposite to be true. I'm a metal fabricator that I started as a hobby. I now do it for a living and now I have access to equipment that I would never have been able to afford let alone have room for. I have also become so much better (there's so many people who are better than me) than I would have if I had kept it just a hobby
A business. Supposedly my dream job….but I haaaate it.
Yes, I own a bakery that I’ve run for 13 years. It’s successful, always paid its bills….but it’s definitely zapped the joy out of a hobby. Anyone that has worked with the public knows it’s taxing. I’ve lost the creative aspect and just feel like a slave to it honestly. Bakery hours can be rough, so maybe it’s the lack of sleep catching up to me, lol. I just know that I was already feeling burned out, but now with the insane increase to costs of supplies - and the unpredictability of finding certain things altogether, I’ve decided this will be my last year in business.
This is sad. I wonder if finding a different way to structure the business would be better. Such as making products upon order. So you have a menu of a few products that can be made with a more limited ingredients list and get customers to place a order for that product to be made and ready for pick up. That way ready-made products aren't going to waste. I always wonder how much of the products I see in bakeries get sold.
Being single
I’m a 25 y/o gay male that was dating an older man. We had a great life together. I thought I wanted to be single because I needed the experience of living on my own/having other partners, but now realizing I lost something truly special. It’s hard learning to date again
The experience of living alone is a valuable one to have, if you are fortunate enough to be in a position to manage it. It's possible to have that experience and still be in a committed relationship though.
Go pro.
I don’t even go on a picnic. What the f**k did I need a go pro for.
Buying a new ski boat. Expensive, too big to keep in the garage and burned $80 in gas in an afternoon (when gas was still affordable). Mostly I pulled the kids and their friends on wake boards or kneeboards around and around in circles while the air temperature was close to 100 and came home dehydrated and with a headache. A happy day is when you buy a boat. A happier day is when you sell that b***h.
To get off my meds. Did. Was absolutely terrible . Went back on them probably for the rest of my life
Waterbed. Biggest waste of money. Spent 1k on the most uncomfortable bed ever. Practically broke my back and sold it for 100 after just a year of using it.
Nose ring. Once I got it, it just felt like I had a booger in my nose that I couldn’t get rid of
My art degree from a private institution. It’s “nationally accredited“ which means its useless
I won't have to work another day in my life!
I became disabled in 2019
I can't understand this attitude. I, unfortunately was forced into disability myself. My culinary career was my entire life. I would get up in the morning, dress and head off to work. I would spent the entire day, often until late at night there, go home, shower, go to bed and wake the next morning to gladly start it all over again. This was my way of life and I adored it. My health improved a bit, so I began volunteering in one of the local kitchens cooking for the homeless. Last summer alone I put in over 100 hours for them and others and was happy as a clam again. Things have taken a bit of a downturn again, but I still look for ways to help.
Massage chair. I enjoyed the demo in the shop, that's about it.
an open relationship
My husband and I agreed to having an open relationship. It was one of the WORST decisions I ever made. If anyone is contemplating trying an open relationship, DON'T!
A house in the country. Was fun at first, have land, can do what I want. But now it’s a pain to get anything serviced on the house, deliveries take longer, and it’s a pain to go grocery shopping or just into town in general. And the upkeep on the land is now a time waste, and sometimes I just want someone to deliver me pizza! Moving into town this summer.
I found a good compromise : living in a medium city, working at the country. Both benefits: able to find peace and calm on my daywork, and everything I need in the evening. But it's France, a human sized country
A friend-with-benefits. I thought it would be fun and effortless but definitely not. He told me sweet things in the beginning saying he could see it being more, I fell for it quickly like an amateur
Then we had sex. Afterwards he’s playing hot and cold and my feelings are on a roller coaster of “what is happening??” Says he just wants to be strictly fwb and not pursue anything more but is still interested in me. *Then* he says he’s not interested in being friends anymore either. Maybe I was too clingy after the initial sweet words, maybe he wasn’t ever truly interested in anything but a one night thing but either way my head was spinning. I have never doubted myself more. I just wish he would have been more decisive on what he wanted.
Wonderful guy, wish nothing but the best for him but whew, hell of a week. No more fwb for me lmaoo.
The job I am currently in. The work is alright, but the company is s**t.
"The hours are pretty good, but now you come to mention it, most of the actual minutes are pretty lousy.”
When I was a kid, I was insistent on having a ketchup and mustard sandwich. I begged my mom to make it for me. My rationale was if a hamburger was delicious on a bun with ketchup and mustard, surely a sandwich minus the meat would be great. My Mom finally made the sandwich. I immediately regretted it.
Same with begging for Bakers unsweetened chocolate. How is it good enough in cookies but not on it's own?
This girl, thought she was nice, got to know her, turns out she has the personality of sandpaper
Sometimes you won't realize exactly how beautiful someone is until you get to know them. Beauty on the inside turns into beauty on the outside.
To live near family, instead of moving somewhere better. We haven't had two nice days in a row since October here. It is always raining, snowing, cold enough to kill you, incredibly windy, or just unpleasant out because of the resulting days before it. (Upstate NY near the Canada border.) Everywhere has issues, but damn, I just want to be outside in 70 degrees without taking a vacation.
As long as I'm away from them, I'll take any kind of weather. I live in a place with two weeks of summer, but at least I'm not even within driving distance.
That 2 lb novelty Reese Cup. I regretted how good it was.
I don't like Reese's and I don't like peanut butter. I've been called a freak.
A $1200 versace watch to impress a girl that I met off Facebook that I never ended up meeting in real life
Anyone impressed by an expensive watch is not someone I want to know.
Nickelodeon Video Now. I paid $70 for one and two discs. Then Video Now Color came out just a few months later and made it obsolete.
I still have mine! I only ever had one disk that played 2 episodes of spongebob, but I watched those two episodes like 10 times a day as a child. I randomly find it sometimes and it surprisingly still works great
Note: this post originally had 36 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
I think having a lawn can be on this list. The time, money, energy and water that is needed for a lawn (especially a front lawn) is such a waste. We now have mulch with a pathway going through it with some perennials and a couple bushes. Looks so much better and it is so much easier to maintain. So much less wasted water.
Our "lawn" is a mix of several types of clover, wildflowers, and various mosses. I think it's beautiful, and it requires no maintenance except occasional mowing (and we always leave a patch unmowed for pollinators). It's always the first "lawn" to be green in the Spring while the fertilized, manicured lawns of neighbors are still brown.
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Having is not so pleasing a thing as wanting.It seems illogical but it is often times true.
Mines would definitely be an Echo Dot. All my friends were talking about it so I decided to get one. Lights turn on during conversations for no reason and it made me paranoid it was listening lol. It’s now unplugged and not been used for months
Nope,I don't need nor want any of that. I have something like that on my phone and the first thing I did was disable it.
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What I regret is getting my earlobes pierced with a piercinggun at the jewelry store at the age of 16 instead of with a needle at the piercing shop. I'm now almost 32 and even though I have had earrings for half my life now, it never healed properly. I still sometimes experience inflammation. And on one side if I don't wear any earring in it for more than a week it will have actually partially closed. The skin trauma from getting pierced with a gun is really so bad it can leave lasting problems. I also advise parents who want to give their daughters earrings to not get them done with a gun. Go to a good piercing shop and get them done with a needle. It's actually less painful and doesn't give skin trauma.
number 23, she says "he was a wonderful guy" even though he played with her feelings🙄🙄🙄
Technically life has a return policy. At some point death comes for everyone and the world will keep spinning without you just as it did before you were born. No need to commit suicide. You can just wait it out. After some time on earth it will happen anyway. Best to make the most of it before that happens. Enjoy life a little. Make friends. Follow ambitions. Enjoy good meals. Maybe travel a bit. Life is maybe quite pointless. But that doesn't mean it's pointless to be a good person and do right by others and yourself.
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How about all those bikes people bought during lockdown? The greenway is right behind me, and, as soon as things started opening up people stopped biking. Now there are tons sitting in garages. I regret buying a device that makes my Android Auto wireless. Still need a charger, and, my new car really isn't set up for having a wireless charger easily.
I thought I wanted a full time job with health benefits and company pension. It turns out what I actually want is casual employment with the freedom to say no to any shift I don't want to work, and the freedom to do whatever I want when I get out of bed in the morning. I don't need health benefits from work because we have free health care. I don't need a company pension because I'm good with my money and I know how to save it properly. Having had COVID for the last whole month has really shown me how much I value my freedom, hobbies, and time with my dog.
So basically you want to be independently wealthy... must be nice.
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FITBIT WATCH! The thing would never sync to my phone. It's now a nice addition to the junk drawer.
One of my great regrets in life is not taking over my Uncles' shop in Westwood, NJ (J&J Stationary, if any of you out there remember it). But I know that if I had, I would have regretted doing it, because I'm not the type of person who can get up every day, open a store, work all day, close it, go home, and feel rewarded by it. I would have hated it. So I regret not doing it, even though I know I would have regretted doing it.
Spicy Chicken BBQ | Chicken Barbeque | Eid special recipe https://youtu.be/VP5lm_f0RgU
I think having a lawn can be on this list. The time, money, energy and water that is needed for a lawn (especially a front lawn) is such a waste. We now have mulch with a pathway going through it with some perennials and a couple bushes. Looks so much better and it is so much easier to maintain. So much less wasted water.
Our "lawn" is a mix of several types of clover, wildflowers, and various mosses. I think it's beautiful, and it requires no maintenance except occasional mowing (and we always leave a patch unmowed for pollinators). It's always the first "lawn" to be green in the Spring while the fertilized, manicured lawns of neighbors are still brown.
Load More Replies... Having is not so pleasing a thing as wanting.It seems illogical but it is often times true.
Mines would definitely be an Echo Dot. All my friends were talking about it so I decided to get one. Lights turn on during conversations for no reason and it made me paranoid it was listening lol. It’s now unplugged and not been used for months
Nope,I don't need nor want any of that. I have something like that on my phone and the first thing I did was disable it.
Load More Replies... What I regret is getting my earlobes pierced with a piercinggun at the jewelry store at the age of 16 instead of with a needle at the piercing shop. I'm now almost 32 and even though I have had earrings for half my life now, it never healed properly. I still sometimes experience inflammation. And on one side if I don't wear any earring in it for more than a week it will have actually partially closed. The skin trauma from getting pierced with a gun is really so bad it can leave lasting problems. I also advise parents who want to give their daughters earrings to not get them done with a gun. Go to a good piercing shop and get them done with a needle. It's actually less painful and doesn't give skin trauma.
number 23, she says "he was a wonderful guy" even though he played with her feelings🙄🙄🙄
Technically life has a return policy. At some point death comes for everyone and the world will keep spinning without you just as it did before you were born. No need to commit suicide. You can just wait it out. After some time on earth it will happen anyway. Best to make the most of it before that happens. Enjoy life a little. Make friends. Follow ambitions. Enjoy good meals. Maybe travel a bit. Life is maybe quite pointless. But that doesn't mean it's pointless to be a good person and do right by others and yourself.
Load More Replies... How about all those bikes people bought during lockdown? The greenway is right behind me, and, as soon as things started opening up people stopped biking. Now there are tons sitting in garages. I regret buying a device that makes my Android Auto wireless. Still need a charger, and, my new car really isn't set up for having a wireless charger easily.
I thought I wanted a full time job with health benefits and company pension. It turns out what I actually want is casual employment with the freedom to say no to any shift I don't want to work, and the freedom to do whatever I want when I get out of bed in the morning. I don't need health benefits from work because we have free health care. I don't need a company pension because I'm good with my money and I know how to save it properly. Having had COVID for the last whole month has really shown me how much I value my freedom, hobbies, and time with my dog.
So basically you want to be independently wealthy... must be nice.
Load More Replies... FITBIT WATCH! The thing would never sync to my phone. It's now a nice addition to the junk drawer.
One of my great regrets in life is not taking over my Uncles' shop in Westwood, NJ (J&J Stationary, if any of you out there remember it). But I know that if I had, I would have regretted doing it, because I'm not the type of person who can get up every day, open a store, work all day, close it, go home, and feel rewarded by it. I would have hated it. So I regret not doing it, even though I know I would have regretted doing it.
Spicy Chicken BBQ | Chicken Barbeque | Eid special recipe https://youtu.be/VP5lm_f0RgU
