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Around the Internet => Antimustachian Wall of Shame and Comedy => Topic started by: Kitsune on June 01, 2016, 07:13:01 AM

Title: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: Kitsune on June 01, 2016, 07:13:01 AM
Most people on this board have stories about large purchases that they regret - cars bought on credit, houses bigger than needed, etc.

What I'm curious about: there are some purchases that totally make sense intellectually, and that would be a great recommendation... for someone else. Basically, things we walked into thinking, logically, that it was a good decision, and then figuring out it wasn't right for us. What are yours? (Also, any tips for avoiding these mistakes?)

I'll start: front-loading washer and dryer. Energy use: great. Water use: great. Price: bought on sale and then the store had a hiccup, which meant we got the super-upgraded model for 1/2 the price of the entry-level model, and cheaper than what we could find used. We can wash duvets, coats, and things that can't take the wringing of a top-loading machine. BUT. A year later, we moved to a place where water conservation isn't an issue at all (like, the stream at the back of the house is the overflow from the well, and feeds the fish pond), we have to leave the door to the washer open or it gets musty and mouldy and smelly and gross (and then the toddler hides things in it as soon as the door is open, so we keep finding blocks, cars, and doll shoes in there) AND we can't soak clothing in the washing machine. Pain in the ASS.
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: Us2bCool on June 01, 2016, 08:16:15 AM
Okay, I'll play. I'm a pickup girl! We lived in Texas for many years and bought a Toyota Tundra. Best truck I've ever owned. I love that damn truck, named her Cookie because she's a blue monster with a big appetite. She's 11 years old, the bumper is all dented (husband's fault) but she runs like a champ. Then we moved to the Bay Area. I still drive her to work (less than 5 miles) but she can't fit in any of the parking lots in our downtown, including Trader Joe's. Higher gas prices mean she no longer gets to go on any road trips...those are for the little car now. My husband says he wants to trade her in on a Tacoma, but they can have the keys when they pry them from my cold dead hands.
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: Camarillo Brillo on June 01, 2016, 08:19:29 AM
I'm not sure I really regret it, but it still pisses me off.  When our boys were very young my wife convinced me to buy a very expensive Rainbow swingset.  We had to have an excavator level part of our yard, and we had to install a bark pad.  The boys used it a bit, but not as much as we expected.  We sold it several years later for 1/2 our cost, but I figure it still cost us at least $50 bucks for every time it was used.  Now my wife wants to get rid of the pad and re-landscape that area.  I told her 'no fucken way'.
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: GuitarStv on June 01, 2016, 08:20:53 AM
The dryer in our house died a couple months after we moved, and we replaced it . . . because you replace broken things.  And everyone has a dryer.  In six years I think we've used the new dryer less than thirty times (most of which were when we were cloth diapering).  I don't even know how to turn it on.
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: Miss Piggy on June 01, 2016, 12:41:03 PM
Bought a house that's twice as big as we need. And I now realize it's twice as big as I want. It's about 2400 square feet, so it's not a McMansion or anything, but still way more than two people need, and we don't have overnight visitors nearly as often as anticipated, so we could live without at least one, if not two, of the bedrooms. I now see that the 1200 square foot house we moved from was the right size...but the lack of a basement (no storage) and the one car garage (we'd like a three car garage) made it seem like it was too small for us. STUPID. STUPID. STUPID.
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: Kitsune on June 01, 2016, 12:48:20 PM
Bought a house that's twice as big as we need. And I now realize it's twice as big as I want. It's about 2400 square feet, so it's not a McMansion or anything, but still way more than two people need, and we don't have overnight visitors nearly as often as anticipated, so we could live without at least one, if not two, of the bedrooms. I now see that the 1200 square foot house we moved from was the right size...but the lack of a basement (no storage) and the one car garage (we'd like a three car garage) made it seem like it was too small for us. STUPID. STUPID. STUPID.

Ugh, this... kinda, sorta. We're in a market that doesn't really sell, and want to stay here for a variety of reasons, so we bought a house that would fit the family we want to have. Which, functionally speaking, means that we've got 2 bedrooms closed off, and only really use the office and not the main basement space. Like, we have it for a reason (we're currently trying for our second kid, and want 3-4, minimum, soooo), but it's so much SPACE right now. And space = maintenance = heating = annoyances = ARGH.

But if we had bought smaller, we'd have had to somehow sell it and buy bigger at the exact time we needed, and since houses around here are on the market for 3-4 years, well... not a great choice. So we have what we have because of actual reasons - it was the best of the crappy options. But argh. I feel you.
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: Miss Piggy on June 01, 2016, 01:15:38 PM
Bought a house that's twice as big as we need. And I now realize it's twice as big as I want. It's about 2400 square feet, so it's not a McMansion or anything, but still way more than two people need, and we don't have overnight visitors nearly as often as anticipated, so we could live without at least one, if not two, of the bedrooms. I now see that the 1200 square foot house we moved from was the right size...but the lack of a basement (no storage) and the one car garage (we'd like a three car garage) made it seem like it was too small for us. STUPID. STUPID. STUPID.

But if we had bought smaller, we'd have had to somehow sell it and buy bigger at the exact time we needed, and since houses around here are on the market for 3-4 years, well... not a great choice. So we have what we have because of actual reasons - it was the best of the crappy options. But argh. I feel you.

Geez...3 to 4 years on the market????  Holy buckets!!!  Around here, decent houses stay on the market for 3 to 4 DAYS if they're priced right.

So at least your bigger house was chosen for good reason. Our choice was just plain stupidity. Water under the bridge at this point--it's paid for and we've rehabbed the bathrooms and now the kitchen, so we'll make it last til we FIRE. Then we'll likely move out of the area completely. Since that's just a handful of years away, and since I am finally getting my dream kitchen, I figure we might as well not pay realtor fees to sell and re-purchase something smaller.
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: I'm a red panda on June 01, 2016, 01:20:38 PM
I hate my Elantra. It has horrible sightlines- I feel unsafe driving it.  Also the USB isn't indexed so you can't tell it to play a particular song. Yeah, it's dumb; but if the car has upgraded technology, I expect to be able to use it.

I'm not sure if I'll be able to stick this car out for a whole decade  (I kept the last one 14 years) because of the peripheral vision issues I have with it.  But I hate the idea of getting another one
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: Captain FIRE on June 01, 2016, 01:29:09 PM
Wooden whitewater kayak paddle for $240 I think, which I never once used
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: MgoSam on June 01, 2016, 01:47:47 PM
I regret buying a $15 waffle maker because I've used it a grand total of once...though it was for a brunch.
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: mozar on June 01, 2016, 01:57:27 PM
I bought a treadmill a couple years ago. Big surprise,  I stopped using it.
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: GuitarStv on June 01, 2016, 02:06:30 PM
Treadmills are very useful . . . if you live in a place with no ground that can be walked upon.  :P
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: Felicity on June 01, 2016, 02:18:06 PM
I regret buying our bikes!

In an ideal world, we would bike to work, but the roads nearby are very much not bike friendly, and we don't have the best place to store bikes. They're currently on our porch rusting and haven't been used in about a year as we either opt to walk or drive instead. Granted, we didn't buy super fancy bikes, but even second-hand we spent almost a couple hundred each...probably lucky if we recoup $50 each at this point.
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: woopwoop on June 01, 2016, 02:22:22 PM
VW Passat about ten years ago. Thing was horrible to drive and needed fixes every other month that were twice as expensive as any repairs my Honda ever had. Now I have a little cheap Kia econocar and I am going to drive this thing into the ground.
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: MgoSam on June 01, 2016, 02:28:08 PM
I bought a treadmill a couple years ago. Big surprise,  I stopped using it.

I would love to get a treadmill, of course it's very dangerous in my area to walk/run in the middle of winter due to road conditions and as someone that has trouble getting to sleep at times, it would be nice to be able to workout. I should look for one on Craigslist.
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: Travis on June 01, 2016, 02:36:40 PM
Bought a house that's twice as big as we need. And I now realize it's twice as big as I want. It's about 2400 square feet, so it's not a McMansion or anything, but still way more than two people need, and we don't have overnight visitors nearly as often as anticipated, so we could live without at least one, if not two, of the bedrooms. I now see that the 1200 square foot house we moved from was the right size...but the lack of a basement (no storage) and the one car garage (we'd like a three car garage) made it seem like it was too small for us. STUPID. STUPID. STUPID.

Ugh, this... kinda, sorta. We're in a market that doesn't really sell, and want to stay here for a variety of reasons, so we bought a house that would fit the family we want to have. Which, functionally speaking, means that we've got 2 bedrooms closed off, and only really use the office and not the main basement space. Like, we have it for a reason (we're currently trying for our second kid, and want 3-4, minimum, soooo), but it's so much SPACE right now. And space = maintenance = heating = annoyances = ARGH.

But if we had bought smaller, we'd have had to somehow sell it and buy bigger at the exact time we needed, and since houses around here are on the market for 3-4 years, well... not a great choice. So we have what we have because of actual reasons - it was the best of the crappy options. But argh. I feel you.

Our first home purchase in 2009 was easily 1000 sq ft more than we needed.  The house I wanted was pulled off the market a couple days before we were going to sign papers so the bigger house was Plan B. At the time it made sense (to my inexperienced little mind) because the market was starting to recover, we bought the house significantly reduced, and I thought we could sell for a profit in 4-6 years when we moved.  It turned out we had to move in 2 years, the market hadn't recovered nearly as much as we anticipated, and like all other big houses we spent a ton in upkeep to include landscaping, exterior paint, and replacing a water heater because I didn't know there was such a thing as sediment build up.  I sold for more than I paid, but after fees I had to write a big check at closing.  I also bought a brand new truck because I'd need to haul stuff around and we were in Colorado.  In hindsight I could have bought something a hell of a lot older, and considering I used the truck bed maybe 10 times in two years I would have done just as well renting one from Home Depot like I do now.  We're back in CO renting a house only 200 sq ft larger than we need and I'm doing just fine with a Focus and a Prius.

And I used to own a treadmill.
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: Magilla on June 01, 2016, 04:08:41 PM
My condo which I bought at end of 2007(!!).  At the time I stupidly listened to my brother (and everyone else) telling me how I'm wasting money on renting and buying is the way to go.  By 2009 I wished I could go back in time and punch all those people in the face.  We're selling it this year and even after all these years I will sell it for 30K-35K less than I paid for it.
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: meghan88 on June 01, 2016, 07:31:14 PM
No one thing in particular, but sometimes I'll buy two of one thing that I think I'll really love and wear into the ground because there are two of them in my size on the clearance rack.  I hate clothes shopping with a white-hot passion so those moments are few.  But I'm a very active person and year-round cyclist and tend to be very hard on my clothes.

Every now and then, those double purchases are a fail because they don't hold up in the washing machine even though I've read the tags.  Or they don't wear well for another reason - e.g., skinny jeans with lycra tend to wear out really quickly from the bike seat.

Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: Kaydedid on June 01, 2016, 11:20:16 PM
Treadmills are very useful . . . if you live in a place with no ground that can be walked upon. 
It's definitely a luxury, but I love my treadmill and use it a ton.  When the ground is icy and/or covered in a few feet of snow 6 months/year, and you have a toddler to cart around, it is so nice to just hop on for a few miles and get the blood movin'!

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: Kaydedid on June 01, 2016, 11:25:49 PM
10 tubes of toothpaste on super-sale  (<25% of regular price).  Husband developed sensitivity, and had to switch toothpastes, so no one uses the regular stuff anymore.  It's in the box for donation to the local food pantry.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

Title: Re: Biggest &quot;reasonable purchase&quot; regret?
Post by: Sylly on June 02, 2016, 12:13:57 AM
10 tubes of toothpaste on super-sale  (<25% of regular price).  Husband developed sensitivity, and had to switch toothpastes, so no one uses the regular stuff anymore.  It's in the box for donation to the local food pantry.

Well, not necessarily my "biggest" regret, but I have this problem too. Just re-stocked with a 4-pack (at least it's not 10) during Costco sale. Decided to finally try out sensitive toothpaste for me. It works, so I stop using regular stuff and got another 4-pack, this time the sensitive stuff. So now each of us has our own 4-pack. At least the regular still gets used, though at half the rate it used to be.
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: Chris22 on June 02, 2016, 07:06:42 AM
Hard for me to say specifically.  A few thoughts:

-House we bought far from work because it was in the only area we could afford in Spring 2008; wish we had kept renting.  Still have the house.

-Spent a fair amount of money on "single use" cheapo furniture ("I have a spare bedroom, let's buy a desk and book case for it that won't fit in my next place") for various apartments I lived in when younger for no real reason, should have just bought a couple decent pieces that could be used over again and not filled places with stuff

-I got a free giant tablesaw one time from some distant person who knew a person, it was one of those 500lb 1950s behemoths, I used it maybe 2x and then it took up space in my basement for a long time and had to be dismantled and trashed at large annoyance when I moved
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: chaskavitch on June 02, 2016, 08:12:16 AM
I regret buying a $15 waffle maker because I've used it a grand total of once...though it was for a brunch.

But...waffles!  We got a double waffle maker for our wedding and I love that sucker.  I only use it once every month or two, but I'm going to keep it FOREVER, because waffles <3
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: golden1 on June 02, 2016, 08:26:26 AM
Quote
VW Passat about ten years ago.
 

Ditto, but it was my husbands car.  He bought one new in 2001 and it needed constant repairs before the tranny finally died when it was 12 years old.  We were so sick of it by that point that we decided to sell it and buy a barely used Toyota.  It drove great, but it was a big hassle.

My husband bought a used snow blower from a friend for $200.  The thing died after 3 uses and it was too awkward to try to get our money back. 

I once bought sofas that were too big for the room they were in.  They fit, but they swallowed the room.  I was so glad to get rid of them. 

I sort of regret my house....I like the town I live in, but to save money I bought a house on a busy road which was not really a great move for a variety of reasons. 
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: Adventine on June 02, 2016, 08:32:52 AM
I really regretted a pair of Merrell walking shoes that I bought on sale a couple of years back. Every use left my my feet and toenails stained black. There must have been something wrong with the inner lining of the uppers. Awful pair of shoes. I swore off Merrells after that.
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: Ftao93 on June 02, 2016, 09:16:32 AM
I regret purchasing my motorcycle new.    I got bags, topcase, heated grips, and a service plan; which I am FAR ahead on, because I ride the shiat out of it.  It's my main vehicle.

The regret is that I bought it new.   Less than a year later, low mileage examples have turned up for half price.    I will still win out in the end because I put thousands of miles recreational/professionally on per year, but I could have done it better.
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: MonkeyJenga on June 02, 2016, 09:29:36 AM
Muffin tins and other baking supplies. Many people would use it to lower the cost of food they already eat. I baked desserts that I wouldn't buy in the first place and ate too much garbage. I ended up dumping most at a charity shop.

My couch. Nice couch, not crazy expensive, but more fancy than I need, hard to move, and not big enough to stretch out on.
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: MgoSam on June 02, 2016, 09:33:54 AM
Muffin tins and other baking supplies. Many people would use it to lower the cost of food they already eat. I baked desserts that I wouldn't buy in the first place and ate too much garbage. I ended up dumping most at a charity shop.

My couch. Nice couch, not crazy expensive, but more fancy than I need, hard to move, and not big enough to stretch out on.

For muffin tins, my former roommate used them to make egg bakes. They would form in the shape of a muffin and he would then nuke them each morning for breakfast. That might be a useful way to use them.
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: 2Birds1Stone on June 02, 2016, 09:34:09 AM
I asked for an inversion table for Xmas last year. I used it once........
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: SomedayStache on June 02, 2016, 09:51:39 AM
A low-end couch.

3 years ago we decided it was time to buy furniture that fit in our oddly shaped living room (versus rocking the hand-me-downs and Thrift Store purchases that we had).

We had $1000 budgeted, which in our naïve minds should be more than enough to buy a new couch.  We were basically laughed out of the furniture stores.  We ended up buying an $850 couch from a sketchy furniture store.  As soon as it was delivered we had buyer's regret.  But we had already given away our old furniture so we've kept the couch.  We both hate it.  It is uncomfortable, cheap, falling apart, and makes us feel like fools every time we look at it.

I'm not sure what the answer to a new couch is.  Ideally we'd have high consumption relatives who like to replace their furniture and give us cast offs (but we don't).  A comfortable, sturdy couch from a reputable store is $$$.  A CraigList/thrift store couch would work except potential bedbug remediation could negate any savings and ruin our lives.  I dream of IKEA, but the nearest store is 200 miles away.
Title: Re: Biggest &quot;reasonable purchase&quot; regret?
Post by: smalllife on June 02, 2016, 10:05:54 AM
We drove the 200 miles to Ikea with a borrowed truck. Totally worth it. (We love our couch) It was a long day though, that's that's sure ..

My personal reasonable purchase regret are a few kitchen items from our wedding registry. At the time it was the right decision, but I wouldn't do it again.

Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: MgoSam on June 02, 2016, 10:28:20 AM
A low-end couch.


Yeah I hear ya! When I bought my house back in August I was lucky my parents had couches sitting in a room they never use (they have a big house) that they didn't hesitate to give me when I asked after it. They are older couches, don't look nearly as good, and are leather which I don't find to be the most comfortable...but they were free and that's perfectly acceptable to me. I haven't had a guest complain about them to date so I feel no hurry to buy a new couch or look around for a used one as I know that decent one can run to be a lot. Room and Board has its outlet here so I might go sometime to see if they have anything if I really have a desire to upgrade.
Title: Re: Biggest &quot;reasonable purchase&quot; regret?
Post by: Kitsune on June 02, 2016, 10:35:46 AM
We drove the 200 miles to Ikea with a borrowed truck. Totally worth it. (We love our couch) It was a long day though, that's that's sure ..

My personal reasonable purchase regret are a few kitchen items from our wedding registry. At the time it was the right decision, but I wouldn't do it again.

They deliver. (The nearest Ikea is 150km away from me...) It would have cost me 120$ for the delivery when I got my  couch there, but I got it during one of the 2-3 days of the year when they offer free delivery as a website bonus. Also, quite frankly, 120$ vs renting a truck plus paying gas to drive 200 miles plus the time it takes... might just be worth the delivery fee, if that's an option in your area.
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: Random Hangers on June 02, 2016, 10:46:31 AM
1) Our townhouse in July 2008. We thought we were smart, that we'd waited out the height of the market...only to find that we still overpaid. We sold it this year (after 8 months on the market) for exactly $1k over what we bought it for, but after Realtor fees and such, we didn't come out that far ahead. But we'd gotten married the year before, and a house always come next, right? Ugh. We should've just kept renting (at a much lower monthly cost) and continued to save up money.

2) Getting some art framed at a local frame store (over using Michael's or the like). I was totally blinded by the 'Small Business Saturday' that I think happens after Black Friday, but we ended up spending 500 freaking dollars when I know it would've been much, much cheaper if we'd used a coupon at a megastore. Better for the community, yes, but wowza, what a hit to our wallet.

3)A Vitamix blender for $350. It was one of my very rare impulse buys: we were in a store with a demonstrator around the same time we'd decided to start eating more healthfully, so of course I talked myself into it. "Oh, there's a $50 off coupon." "Oh, I'll use it EVERY DAY to make juices." "Oh, I can also use it to make soup! Right there in the blender!" Yeah, I used it maaaaybe 5 times and eventually had to put it away because I became super bitter every time I saw it sitting on the counter mocking me, lol. Turns out if you don't like the taste of raw veggies normally, blending them all together (no matter how much apple or pineapple you had!) doesn't make you like the taste any more.
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: MonkeyJenga on June 02, 2016, 11:00:35 AM
Muffin tins and other baking supplies. Many people would use it to lower the cost of food they already eat. I baked desserts that I wouldn't buy in the first place and ate too much garbage. I ended up dumping most at a charity shop.

My couch. Nice couch, not crazy expensive, but more fancy than I need, hard to move, and not big enough to stretch out on.

For muffin tins, my former roommate used them to make egg bakes. They would form in the shape of a muffin and he would then nuke them each morning for breakfast. That might be a useful way to use them.

Thanks for the suggestion. Part of the reason I didn't use them as frequently as possible is the cleanup factor. It's much easier to clean a pie pan or cookie sheet than it is to individually wipe down a dozen little holes. If I was going the egg breakfast route, I would do it in a large container, then cut it up.
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: irishbear99 on June 02, 2016, 11:12:47 AM
Bought a Honda Civic about a decade or so ago when we lived in the PNW. Nothing wrong with the purchase; great little car, good gas mileage, low maintenance. Decided to get the black one because it looked sleek. A couple of years later, we moved to Hawaii. Then the AC in the car stopped working properly. Refused to hold a charge, even after we replaced the condenser. The black car. In Hawaii.

/facepalm

Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: geekette on June 02, 2016, 11:28:30 AM
We replaced my husband's (beautiful) '95 Mustang GT convertible in 2012.  Parts were hard to get, and after 17 years as a daily driver, it was getting worn out.  Bought an '05 Audi A4 convertible which we both ended up hating.  I found it uncomfortable for trips over 15 minutes, and he called it a geezer car because it tried to do everything for you.  Even after he quit working in 2013 it sat in the garage month after month, sucking down money.

Finally got rid of it last fall for about a third of what we paid for it.  I think he'd put about 3k miles on it.
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: MgoSam on June 02, 2016, 11:43:19 AM
Muffin tins and other baking supplies. Many people would use it to lower the cost of food they already eat. I baked desserts that I wouldn't buy in the first place and ate too much garbage. I ended up dumping most at a charity shop.

My couch. Nice couch, not crazy expensive, but more fancy than I need, hard to move, and not big enough to stretch out on.

For muffin tins, my former roommate used them to make egg bakes. They would form in the shape of a muffin and he would then nuke them each morning for breakfast. That might be a useful way to use them.

Thanks for the suggestion. Part of the reason I didn't use them as frequently as possible is the cleanup factor. It's much easier to clean a pie pan or cookie sheet than it is to individually wipe down a dozen little holes. If I was going the egg breakfast route, I would do it in a large container, then cut it up.

Anytime, my roommate used to do it that way, and switched to the muffin route. I assume that he had his reasons, but I didn't ask why.
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: cytvta on June 02, 2016, 11:45:50 AM
I regret buying a $15 waffle maker because I've used it a grand total of once...though it was for a brunch.

I use my waffle maker all the time, best appliance I own! It's even probably even stopped us from going out to dinner when we had nothing else in the house. I'm also from Vermont and the waffles are excuses to eat maple syrup... so that could have something to do with it.
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: brute on June 02, 2016, 11:48:02 AM
MMM would face punch me for this one, so maybe not reasonable:
3/4 ton 4WD pickup with a 494 engine. bought it when i was 21 on credit.

More reasonable:
Mediocre couch - gave me back problems and died after 5 years.

Most legendary that I don't regret
$6k of gym equipment from elite fts. Overkill for most people but since I compete in powerlifting and strongman, I need to know the squat rack isn't going to buckle if I miss a 600+ pound squat.
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: Khaetra on June 02, 2016, 12:05:49 PM
I see I'm not the only one with furniture regret.  I bought both a couch and love seat close to 10 years ago from a big-name store.  Both the couch and love seat recline and I thought I would enjoy them, but now they are to the point I can't sit on them for any length of time because if I do I get a really bad shooting pain through my back and hips.  I'm planning on getting rid of them and investing is a couple of chairs instead.
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: MgoSam on June 02, 2016, 12:09:09 PM
I regret buying a $15 waffle maker because I've used it a grand total of once...though it was for a brunch.

I use my waffle maker all the time, best appliance I own! It's even probably even stopped us from going out to dinner when we had nothing else in the house. I'm also from Vermont and the waffles are excuses to eat maple syrup... so that could have something to do with it.

LOL! That makes sense, I think my waffle maker would be a perfectly good appliance if I was willing to make waffles, but I just never want them...I'm more a bacon and eggs type of person. I do love Vermont maple syrup! Do you get the A quality stuff?
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: trashmanz on June 02, 2016, 12:13:18 PM
I also dislike my furniture. Bought from wife's coworker and is falling apart.
Title: Re: Biggest &quot;reasonable purchase&quot; regret?
Post by: pbkmaine on June 02, 2016, 12:31:35 PM
My furniture regrets are for the cheap chipboard and laminate stuff. It nicks and scratches and never looks that great.
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: abiteveryday on June 02, 2016, 01:04:38 PM
I bought a banjo.   I play guitar and thought it might be fun to try something new.   Almost no skills transfer, and months later I'm still terrible at banjo.   Regret is a strong word.   I bought it with budgeted fun money, and got a good enough deal that I could recover it all on resale.  But I still can't play banjo, it just sits there mocking me.
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: Tjat on June 02, 2016, 05:40:46 PM
Pre-MMM i decided I wanted to get into woodworking. I did research and convinced myself I didn't want to settle for cheap tools. So I probably have 3K of supplies that get occasional use, but nothing to justify the expense
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: bigalsmith101 on June 02, 2016, 05:44:02 PM
I regret purchasing my motorcycle new.    I got bags, topcase, heated grips, and a service plan; which I am FAR ahead on, because I ride the shiat out of it.  It's my main vehicle.

The regret is that I bought it new.   Less than a year later, low mileage examples have turned up for half price.    I will still win out in the end because I put thousands of miles recreational/professionally on per year, but I could have done it better.

Though I lust after new motorcycles, and ride my Suzuki DR650 as a daily driver (when not within bicycle reach), I have been able to withstand the urges of buying a new bike. Currently I lust after the new Honda CRF1000L, aka Africa Twin.

I do think though, that you are wrong to suggest that you'll win out in the end. Used side bags and top case on used racks, with heated grips installed by yourself, and service done by yourself would have been the way to go. Even if you can't install those things yourself, or do the service yourself, the used bike with the aftermarket parts is always the way to go.

(DAMHIK, okay, fine, I'm on motorcycle 17 now, though I turn a profit every sale!)
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: Cyaphas on June 02, 2016, 06:05:47 PM
A low-end couch.

3 years ago we decided it was time to buy furniture that fit in our oddly shaped living room (versus rocking the hand-me-downs and Thrift Store purchases that we had).

We had $1000 budgeted, which in our naïve minds should be more than enough to buy a new couch.  We were basically laughed out of the furniture stores.  We ended up buying an $850 couch from a sketchy furniture store.  As soon as it was delivered we had buyer's regret.  But we had already given away our old furniture so we've kept the couch.  We both hate it.  It is uncomfortable, cheap, falling apart, and makes us feel like fools every time we look at it.

I'm not sure what the answer to a new couch is.  Ideally we'd have high consumption relatives who like to replace their furniture and give us cast offs (but we don't).  A comfortable, sturdy couch from a reputable store is $$$.  A CraigList/thrift store couch would work except potential bedbug remediation could negate any savings and ruin our lives.  I dream of IKEA, but the nearest store is 200 miles away.

If you're that leary about CL couches, you can have them bug bombed and cleaned for a very low cost. You can do it yourself for under $100.
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: Cyaphas on June 02, 2016, 06:24:44 PM
Breville juicer: Used it a week, the vegetables were extremly expensive when you sat down and did the math, and the juices were borderline disgusting.

Yamaha 1100 Custom 2006 (motorcycle): Bought used and got a great price. I'd convinced myself I'd make up for the cost in fuel economy within a few years. I might've used it a couple of dozen times. The weather in TX and the freeway driving made it borderline suicide. I sold it for a $2k loss a couple of years later. All and all I did ok, but I should've never convinced myself to purchase it. One of the decisions that has me asking my frugal friends about things before I do them.

House in Seattle area 2006: Way overpaid. I was in my early 20's, $2800 monthly payment. Bought the first one a I looked at. It was a half of an acre with 4 trees over 150 years old on it. Beautiful property. Took on roommates, some family. That went terribly. Job forced move to CA, wound up paying $5k to finally sell it (2009) after spending weeks of vacation and lots of $ remodeling it. I try not to think about the amount of money I lost on this decision. I did learn a LOT from it and the experience has made me money since. Still though, "what if" creeps into my mind occasionally.



Title: Re: Biggest &quot;reasonable purchase&quot; regret?
Post by: Kaydedid on June 03, 2016, 12:28:41 PM
Another one-a pair of Keens sandals.  Wanted something rugged that would last several years, and maybe these will, but I hate them.  They're hard to get on and off, the leather strap in the back has majorly stretched after 1 season of wear, there's a stupid toggle for tightening that ends up flopping around or getting (uncomfortably) wedged in the shoe.  Oh, and with the open design, rocks and random crap get in all the time. 

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: cytvta on June 03, 2016, 01:28:29 PM
I regret buying a $15 waffle maker because I've used it a grand total of once...though it was for a brunch.

I use my waffle maker all the time, best appliance I own! It's even probably even stopped us from going out to dinner when we had nothing else in the house. I'm also from Vermont and the waffles are excuses to eat maple syrup... so that could have something to do with it.

LOL! That makes sense, I think my waffle maker would be a perfectly good appliance if I was willing to make waffles, but I just never want them...I'm more a bacon and eggs type of person. I do love Vermont maple syrup! Do you get the A quality stuff?

Of course! I once had a roommate (here in MA) who put Vermont Maid (spoiler alert, it's not real syrup and also not from VT, in fact VT tried to sue them) in the fridge. I threatened to throw it in the garbage. I always have at least half a gallon of the good stuff on hand.

Also, I made this amazing meal once it was a Belgian waffle, with a sunny side up egg on it, cover it with cheese and put in the oven for a few minutes. It was....amazing. I hoping to find some more recipes to try out.
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: talltexan on June 03, 2016, 01:31:03 PM
I'm still horrified contemplating how much my wife's and my wedding cost in 2008. We paid almost none of that, but my FIL is a good enough investor that--over time--the opportunity cost would become quite substantial.
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: Roboturner on June 03, 2016, 03:01:20 PM
My SO bought a big stupid cruiser bike for a lot of money, it's so so heavy and impractical to ride, in Colorado especially. She got a practical rode bike later, so now it takes up half of our shed, not getting used - just being stupid and heavy.
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: gimp on June 03, 2016, 03:28:00 PM
I'm not sure I really regret it, but it still pisses me off.  When our boys were very young my wife convinced me to buy a very expensive Rainbow swingset.  We had to have an excavator level part of our yard, and we had to install a bark pad.  The boys used it a bit, but not as much as we expected.  We sold it several years later for 1/2 our cost, but I figure it still cost us at least $50 bucks for every time it was used.  Now my wife wants to get rid of the pad and re-landscape that area.  I told her 'no fucken way'.

Use the pad for a grill!
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: Papa Mustache on June 03, 2016, 04:52:45 PM
Or build an above ground fire pit on it. Surround it with benches made of wood and/or bricks.

Saw a beautiful one behind a house on a scooter ride yesterday.

My most ridiculous purchase was a new car way back when. Buyer's remorse about the time we made the second payment. Loved the car, and we continue to love the car - but hated the payments.

Paid it off early. Vowed to drive it forever and we are. Definitely getting our money's worth.
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: meghan88 on June 03, 2016, 07:29:52 PM
I'm still horrified contemplating how much my wife's and my wedding cost in 2008. We paid almost none of that, but my FIL is a good enough investor that--over time--the opportunity cost would become quite substantial.
I think more people should be horrified about wedding costs.
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: One Noisy Cat on June 04, 2016, 06:17:10 PM
   About 35 years ago the Kodak instamatic camera I had since I was a kid broke and with a regular job I'd move up into the world of Pentax 35 mm camera with all kinds of lenses and filters. My father was pretty conservative with money but he liked photography and had several cameras. It wasn't a total flop..I used it some. Although being a klutz I found I had problems threading a 35 mm roll (unlike dropping a Kodak cartridge in and closing the lid) and after about 5 rolls I gave up on it. I don't know where the camera is..the last time I searched for it 10 years ago the filters and lenses were in the closet on the top shelf but the body was gone..fell through a hole in the space time continuum (or maybe I took it in for repairs and forget about it but I don't remember it being broken.
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: Cannot Wait! on June 04, 2016, 09:46:46 PM
A low-end couch.

3 years ago we decided it was time to buy furniture that fit in our oddly shaped living room (versus rocking the hand-me-downs and Thrift Store purchases that we had).

We had $1000 budgeted, which in our naïve minds should be more than enough to buy a new couch.  We were basically laughed out of the furniture stores.  We ended up buying an $850 couch from a sketchy furniture store.  As soon as it was delivered we had buyer's regret.  But we had already given away our old furniture so we've kept the couch.  We both hate it.  It is uncomfortable, cheap, falling apart, and makes us feel like fools every time we look at it.

I'm not sure what the answer to a new couch is.  Ideally we'd have high consumption relatives who like to replace their furniture and give us cast offs (but we don't).  A comfortable, sturdy couch from a reputable store is $$$.  A CraigList/thrift store couch would work except potential bedbug remediation could negate any savings and ruin our lives.  I dream of IKEA, but the nearest store is 200 miles away.
I bought an extremely comfortable highend  couch and kept it for 18 years!  Well used and well loved and we got our money's worth.  I just got tired of it and at times wished we hadn't spent so much on it so that we could get something new.  So if you're the type of person that likes a change every now and again, don't commit yourself to an expensive piece of furniture.   I've since got 4 couches for free off kijiji that have been great.  I can't imagine buying new ever again.
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: GuitarBrian on June 04, 2016, 10:29:33 PM
I'll play...


Leopold VX6 rifle scope. Was a bargin at $777... I can't see a bit of difference between it and the VX2 I got my bother, except for the $500 price difference.

Browning BAR rifle. The scope is on this... I like it, but I should have waited to see the other options I had on my list. It is too pretty and heavy. There wasn't much of a monetary difference here, but in hindsight, I would have gotten something lighter.

New cell phones. I bought several new phones over the years, even when they were last year's model... Should have saved major $$$ and bought used.

A ukulele. I got a really nice Hawaiian made 8 string ukulele... Now I know, I don't care for it that much... $700. I need to sell it.

On the plus side, my two vehicle purchases have been great. Two houses have been perfect so far...
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: Homey The Clown on June 05, 2016, 09:48:52 PM
A little late to the thread, but I didn't see this one. I got a Go Pro camera a couple years ago for Christmas. I've done a few fun things with it, like some swimming pics and some POV video from a Grand Canyon Backpacking trip, but ask me how many times I've watched those videos. Oh, and it was my suggestion and it came from my wife, so it was our money.

For our anniversary this year, my wife bought me a $50 (!) mechanical pencil (here in case you're interested: http://www.amazon.com/Lamy-Mechanical-Pencil-Brushed-L101/dp/B0002T3YCK). I'm not a $50 pencil kind of guy and sent it back. I felt kind of bad, but I'd feel worse keeping it. Here's my favorite, not dirt cheap, but good quality: http://www.amazon.com/Pentel-Twist-Erase-Automatic-Assorted-QE517BP2-K6/dp/B002JG10GG/
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: BDWW on June 05, 2016, 10:14:00 PM
Pre-MMM i decided I wanted to get into woodworking. I did research and convinced myself I didn't want to settle for cheap tools. So I probably have 3K of supplies that get occasional use, but nothing to justify the expense

Perspective, my regrets are usually the other way. I spent $1700 on a Taiwanese table saw, that I thought would be all I needed. Constant fettling, blade seems to go out of square after 50 bf. Now I need to figure out how to recoup some of my costs on it, and fund the new one. I'll probably budget $3500 for the replacement.
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: kina on June 06, 2016, 07:31:43 AM
For our anniversary this year, my wife bought me a $50 (!) mechanical pencil (here in case you're interested: http://www.amazon.com/Lamy-Mechanical-Pencil-Brushed-L101/dp/B0002T3YCK). I'm not a $50 pencil kind of guy and sent it back. I felt kind of bad, but I'd feel worse keeping it. Here's my favorite, not dirt cheap, but good quality: http://www.amazon.com/Pentel-Twist-Erase-Automatic-Assorted-QE517BP2-K6/dp/B002JG10GG/
your wife will remember that forever.
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: Chris22 on June 06, 2016, 10:58:58 AM
I'm still horrified contemplating how much my wife's and my wedding cost in 2008. We paid almost none of that, but my FIL is a good enough investor that--over time--the opportunity cost would become quite substantial.

My wedding cost would give you people fits.  The only thing I paid for (aside from the engagement ring) was the gifts for the groomsmen, a cool Swiss Army knife that was personalized and like $40/ea.  My FIL paid for the rest.  However, he cashed out stock from his employer at the time, it was trading at ~$22-23/share when he sold it, and it eventually tanked to like $3/share.  So I tell him that money was gone anyways, at least he got a good meal and a night of drinking out of it.  He doesn't see the humor, necessarily. 
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: Kitsune on June 06, 2016, 11:04:27 AM
I'm still horrified contemplating how much my wife's and my wedding cost in 2008. We paid almost none of that, but my FIL is a good enough investor that--over time--the opportunity cost would become quite substantial.

My wedding cost would give you people fits.  The only thing I paid for (aside from the engagement ring) was the gifts for the groomsmen, a cool Swiss Army knife that was personalized and like $40/ea.  My FIL paid for the rest.  However, he cashed out stock from his employer at the time, it was trading at ~$22-23/share when he sold it, and it eventually tanked to like $3/share.  So I tell him that money was gone anyways, at least he got a good meal and a night of drinking out of it.  He doesn't see the humor, necessarily.

We paid more than I'd like for our wedding (5k), mostly because my husband comes from a close-knit community and doing something big was important to him.

We now live in that community, so... No regrets. The goodwill and good community are worth it.

(If we'd spent 20k, I might have a different opinion)
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: Miss Piggy on June 06, 2016, 11:47:04 AM
For our anniversary this year, my wife bought me a $50 (!) mechanical pencil (here in case you're interested: http://www.amazon.com/Lamy-Mechanical-Pencil-Brushed-L101/dp/B0002T3YCK). I'm not a $50 pencil kind of guy and sent it back. I felt kind of bad, but I'd feel worse keeping it. Here's my favorite, not dirt cheap, but good quality: http://www.amazon.com/Pentel-Twist-Erase-Automatic-Assorted-QE517BP2-K6/dp/B002JG10GG/

Ouch.
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: MgoSam on June 06, 2016, 12:07:32 PM
For our anniversary this year, my wife bought me a $50 (!) mechanical pencil (here in case you're interested: http://www.amazon.com/Lamy-Mechanical-Pencil-Brushed-L101/dp/B0002T3YCK). I'm not a $50 pencil kind of guy and sent it back. I felt kind of bad, but I'd feel worse keeping it. Here's my favorite, not dirt cheap, but good quality: http://www.amazon.com/Pentel-Twist-Erase-Automatic-Assorted-QE517BP2-K6/dp/B002JG10GG/

Ouch.

Yikes. I lose pencils and pens all the time so I just go with the cheapo ones. I would be scared to have one that cost this much, regardless of how nice it is. I'm guessing that these pencils make sense for architects.
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: Roboturner on June 06, 2016, 12:16:57 PM
For our anniversary this year, my wife bought me a $50 (!) mechanical pencil (here in case you're interested: http://www.amazon.com/Lamy-Mechanical-Pencil-Brushed-L101/dp/B0002T3YCK). I'm not a $50 pencil kind of guy and sent it back. I felt kind of bad, but I'd feel worse keeping it. Here's my favorite, not dirt cheap, but good quality: http://www.amazon.com/Pentel-Twist-Erase-Automatic-Assorted-QE517BP2-K6/dp/B002JG10GG/

Ouch.

Yikes. I lose pencils and pens all the time so I just go with the cheapo ones. I would be scared to have one that cost this much, regardless of how nice it is. I'm guessing that these pencils make sense for architects.

I have an expensive mechanical pencil, it's just the greatest thing ever, I have no regrets, but I also use it everyday soooo
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: Fishindude on June 06, 2016, 12:22:58 PM
Garages and basements are littered with unused exercise equipment of all types that purchasers with good intent bought and then stashed away out of sight after walking by them feeling guilty for their lack of use day after day.   We've been guilty of these purchases several times.   Go to the gym or take a walk.
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: lifejoy on June 06, 2016, 12:28:59 PM
Shoes.

I never seem to pick the right ones and it's a reasonable purchase when I need them, but it's such a waste when I get it wrong. :(
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: The Happy Philosopher on June 06, 2016, 12:47:36 PM
I convinced my wife to get a fancy road bike. She wasn't sure she really liked it, but I assured her she would get used to riding it over time. I was wrong. She rarely rode it due to the fact she did not like the more aggressive road bike geometry.

When we sold that bike years later (nearly new) and got a cheaper commuter bike which fit her style she loves it and rides 10x as often.

Lesson: But things you love, not things you think you will love eventually. And listen to your wife!
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: MgoSam on June 06, 2016, 02:20:01 PM
I'm still horrified contemplating how much my wife's and my wedding cost in 2008. We paid almost none of that, but my FIL is a good enough investor that--over time--the opportunity cost would become quite substantial.

My wedding cost would give you people fits.  The only thing I paid for (aside from the engagement ring) was the gifts for the groomsmen, a cool Swiss Army knife that was personalized and like $40/ea.  My FIL paid for the rest.  However, he cashed out stock from his employer at the time, it was trading at ~$22-23/share when he sold it, and it eventually tanked to like $3/share.  So I tell him that money was gone anyways, at least he got a good meal and a night of drinking out of it.  He doesn't see the humor, necessarily.

We paid more than I'd like for our wedding (5k), mostly because my husband comes from a close-knit community and doing something big was important to him.

We now live in that community, so... No regrets. The goodwill and good community are worth it.

(If we'd spent 20k, I might have a different opinion)

If you saw how much my sister spent on her wedding or how much my brother spent on his you would faint! And by "spent" I mean that they got our parents to pay for nearly all of it. Both weddings were multi-day affairs (traditional Indian weddings) and I believe my sister's had roughly 502 guests.
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: h2ogal on June 06, 2016, 02:39:14 PM
DH bought a restaurant.   Let me say for the record "Dont Do It" to everyone except my worst enemies.....well, I don't actually have any real 'enemies' so let me just say "just dont" to everyone.
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: Kitsune on June 06, 2016, 04:00:45 PM
Shoes.

I never seem to pick the right ones and it's a reasonable purchase when I need them, but it's such a waste when I get it wrong. :(

Agreed, and seconded.
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: Bumperpuff on June 06, 2016, 04:25:19 PM
I regret buying a $15 waffle maker because I've used it a grand total of once...though it was for a brunch.

Waffle makers are surprisingly versatile. I use mine for has browns, falafel, masa waffles, even grilled chicken/fish/burgers.  I even use it to make waffles from time to time :)
Title: Re: Biggest &quot;reasonable purchase&quot; regret?
Post by: lifejoy on June 06, 2016, 04:43:32 PM
I regret buying a $15 waffle maker because I've used it a grand total of once...though it was for a brunch.

Waffle makers are surprisingly versatile. I use mine for has browns, falafel, masa waffles, even grilled chicken/fish/burgers.  I even use it to make waffles from time to time :)

Pinterest tells me I can use a waffle maker to crisp up leftover French fries! I would love to try it one day!
Title: Re: Biggest &quot;reasonable purchase&quot; regret?
Post by: Kitsune on June 06, 2016, 05:16:35 PM
I regret buying a $15 waffle maker because I've used it a grand total of once...though it was for a brunch.

Waffle makers are surprisingly versatile. I use mine for has browns, falafel, masa waffles, even grilled chicken/fish/burgers.  I even use it to make waffles from time to time :)

Pinterest tells me I can use a waffle maker to crisp up leftover French fries! I would love to try it one day!

Put rice with a bit of sesame oil in it. Once it's waffled, top with a bit of soy sauce and a fried egg. It's a total cop-out for really excellent fake fried rice. :)
Title: Re: Biggest &quot;reasonable purchase&quot; regret?
Post by: lifejoy on June 06, 2016, 05:17:11 PM
I bought a banjo.   I play guitar and thought it might be fun to try something new.   Almost no skills transfer, and months later I'm still terrible at banjo.   Regret is a strong word.   I bought it with budgeted fun money, and got a good enough deal that I could recover it all on resale.  But I still can't play banjo, it just sits there mocking me.

It felt so good when I released myself from the mockery of my accordion! Gave it away after I had no success selling it :)
Title: Re: Biggest &quot;reasonable purchase&quot; regret?
Post by: lifejoy on June 06, 2016, 05:18:18 PM
Pre-MMM i decided I wanted to get into woodworking. I did research and convinced myself I didn't want to settle for cheap tools. So I probably have 3K of supplies that get occasional use, but nothing to justify the expense

My dad justifies the expense by making himself amazing solid wood furniture :)

Book shelves, tables, benches... It's his retirement hobby. He took a few courses.
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: athiker10 on June 06, 2016, 07:40:37 PM
A low-end couch.

3 years ago we decided it was time to buy furniture that fit in our oddly shaped living room (versus rocking the hand-me-downs and Thrift Store purchases that we had).

We had $1000 budgeted, which in our naïve minds should be more than enough to buy a new couch.  We were basically laughed out of the furniture stores.  We ended up buying an $850 couch from a sketchy furniture store.  As soon as it was delivered we had buyer's regret.  But we had already given away our old furniture so we've kept the couch.  We both hate it.  It is uncomfortable, cheap, falling apart, and makes us feel like fools every time we look at it.

I'm not sure what the answer to a new couch is.  Ideally we'd have high consumption relatives who like to replace their furniture and give us cast offs (but we don't).  A comfortable, sturdy couch from a reputable store is $$$.  A CraigList/thrift store couch would work except potential bedbug remediation could negate any savings and ruin our lives.  I dream of IKEA, but the nearest store is 200 miles away.

Part of my job is purchasing for my nonprofit (including furniture). Our participants are HARD on the furniture. We're looking forward to trying these, once our FY rolls over: http://www.homereserve.com/ (http://www.homereserve.com/)
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: SomedayStache on June 06, 2016, 07:50:32 PM
Part of my job is purchasing for my nonprofit (including furniture). Our participants are HARD on the furniture. We're looking forward to trying these, once our FY rolls over: http://www.homereserve.com/ (http://www.homereserve.com/)

Please report back once you've sat on one of these!  The price is great, but is the comfort?
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: athiker10 on June 06, 2016, 07:54:31 PM
Part of my job is purchasing for my nonprofit (including furniture). Our participants are HARD on the furniture. We're looking forward to trying these, once our FY rolls over: http://www.homereserve.com/ (http://www.homereserve.com/)

Please report back once you've sat on one of these!  The price is great, but is the comfort?
Will do! (but it may be second hand-I don't actually get out and visit our scattered units)
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: MoneyCat on June 06, 2016, 09:18:59 PM
I spent $700 to buy a brand new replica 1755 British Long Land Pattern Musket (aka a "Brown Bess") to use for Seven Years War reenactments. Five years later, I moved away and decided to leave the historical reenactment hobby because it was costing me thousands of dollars each year. I sold the musket to another reenactor for $500. Total waste of money.
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: sleepyguy on June 07, 2016, 08:18:15 AM
Hmmm guess mine aren't so bad after reading posters :)  not in any order

1. Camera gear... spent probably close to a thousand only to lose interest in the hobby.  Now I just take pictures with my phone, lol.
2. Tennis equipment, latest I purchase two wilson prostaff racquets only after a couple outings i was developing tennis elbow.  Messed with different tension and string configurations but still same issue.  Went back to my old racquets... that was $350 down the drain... not to mention the waste of time stringing and wasted strings.
3. Philips projector and LCD TV.  This was many years back, but both are garbage... black levels suck and they were overpriced POS.  My GF worked at philips at the time and got them at a decent 'discount'... and they still weren't worth it.  This was many years ago but it was like $1000 each.  One plus side is they both still work after over 10yrs.
4. Sunglasses, specifically Oakley... i was a beach volleyball fanatic in my younger days and had to own a variety of oakley sunglasses.  I probably still 10+ lying around, they aren't cheap at $100-200 per pair.  What a waste of money.

Like some other posters here, housing and cars have been pretty good purchases over the years.  Housing is a pure fluke though due to the crazy GTA market.

I still spend too much on computer/electronic gear but nothing near the level it was years back.
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: dcheesi on June 07, 2016, 09:13:38 AM
I've got a chain of these going; do I get a combo bonus? ;)

1. Stocked up on various freezer goods on discount.
    -->FF to: Fridge/freezer stops cooling properly. And because all that freezer food keeps the fridge part cold, I don't notice a problem until the freezer has already mostly thawed. All that food wasted, and money down the drain.

2. Bought a large mini-fridge instead of another full-size. I'm single, and I've learned my lesson about over-buying freezer items, so that's all I need. It's cheaper *and* more efficient, win-win! And even if it doesn't work out, I can always re-purpose it as basement beer-fridge [remember this for the next part].
    -->FF to: I'm facing dental surgery, and need a place to store/make ice for ice packs, etc. Realize last minute that my mini-fridge freezer won't cut it. It's the middle of winter and almost nobody has a freezer in stock, so I wind up paying ~$50 extra for the GE-badged version at Home Despot. (Addendum: recovery went so well that I barely needed any ice!)

2a. The freezer. Small chest freezer, fits easily into a corner of my basement. Even if I wind up getting a full-sized fridge later, I can always use more freezer space (and a backup in case of another fridge failure), right?
    -->FF to: I'm unexpectedly transferred to a much higher-COL area. Can't "afford" anything more than a small 1br apartment in the new place, which means that both the mini-fridge and the freezer are now collecting dust in a storage building, and will probably wind up in the trash/craigslist once the move is completed.

3. Just to put the cherry on top, I'm also selling the house I was in, which means that it needs functional (and "normal") appliances to make the place move-in ready. So I get to buy the full-size fridge I was trying to avoid, and I don't even get to use it! Couldn't find any decent deals on Craigslist, etc., so I bit the bullet and bought the "rental unit special" from Lowe's just to check that box.
    -->FF to: My house goes on the market, but doesn't sell or even get more than a handful of showings for a couple of months. Now the old site is closing down, and they're getting rid of furniture and equipment, including the break-room refrigerators. If I had waited to list the house, or just left the fridge space empty for a while (which in retrospect wouldn't have mattered since no one even looked at the place), I could have scored one of these for <$50!
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: Hall11235 on June 07, 2016, 01:56:51 PM
I really regretted a pair of Merrell walking shoes that I bought on sale a couple of years back. Every use left my my feet and toenails stained black. There must have been something wrong with the inner lining of the uppers. Awful pair of shoes. I swore off Merrells after that.
It makes me sad to hear that. One of the purchases I DON'T regret was my pair of Merrell Trail Gloves. Best Damn shoes I ever bought. Bought them in 2011, and, several 1,000 miles later (I ran CC in college), they are still in good shape!

But, TBH, maybe I just have weird feet...
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: Adventine on June 07, 2016, 08:57:28 PM
I really regretted a pair of Merrell walking shoes that I bought on sale a couple of years back. Every use left my my feet and toenails stained black. There must have been something wrong with the inner lining of the uppers. Awful pair of shoes. I swore off Merrells after that.
It makes me sad to hear that. One of the purchases I DON'T regret was my pair of Merrell Trail Gloves. Best Damn shoes I ever bought. Bought them in 2011, and, several 1,000 miles later (I ran CC in college), they are still in good shape!

But, TBH, maybe I just have weird feet...

Maybe the Merrell line of athletic shoes is better quality compared to their line of walking shoes... But I'm not going to waste my money again to test that idea. I had a much better experience with Clarks.
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: Astatine on June 07, 2016, 09:39:50 PM

1. Camera gear... spent probably close to a thousand only to lose interest in the hobby.  Now I just take pictures with my phone, lol.

Oh yeah, I did something similar but cheaper. DH and I both bought new point & shoots just before we got married because our old cameras were both dying at the same time. 4 years later, DH uses his at least weekly and usually has it in his daily backpack. Mine? I got excited about taking macros for the first year or two then went, meh. I stopped wanting to take photos because of the digital clutter and I kind of lost interest in taking macros. Now I just use my camera phone. Even though it's a 4 year old iPhone 4S, the photos are still pretty good and I can quickly post them on social media if I feel like it.

Not sure what else I've bought that was reasonable at the time but in hindsight a mistake. I tend to get rid of stuff asap if I no longer enjoy having that item in my life, so I can't really remember.

Ah, I remember one. Paying $1,500 for a photographer at our wedding. The photos were pretty shit, apart from a few, and I would have rather spent time with our guests instead of having photos taken. But, DH really wanted professional photos so I caved.
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: dcheesi on June 08, 2016, 08:20:16 AM
I really regretted a pair of Merrell walking shoes that I bought on sale a couple of years back. Every use left my my feet and toenails stained black. There must have been something wrong with the inner lining of the uppers. Awful pair of shoes. I swore off Merrells after that.
It makes me sad to hear that. One of the purchases I DON'T regret was my pair of Merrell Trail Gloves. Best Damn shoes I ever bought. Bought them in 2011, and, several 1,000 miles later (I ran CC in college), they are still in good shape!

But, TBH, maybe I just have weird feet...

Maybe the Merrell line of athletic shoes is better quality compared to their line of walking shoes... But I'm not going to waste my money again to test that idea. I had a much better experience with Clarks.
I have a pair of Docksides that do this. Personally I rarely take my shoes off in public, and the pigment washes off pretty easily, so I'm not really worried about it; I just figured it was a natural consequence of going sock-less in leather shoes.
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: Adventine on June 08, 2016, 09:04:59 AM
I really regretted a pair of Merrell walking shoes that I bought on sale a couple of years back. Every use left my my feet and toenails stained black. There must have been something wrong with the inner lining of the uppers. Awful pair of shoes. I swore off Merrells after that.
It makes me sad to hear that. One of the purchases I DON'T regret was my pair of Merrell Trail Gloves. Best Damn shoes I ever bought. Bought them in 2011, and, several 1,000 miles later (I ran CC in college), they are still in good shape!

But, TBH, maybe I just have weird feet...

Maybe the Merrell line of athletic shoes is better quality compared to their line of walking shoes... But I'm not going to waste my money again to test that idea. I had a much better experience with Clarks.
I have a pair of Docksides that do this. Personally I rarely take my shoes off in public, and the pigment washes off pretty easily, so I'm not really worried about it; I just figured it was a natural consequence of going sock-less in leather shoes.

My shoes weren't leather. They were made of some weird black suede material. I don't take my shoes off in public either, but it was not fun to find myself at the end of the day in the shower, soaping my feet at least twice and scraping off black dye embedded under my toenails.
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: talltexan on June 08, 2016, 01:45:07 PM
My co-worker was just casually mentioning that he and his wife bought a horse (they own others, so some costs of ownership are fixed already) for $1 a few years ago. That horse has since generated $14,000 in medical bills.
Title: Re: Biggest "reasonable purchase" regret?
Post by: Homey The Clown on June 09, 2016, 01:08:18 PM
For our anniversary this year, my wife bought me a $50 (!) mechanical pencil (here in case you're interested: http://www.amazon.com/Lamy-Mechanical-Pencil-Brushed-L101/dp/B0002T3YCK). I'm not a $50 pencil kind of guy and sent it back. I felt kind of bad, but I'd feel worse keeping it. Here's my favorite, not dirt cheap, but good quality: http://www.amazon.com/Pentel-Twist-Erase-Automatic-Assorted-QE517BP2-K6/dp/B002JG10GG/
your wife will remember that forever.

Yes she will (she remembers everything). But I'd rather her do that than keep buying me expensive versions of things for which I prefer solid, but lower cost versions. I like good things, not fancy things. I don't want a fancy watch, I don't want a fancy knife. This present was so out of left field it was mind blowing.

I would not have used that pencil any more than my favorite. In fact, I would have used it less because of its worthless eraser. Honesty is more important than letting my wife think I love the present. She's returned things I bought and I didn't feel bad at all.

One of the better presents she bought me was fancy chocolate bars one year. She bought me about $20 worth of really good chocolate.