Redditor gejiw94601 wanted to compare notes on how money can slip away so easily, so they asked:
"What's the biggest waste of money?"
Money is so easy to lose.
Just ask my best friend... vodka.
WHY?!
Idiot Facepalm GIFGiphy"Donating to rich Twitch streamers. I’ll probably never understand why people do it."
dring157
"I remember watching one guy drop $60k to Ninja. I was making 30k a year at the time, this guy drop double my salary in one stream."
IanFPS
Adulting
"Credit Card interest."
DweeblesX
"When I first go a credit card I used it only when I was short on cash, but it ended up me throwing money at stupid things because I knew I had a credit card to fall back on if I needed it."
"Now I use my card for the points, and I pay it off about every two weeks. While I'm still not great at adulting, at least I figured out this part."
boardmonkey
What about Florida?
"The $50 scratch-off lottery tickets you can buy in Iowa."
notthesedays
"I used to work for the VA lottery. I got to see the numbers, the payout was only about 20% (if that) of profit for scratch-offs. Slightly higher for the draw games. But print-n-play was almost 1-1 for payout vs profit. Don't know how it is now or how other state's payout margins are, but print-n-play is where it's at if you're gonna play anything."
DarthWeabu
Always Upgrade
adopt for sale GIF by Boomerang OfficialGiphy"Buying cheap crap you have to replace."
coinkeeper8
"My dad once told me to not spend excessive money on tools at first. Buy them for dirt cheap, and learn which tools you really need. And when they break: replace them with quality ones. Buying pro-grade stuff you don't need is wasted money."
.HarlequinSyndrom
Spending a little extra can go a long way.
Cheap doesn't often equal quality.
Flex
Costume Clothes GIF by Big Brother AustraliaGiphy"Buying ridiculously expensive clothes to flex."
PinkLemon4
"Clothes are a two-way issue. Good clothes last a long time and the price is worth it for the comfort on top of that. But some clothes are 100x the price and 1/10th the quality. So there is a fine line here."
Wdrussell1
Pay to Lose
"Pay to win games."
testthrowawayzz
"I played a lot of mobile games with in-game currencies. I have never spent a cent on these games. Why would I spend hundreds of dollars if I can enjoy the game and learn how to play even if it's slow? And many items don't even help you at the game. It's just skins or titles that only show other players how stupid you were to pay for a free app."
Pintermarc
And Silver?
"Gold Food, or more accurately food that is covered in something called gold leaf. In my eyes, food is worth buying if they provide a great amount of nutrition for considerably good prices. After all, you probably avoid paying 50 million dollars just to buy a few molecules that are useless to your health and needs."
"And then there's gold leaf food, sure the food looks fancy but at the cost of a ludicrous amount of money! And with the gold having no usable nutrients at all, it is just not worth it to buy such expensive food for a relatively small amount of nutrients."
"For instance, Industry Kitchen (hopefully that's the name of the place) in NYC serves a pizza with a gold leaf covering for a whopping price of $2000. While at my home country which is Indonesia, Domino's serves an American Classic Cheeseburger Pizza (IDK that's a thing) which is the most expensive pizza I could find on the website costs around $7 which is just baffling to me."
ScopeRicrit
Pretty Boom
"Fireworks, I love them, but it's like $50 per second for the good ones."
endisnigh-ish
"Yeah, I end up spending probably $300 each summer buying fountains and batteries and helicopters and cardboard tanks and sh*t--none of the big professional skyrockets. It's absurd, I'll be the first to admit."
"But it's fun!"
-RadarRanger-
Just Elope
"Weddings."
"Crazy expensive day. Guaranteed at least one relative will kick up a stink. Massive pressure to be The Happiest Day of Your Life. Everything doubles in cost if you say it's for a wedding (dress, suit, cake, venue) Just do the quick registry office paperwork, have a surprise party, and run away for a long honeymoon with the money you saved."
PinchAssault52
Roll of the Dice
Card Game Poker GIFGiphy"Gambling for sure."
snazyfragz
"I live in a small town where a casino is the big attraction They've had numerous people crap and pee themselves because they didn't wanna get up from the slots because 'it's just about to pay out.'"
11BREWER
Gambling is the greatest way to lose money.
Addiction will take everything if you let it.
Redditor Doctor_Engineer wanted everyone to be warned about lies we need to be ready for.
"What is 100% a scam?"
I think the biggest scam I fell for was Publisher's Clearing House. But who didn't?
Quack
ducks GIFGiphy"The people that call my house trying to sell me duck cleaning. I don't have a duck."
Kangar
Borders
"The individual who called me yesterday claiming to be 'US Customs and Border Patrol' who said I had an illegal package from Mexico in my name."
Sioswing
"I love these. I have an array of responses, including: 'Listen very carefully. You need to make absolutely sure that s**t moves. They know where you live' and, of course, 'What a coincidence! I work for ICE. Let me talk to your superior real quick.'"
amsterdam_BTS
"You too? I was told they had someone detained at the border that had my personal info and that I was the one who gave it to them. I asked them, being they claimed they were in possession of said information, what my full name, DOB, and address were?"
wyoflyboy68
'good faith'
"The 'sugar mommies' on Instagram that keep trying to talk to me."
kenzarellazilla
"I talked to one for awhile trying to figure out what his scam was. I'm pretty hot but I'm under no illusions that a 40 year old MILF is in very high demand for sugar daddies. He stopped talking to me when I insisted on a $300 'good faith' deposit to proceed."
2occupantsandababy
Work Hard
We can’t give you a raise yet because (X), but if you work hard and prove your competency, there will be a raise next year."
deja_vuvuzela
"We don't have the money to give you a raise but if you quit we'll hire someone (probably less good at the job and with less experience) to replace you at a higher rate than you're currently making."
ThadisJones
"Or better yet, work hard and take on responsibilities of the next level with your current pay and you might get promoted to that next level."
potatodutchess
Boom
im sorry andy samberg GIFGiphy"Nutriboom. But I will say this, Debbie Stovelman is happy, healthy, and alive."
TraditionalAd8468
Damn you Debbie.
Lessons...
Angry Lets Go GIF by BrownSugarAppGiphy"Those Alpha Male courses."
Ethan-Samurai
"I took a beta male course once. In the first lesson, the instructor slept with my girlfriend. I learned a lot."
Subrisum
Benefits
"Hydrogen-rich water. Had someone I know (this person is also into MLMs) try to sell me a thousands of dollars water filter. I looked up if there were any legit studies done on the health claims, and as I suspected, I didn't find any really compelling science. Turns out most of the claims pretty much line up with the health benefits of just drinking more water in general."
nerdypursuits
Tricked
"Pretty much all Youtube ads these days. If it starts with 'this one trick can' or anything like 'doctors hate this' doctors hate it because they have to explain green tea doesn't cure type one diabetes. To be honest it's flat-out dangerous false advertising but youtube doesn't care."
neoben00
“free”
"Kids iPhone/iPad games. My kid is downloading these 'free' games that constantly ask her to buy an extra skin or a treasure box of thousands of coins to upgrade and keep playing. It’s really scummy because they know exactly who their audience is, children who have no concept of money."
0wlBear916
Secrets
rich gold GIF by OffsetGiphy"Anyone - A-N-Y-O-N-E - promising to teach you the secrets of becoming wealthy at a free seminar. I have a family member that got sucked into the Kiyosaki bulls**t vortex. It's a damn cult."
throwaway3544219
Beware the scam. People will do anything to part you with you money.
Do you have anything to add to this list? Let us know in the comments below.
I would spend on clothes. And I already have a lot. I can't help it. Gimme...
Vroom
driving fast and furious GIFGiphy"On staff mechanics. People see the Floyd Mayweathers and Tom Cruises of the world buying tons of cars and motorcycles, but when you have a fleet like that, you basically need on staff mechanics who at the very least keep your cars clean, but also handle all maintenance."
earic23
"on retainer"
"An acquaintance of mine is one of six pilots 'on retainer' for a wealthy family."
BeastOfEden420
"I have a buddy pulling in nearly 200k as a chief pilot for a crew of 4 pilots for a billionaire family. They fly far less than your average commercial pilot and he’s in his mid 30s. We live in the south, where you can live like a king on 200k."
arparris
Far Reach
"Access. Need to call a governor? He's on speed dial and will phone the senators too. Need to talk to the CEO of Coca Cola... he's waiting for you and immediately assigns someone to fix your problem. Do you want to yacht around the horn of Africa? The closest naval fleet will tell you the safest route and provide 'support' so pirates don't mess with you."
"I own a company and by nature interact with a lot of billionaires and CEO's. I'm by no means rich but hang in the circle enough that I've e-mailed CEO's of fortune 500's and they've hooked me up with huge 'free' things as a small perk or thank you."
"I've been PAID to fly places just to have a 1 hour meeting and then get a free VIP week long vacation with the mayor or consulate showing me around. It's trippy and I've never really felt at home, but I've been eternally grateful for these travel opportunities."
metarinka
Destinations
"Support ships for your mega-yacht. The biggest yachts don't travel alone, they generally have small cargo ships that do everything from house additional staff, to transport your cars so you always have them when you make port, to holding all of your toys (helicopters, submarines, day-boats, etc.). They'll often travel a day or two ahead of the yacht to a destination so that your staff can unload your things (cars, clothing, etc.) at the next villa you're summering in."
climb-it-ographer
Get back...
love and hip hop goodbye GIF by VH1Giphy"Isolation from poor people. Rich people spend a lot of money to make sure that poor people can't get anywhere near them."
Bizarre_Protuberance
Rich people are funny. And clearly a bit rude...
Doubles...
Squad Reaction GIF by Rodney DangerfieldGiphy"Cloning pets, one of our investors spent ~$100K cloning his dog."
Jiltedjohn
Initiation
"There are membership-based vacation clubs. Similar to high-end country clubs, but for travel. You may pay a one-time initiation fee that can be upwards of $100k - $250k to get 5-10 years of access to purchase incredibly exclusive vacation/resort/rental property experiences. I work in the travel industry and I know of multiple companies like this."
El_mochilero
The Expensive Skies
"I work in the film industry and one time I booked a trip for someone to fly from London to California for a weekend and it cost more than my yearly salary. This was 2010, and it was $35,000 for first class airfare, private car, & hotel, because they realized Friday morning that based on his contract that he needed to be present while the film was being finished that weekend, and his contract specified he accommodations needed to be first class/5-star hotel, etc.I accidentally had an extra "0" it was $35k, which is $10k more than what the studio was paying executive assistants at the time..."
-CoreyJ-
Insured
"Kidnap insurance."
i-need-blinker-fluid
"It's called kidnap and ransom insurance. K&R and it includes training so that you know what to do in a hostage situation. It also includes a trained response team. The statistics on this stuff was/is nasty. Your chance of survival with insurance is about 60%. Without it you're closer to 0%."
gretverd
And popcorn?
Movie Theater Reaction GIF by CBSGiphy"There is a streaming service that's pretty much Netflix for rich people, allowing you to stream current cinematic movies for about 3,000 bucks a pop."
VloekenenVentileren
Chai Time
"My wife’s, cousin’s husband is a chef for a famous Bollywood star. The catch- he is only there to make chai. Apparently his chai tastes exactly the same as his employer’s beloved (now deceased) grandmother used to make. The man makes more than I do per year making chai 2-3 times/day."
kk1485
In-Home
"Private doctor's. My nephew married into a very high net worth family, They employ a general practitioner/hospitalist with privileges at several top level hospitals. He caters, in house, to any and all medical needs they may have."
GboyFlex
"A YT video I watched the other day said that, based on comments Kim made in a recent Allure interview, it sounds like the Kardashians have an in-home plastic surgery center."
baerbelleksa
In the Old Days
"My in-laws were well off. Way before the internet, I had an unexpected emergency when my brother was in a bad car accident in another state. I had been out shopping with my sister-in-law when my mother-in-law called the store and told us to come home right away, but she didn't say why."
"It took me 20 minutes to make what was normally a 40 minute drive. I'm pretty sure I scared my sister-in-law to death with my driving. When we got home, my in-laws gave me the news. They also had airline tickets waiting for me so I could be on a plane right away. How? They had a travel agent they'd used for years."
"In the half hour between the time they got the call from my family to the time I walked through their front door, they had called the travel agent who had booked the ticket and had it hand-delivered to my in-laws home. So what do rich people buy that poor people have no idea about? Incredible convenience, that's what."
awhq
Generations
Make It Rain Money GIF by SpongeBob SquarePantsGiphy"Honestly insanely rich people often get so much for free because they're rich. Money begets money as well as access. It's crazy how much free stuff and access you get just because you're rich."
darthTharsys
Buying Toys
"Time. For example, I own a boat, I work my ass off on it repairing, cleaning, storage, etc. If I were rich I would just pay to have all of that taken care of so that I just make a call and the boat was ready to go anytime I wanted it. The rich spend their money on toys, but they also spend money buying the time to use those toys and to live their lives."
SuperstitiousPigeon5
"money-makers"
"Weird but important different types of insurance on their 'money-makers.' Like Taylor Swift has her legs insured for like $50 million. Her legs are part of her brand, her look. If some terrible accident happened that removed her legs or damaged them, she has insurance to cover that loss of income."
daithisfw
Let's Trade
"That people don’t actually know about? There are a few towns and islands that are only for rich people. It’s just a place you’d never know to go or have access to unless you too are rich. But also things like specific buildings for high frequency trading."
"Some trading firms move to where they have faster access to the internet and as such can complete trades faster peeling off those tenths of a cent in a transaction that in term can make millions. I think the exchanges actually figured out a way to stop it but for a period of time it was something only rich people could buy."
dumberthenhelooks
Please Drown
leonardo dicaprio yacht GIFGiphy"So I worked at an airport in the Caribbean. There was a small bay that would be used on occasion in the winter months for yacht parking. A Middle Eastern prince parked his yacht there one day and we watched the hull open and two smaller yachts emerged. That is stupid, f**k you money right there."
ATC_av8er
Oh to be rich and fabulous. Gimme the coins.
They might be missing out on buying things that could actually make life so much easier because it never occurs to them.
Curious to hear recommendations of items that can improve your life, Redditor icandoitw asked:
"What are some life-changing purchases that are 100% worth it?"
People thought it was worth spending a little extra for a better quality of life.
It Tracks
"Sounds simple but honestly, something as basic as a good pair of shoes that fit you well."
– Ok-Arachnid2436
Rest Easy
"A good mattress and pillow. We spend a third of our lives lying on it, why not invest in it? Anything that you use a lot, you should seriously invest in, like I have a $400 custom mechanical keyboard. People say I am crazy, but I use it every day, for hours on end, it’s my job."
– NappyR6
Heavy Rest
"If you have trouble sleeping, a weighted blanket. I’ve gone from about 5.5 hrs average sleep per night to 7 hours average which is incredible for me, and I wake up feeling so well rested"
– IAMACiderDrinker
Better In The Dark
"Blackout curtains. Especially in the summertime, they help you sleep so much better."
– DeathSpiral321
Listen Up
"Good quality re-useable ear plugs. Soooo much better than the cheap foamy ones."
"They will definitely improve your life if you go to loud concerts. Filter our overtones so you can hear the music better at a loud punk show. Also hearing loss is irreversible and there's no cure for tinnitus."
– DoozersDude
Clear The Air
"For blind/visually impaired people: A smartphone. They literally are life changing, and can function as numerous separate and extremely pricy accessible devices and can do things like color and money recognition, text recognition, the uses are amazing."
"In general though, if you have allergies, especially seasonal or pet, AIR PURIFIER. When we bought our hous a few years ago, my allergies got so bad, we were almost considering moving, but then i bought an air purifier and it was so life changing, i got one for each floor of our house. One of the best purchases ever."
– LegallyBlindArtist
Life can be made easier with the help of these items.
Efficient Multi-Tasking
"A second monitor."
"Suprised i didnt see this yet, but it improves productivity so much as you can have tabs open and type whatever you want on the other or even watch youtube etc."
– fiddle_my_tool
Taking Stock In This
"3+ gallon stock pot. Boil pasta, potatoes, or whatever without a boil over. No more starch water burning all over the burner."
– sonicduckman
A No-Brainer
"a fully functioning computer."
"many people don't have one, they exist in phones or tablets, and holy sh*t they are missing out."
– Immediate-Sky-4191
Clean Solution
"Washer and dryer. No planning days and accumulating quarters for laundry. Just dump a load in a go about my business."
– Kanden_27
Better Dental Hygiene
"Electric toothbrush and waterpik....wish I had done this sooner."
– Think-Research4052
Because Eye Care
"Prescription sunglasses. Hands down the best money I'm glad to part with."
"Edit: Thanks for all the comments and advice. A lot of people are mentioning online stores like Zenni Optical, if you're in North America, that have saved them a big chunk of the cost. I'm not sure what other sites are out there, but try see if you can find an online platform where you can order according to your prescription in your part of the world. If it saves enough money it might be the way to at least get started on your first pair."
"Upsides of getting prescription shades are:"
- reduced or no glare in bright environments,
- reduced eye-strain (in my case resulting in fewer headaches)
- driving in the mornings and evening with a low sun, you can actually see the other cars and traffic lights before you bump into them
"Downsides:"
- swapping between your regular glasses and shades is annoying. Lots of people recommend transition lenses as an alternative to having two different pairs of specs
"Lots of love for Lazik or other eye surgeries here, but that can be very costly depending where in the world you are. Sunglasses are a great temporary or permanent solution depending on your situation or stance on this."
"Thanks again guys. Look after your eyes!"
– AidanVans
For A Cleaner Kitchen
"Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer."
"I will never buy a cheap mixer, ever."
– tinyhorseintapshoes
Save your back and your money by hiring people to do hard labor.
Refrain From Heavy Lifting
"paying for movers to do everything from pack to move all of it."
"never doing that sh*t again."
– Great_Cockroach69
You Deserve It
"People really underestimate the power of this."
"At least in my social circle, for a long time it was just understood that if someone was moving everyone was showing up that day to lift and lug from house A to house B with the rich reward of beer and burgers after, as if it had all been some fun party everyone loved. This persisted even after people could conceivably afford movers."
"I personally think it is A LOT to expect of friends do that for you. Yeah, when you're young and you have three bags of clothes, two boxes of books, and a futon (and no disposable income at all), it's understandable. But paying for movers and then packers is something I did as soon as I had any money to pay for it. That is what money is for, it's not necessarily what friends are for."
– zazzlekdazzle
The best pandemic purchase I made that was worth every penny was for several sets of free weights.
Once I canceled my gym membership, I invested in some dumbbells so I could follow YouTube workout videos in the comfort of my home.
They are not cheap; however, I'm saving more money in the long run without having to pay a monthly gym membership fee.
I've seen more gains from using the free weights and following an instructor on a monitor, and my motivation to work out is higher than ever.
If you find yourself plateauing at the gym, you may want to invest in making some changes to your exercise regimen that works for you.
That doesn't mean we should refrain from indulging every now and then in spending money on the things we really want.
But sometimes, the things we thought we really desired in our heart of hearts turn out to be impulsive purchases on things–like new clothes we never end up wearing despite looking great on us when we tried them on in the dressing room.
That is an example of buyer's remorse. And we have paid the price, so to speak, for spending frivolously on inconsequential things.
Curious to hear from previous customers of having a moment of regret, Redditor pepperpeppington asked:
"What is your greatest buyers remorse?"
The concept seemed legit, but these customers realized they had a lot to learn after committing to new prospects.
"I Don't"
"My wedding."
– PickanickBasket
The Wrong Perspective
"Got talked into buying progressive lens glasses. I spend most of my day either reading, writing, or staring at a computer screen. With the new glasses I could only read things if it was in one particular spot in front of me or if I tilted my head to an odd angle. Hundreds of dollars down the drain. Ended up going back to buy reading glasses and they worked better than the progressives ever did."
– tangcameo
Learning About Credit The Hard Way
"Back in the late 90’s when I was just graduating high school, I went to the mall one day (Lazarus to be exact, I know, I’m old) and some salesperson walked up wanting to know if I wanted a credit card. $500 max to be exact. Being the naive dumbass I was, I signed and got my card that day and bought $500 worth of clothing."
"It didn’t occur to me then about high interest rates and missing payments. It ended up costing me around $1500-$2000 to pay this sh*t off because I missed some payments. Teach your kids how to manage money and to be on the lookout for vultures. You’ll be doing them a favor."
– 1980pzx
That Sinking Feeling
"A Leesa mattress. I was super happy with it when we first got it because it was SO comfortable, but after a year it started sinking, and after three years I feel like I wake up in a trough every morning. I definitely need to get a new mattress because my back feels so much better any time we sleep on hotel beds."
"It's pissing me off that it only lasted three years but I've rotated that f'ker so many times that there's a trough in every direction. And it's still so comfortable when I first lie down, too."
– Tagracat
Money Pit
"Our current house we bought August 2021."
"we’ve been here almost a year and had I know the extensive amount of headaches and stress I was going to go through with this house, I never would have moved."
"To clarify we knew it needed work and we had a very detailed house inspection, but it’s been one thing after another, even a full year in. I’m so pessimistic with this place that I’m waiting for the next catastrophic thing to happen that sends me over the edge, like an electrical fire or something."
– sdemat
Electrical appliances and cars are essential, but these Redditors wanted the best of the best and thought the high price tag instantly made things better.
Spoiler alert–it didn't.
Fancy Fridge
"Latest remorseful purchase was my ~$2k GE refrigerator. It lasted 2.5 years and was too expensive to repair. It would have been 1,200 to fix it and even then the repair guy couldn't guarantee that it would work properly."
"I found a 'scratch and dent' Whirlpool for the same cost, brand new. So far, so good."
"ETA: before this, I've never had issues with GE appliances. This is either a fluke, or the brand is deteriorating."
– ohgeebus_notagain
Auto Disaster
"An Audi Q5 hybrid. We had a decent warranty so we thought we were okay. $6000 in repairs in one year of owning it. We traded it in and got upside down on a new car, but it was worth it to get out of that dumpster fire of a car."
– Hdhmusic
Going Nowhere Fast
"Dumping 10 grand into a car worth 7k just because I wanted to make it faster. I still have the car and I love it, but that was not a smart financial decision, and I wouldn't do it again."
– Cuss-Mustard
People didn't put any thought into these purchases and instantly regretted it.
It Didn't Compute
"My last laptop. I didn't really research properly, cheaped out and have spent the last three years regretting it."
– NarrativeScorpion
Hard To Swallow
"I went to a burger place near Brisbane in Australia with my brother. They advertised that they had the 'hottest burgers' in the world and if you could finish, they put your name on the wall. I started to realise my mistake when the burger came out with latex gloves and a huge glass of milk. By the 2nd bite, i felt my soul start to detach from my body and my brain was recoiling in horror as pure lava was going down my throat. Halfway through, while trying to stop the tears flowing down my face, I said no more. For days after the burger my intestines couldn't handle anything stronger then yoghurt and the pain started again everytime I went to the toilet."
– shadownight311
Taking A Stab At It
"A 400$ dagger back in 2002.. still have it, never knew what to do with it."
– Quebec00Chaos
Went With The Flow
"A kayak that never gets used. Spent over 1 year's allowance (200$) on that thing."
– Mad4dog
Just A Stick
"buying a harry potter style wand at age 9 thinking it would actually work. it was hella expensive too."
– beheadedcharmander
Such A Waste
"Squatty Potty. What the f'k was I thinking? I could've just used a box, or literally stacked some books on top of each other, but to be fair I was pretty desperate."
– RazzmatazzLiving6970
Unsightly Furniture
"Buying a navy blue outdoor chair that shows every bit of dirt! Ugh! Worse decision I ever made."
– Mysterious_Tax_5613
The Big Bling
"Diamond tennis bracelet that I never wear because it's too big for my wrist."
– queen-of-carthage
So I saw the coolest leather jacket at a thrift store. Because I was so enamored of it–and the size was a perfect fit–I bought it there on the spot, no refunds.
I was thrilled about the prospect of looking like a greaser (because that's so my style...not), I realized I wouldn't be wearing it for a while considering L.A.'s blistering summer temperatures. Sadly, by the time temperatures cool down, I'll have forgotten all about it.
It will remain in my closet along with my other outfits I haven't worn in ages.
Careful spending money on too many clothes. You'll wind up donating them to a thrift store where another sucker like me will make an impulsive purchase.