Pre Moustache spending

[Asgard01]

Not to feel guilty but more for amusement and sharing, what are some of the things you spent money on before finding your moustache that makes you squirm now? What large purchase makes you shake your head?

I am starring currently at my $3999 TV I brought whilst window shopping in 2012, yes I was window shopping... But it was a special deal, and... They only had 2 in stock... How could I miss out, it was the best TV money could buy at the time. I must admit though, it's a great tv hehe, 55inch samsung LED smart thin TV.

Chris

[Hugh H]

I did the $4,000 TV too shortly after joining the military back in 2004.

Sold it about a year ago for $50.

That was dumb.

[TheNorwegianGuy]

My spending havent really changed that much over my lifetime. I have been kind of frugal since I got my first allowance as a 7-year old. So I guess I have been kind of lucky (Did not get this from my parents).

But off course I have spent and done things that are not frugal at all. Most of these have been cases where I have felt pressure of some kind from friends and family. Expensive pieces of clothing, expensive vacations (when all your friends are going its hard not to). But I do not have any regrets. Beeing frugal allows me to do things like that once in a while without having to worry.

Ok, I have one regret, not working more during the student years so I could have been without the student dept.

Since TV is mentioned - I have never bought a TV. I won a TV once and sold it after a few years. So I actually earned money on having a TV those years :p

[NearlyThere]

I bought a $15k Rolex...for cash (upside). Second birthday of my business present. Oh look how well I'm doing. facepunch

I look forward to super quick growth of my stash without the facepunch purchases.

Second upside is that the watch should hold it value and I plan to sell it before travelling.

[pachnik]

I regret the thousands of $5 to $25 transactions that added up over the years, the not exciting meal out, the not needed coffees, the extra drinks at bars. But interestingly I do not regret things of value and beauty, some used but high quality furniture, Persian rugs my husband bought when deployed, a few art pieces that I love, my 2 rescue mutts with their food, vet bills, boarding. And travel, I never regret the experiences we have had traveling to interesting places.

+1 @ Basenji
I regret the same stuff - I call it "frittering away" my money.  I never bought large TVs, fancy cars - I just frittered money away on lots of little purchases over the decades.  But I am so glad I found this website! 

[rocklebock]

I regret the same stuff - I call it "frittering away" my money.  I never bought large TVs, fancy cars - I just frittered money away on lots of little purchases over the decades. 

Same here. Pre-MMM I was spending around $500 a month eating out. While also spending $250/month on groceries. Just for one person. Because I love food and I worked hard and exercised all the time and "deserved" fancy food and drink. Ugh.

[surfhb]

Smoking

$800 a month in eating out

Drinking

Weed

I should be FIRE by now :)

[MoneyCat]

I bought a $700 reproduction of a 1700s Brown Bess musket which I only took out shooting about two times per year.  I ended up selling it for $500 to help me pay for moving for a new job.

[shitzmagee]

My wife and I graduated from college with no debt and then somehow ended up with over $80K in debt a year later. Mostly from the new Civic Hybrid, the used Harley F-150, and the new Harley motorcycle I bought...mostly on credit...I woke up one day and punched myself in the face and then spent the next 4 years getting out of debt.

Never again!

[Mustache Fatty]

Wasting money month after month on electricity.  We used to pay over $500 per month.  Now we pay $136 and dropping.  Life has only changed for the better with the money saved.  Our comfort has remained the same.

[EarlyRetirementGuy]

Box full of PS2 games, purchased 10 years ago at about £30 a pop :/

[Zikoris]

I cringe at what I used to spend on ballroom dance. In some ways it's nice, because I am a totally decent dancer in a lot of partner dances, and can follow basic steps to pretty much anything I didn't take classes in, and have quality dance shoes and a great dance wardrobe for when I go to events (my tango gown has doubled as a formal evening gown more times than I an count) but oh man, I could have done it for a lot less money.

I also did some post-secondary education that was ultimately useless - fortunately I came to halfway in and realized I didn't want a career, and was able to get my small student loan paid off and start building wealth before it got too out of hand.

I'm so glad I've always lived a pretty modest lifestyle since moving out on my own (often out of necessity, but also natural cheapness), because I tend to dwell on things and would have a hard time accepting really crazy pre-moustache spending.

[marty998]

Not to feel guilty but more for amusement and sharing, what are some of the things you spent money on before finding your moustache that makes you squirm now? What large purchase makes you shake your head?

I am starring currently at my $3999 TV I brought whilst window shopping in 2012, yes I was window shopping... But it was a special deal, and... They only had 2 in stock... How could I miss out, it was the best TV money could buy at the time. I must admit though, it's a great tv hehe, 55inch samsung LED smart thin TV.

Chris

I did the $4,000 TV too shortly after joining the military back in 2004.

Sold it about a year ago for $50.

That was dumb.

+1 I did it too. $3200 on a 48" Samsung HD 3D LCD LED. I think they price it as $1,000 for every acronym.

But I hope to use it forever to make up for it.

[TheNorwegianGuy]

Not to feel guilty but more for amusement and sharing, what are some of the things you spent money on before finding your moustache that makes you squirm now? What large purchase makes you shake your head?

I am starring currently at my $3999 TV I brought whilst window shopping in 2012, yes I was window shopping... But it was a special deal, and... They only had 2 in stock... How could I miss out, it was the best TV money could buy at the time. I must admit though, it's a great tv hehe, 55inch samsung LED smart thin TV.

Chris

I did the $4,000 TV too shortly after joining the military back in 2004.

Sold it about a year ago for $50.

That was dumb.

+1 I did it too. $3200 on a 48" Samsung HD 3D LCD LED. I think they price it as $1,000 for every acronym.

But I hope to use it forever to make up for it.

OT: I was so baffled by the prices you mention on these TVs I had to check out the el-store here.. They have a TV costing $ 21.500 (Not a typo)... WHAT THE!!! Why would anyone buy a TV for 21.500 dollars!? I just feel sad for people that have actually bought this.. They have literally bought TV-time for a crap load of future freedom time...

[marty998]

Must be a movie screen. People have theatrettes in their homes now.

[TheNorwegianGuy]

Must be a movie screen. People have theatrettes in their homes now.

No, an actual TV.. 90" 3D LED TV..

[Wanderlusting]

I regret the thousands of $5 to $25 transactions that added up over the years, the not exciting meal out, the not needed coffees, the extra drinks at bars. But interestingly I do not regret things of value and beauty, some used but high quality furniture, Persian rugs my husband bought when deployed, a few art pieces that I love, my 2 rescue mutts with their food, vet bills, boarding. And travel, I never regret the experiences we have had traveling to interesting places.

+1 @ Basenji
I regret the same stuff - I call it "frittering away" my money.  I never bought large TVs, fancy cars - I just frittered money away on lots of little purchases over the decades.  But I am so glad I found this website!

I have to go with this one was well, it's not surprising to find how much i've spent on the weekly $30-40 dinner/drink evenings over the past few years. I'm finally getting it under control and i've found that when I do go out and enjoy a lunch or whichever, I try to find a more affordable option, order less alcohol and consequently I get way more satisfaction out of the purchase. I'm still working on the coffee though, it's crazy how much some people can spend daily on foo-foo frapp's or whatever, and there I am just sitting at the table with my small black thinking i'm spending too much.

[Travis]

Must be a movie screen. People have theatrettes in their homes now.

No, an actual TV.. 90" 3D LED TV..

Down the road in Kuwait City at the Samsung store you can buy the next-gen LED (it's called 4k) for about $30k.  It was 72 inches and looked brilliant, but that's a down payment on a house and then some.

[Travis]

Pre-MMM most of my money was spent eating out for lunch every day, but I also bought a brand new F-150 in 2009 and paid cash ($30k).  At the time I thought I was a bad ass for having saved that much, but now all I can think about is how much I could have earned investing that instead.  I sold the truck earlier this year for $17k.  I owned a house from 2009-2011.  I didn't have to put a downpayment, but it was way more house than we needed and I thought I could make up for it down the road on resale.  We bought a new fridge, resurfaced the kitchen, repainted the exterior, did a ton of landscaping, got a DirectBuy membership and bought the afformentioned truck.  Exactly two years later I received orders to relocate and I would have just broken even if we rented it out.  We sold it and I had to write a $10k check at closing.

[Thegoblinchief]

So many things. Fewer large purchases, as I've never been high income, but definitely incalculable amounts of overspending on food, media, and house gadgets. So much of it landfill bait.

I don't have too much detail on pre-MMM spending levels, but I think we'd be awful close to FIRE if we'd started when we got married at 21, even with three kids. 30 might have been a stretch, but 35 would have been a cinch. As it is, I feel encouraged that we're on pace to do it in 10 more years.

[golden1]

Handbags....so many handbags.

I was in search of the "Perfect" handbag for years, that if I found it, my life would suddenly become organized and everything would come together. 

[soccerluvof4]

There is not enough space here for a lot of my stupid spending !! Luckily those days came to an end and I keep working on getting even smarter about what we buy. Fortunately never bought without paying cash either but I probably would have double if not triple the wealth if I cleaned up my act earlier

[norabird]

I'm with others on the frittering.

Daily lunch out. Dropping off my laundry (ok, I still do this sometimes). Cabs. Dinners outTickets for events that were not in my budget--but I didn't have a budget! Lots of clothes; I love clothes, but never needed as many as I bought or purchased them with care so many went almost unused. I just never thought about what money was available to spend--nope, why go through that buzzkill, I'll just spend it anyway!

Sigh. I still haven't cut every non-essential thing out, but the attitude is totally different...and I'm not using credit!

[EricL]

I used to make well over $100k a year before taxes.  I payedoff my debt, saved and invested ~$30k-$36k a year, avoided most big ticket expenditures, and patted myself on the back a lot for it.  Instead I could have used a face punch or two.  I used the rest of the money to live high on the hog buying the latest small gadgets, eating out (~70% of my meals and not cheap food either), drinking Starbucks, and buying crap. 

[Less]

I was lucky that early on my parents drilled me to save to spend.  While not exactly the right advice, it kept me from ever having debt. Unfortunately though the first few years I had some income I would save and then make purchases that drained my savings. A play station.  A laptop, new skis, my first motorcycle.  When I started saving properly I should have already had 20k sitting there waiting. 

Oh and too many big nights out feeding my ego by buying drinks by the round. Paying too much for beer aside, It disappointed me greatly how few people would appreciate it, and even fewer would return the favour. 

Oh and the last one.  I paid for my university as I went.  If I had saved the cash in term deposits or something secure and taken the interest free loan, I would have then been further rewarded by our government with a 10% discount for paying it back faster then required. 

Man too many things.....

[Lyssa]

I also regret the unnecessary frittering.

Failed attempts to get used to wearing high heels (since I felt you're supposed to be able to do it at least for special occasions...).

Not returning a suit that I found a little uncomfortable but which surely looked nice (which has now not been worn for two years...).

Stupid stuff, really.

My most unmustachian purchases during the last years have for sure been my bedroom furniture and library style book shelfs (around 6,000 EUR each). I appreciate those every day and plan using them until they fall apart or I drop dead (and I believe the latter to occur first).

[Lian]

I don’t know what I spent it on! I have almost nothing to show for all that money I spent - and it took quite a long time to get rid of the resulting debt. I just frittered it away for more years than I care to admit. I did buy some Asian antiques that I still really like and will probably keep forever, so I don’t really regret the money I spent on those; but they don’t really account for the many thousands wasted. Fortunately, I was frugal in my choice of home and car, so all I had to do to get debt free and start saving was to end the frittering. No downsizing needed.

[David Lurie]

I've been reading through some of the posts on this website for about a week now. This thread inspired me to register a user name and comment.

I would say that I really regret spending money on things like clothes, eating out, "gentlemen's entertainment" (pre marriage), buying blu-rays (this is a major face punch as it has now been several years and I'm realizing that these discs not only take up space, but they are also degrading and don't play correctly anymore).

I've just gone through my last month's spending and I've found lots of things to improve on and my wife is on board with me. I'm excited to get started.

[Ethernet]

I used to order the meal from McDonald's, now I only get dollar menu.

[horsepoor]

CD's, DVD's and eating out.  I spent so much money on CDs when I was in college.  And the eating out in turn caused me to get too fat for the too many clothes I bought when I got a job.  So then when I lost weight I had to buy all new clothes again, so the eating out cost me more than once.

Buying new cars = also stupid.  Planning to keep my 2012 CR-Z for 15+ years.  At least I've always been into fuel efficiency for daily drivers.

[Asgard01]

I brought my current car new which was a deal online. It was only $500 more than one that was second hand (1 years old). I am currently contemplating selling this in w years time when it's 4 years old. I will then use the cash as this car holds its value quite well to buy a couple years old more fuel efficient car. It will effectively be a downgrade but still. No car tax and perhaps $70 less fuel a month usage.

[Basenji]

I've been reading through some of the posts on this website for about a week now. This thread inspired me to register a user name and comment.

I would say that I really regret spending money on things like clothes, eating out, "gentlemen's entertainment" (pre marriage), buying blu-rays (this is a major face punch as it has now been several years and I'm realizing that these discs not only take up space, but they are also degrading and don't play correctly anymore).

I've just gone through my last month's spending and I've found lots of things to improve on and my wife is on board with me. I'm excited to get started.

Welcome!

[rocksinmyhead]

I regret the thousands of $5 to $25 transactions that added up over the years, the not exciting meal out, the not needed coffees, the extra drinks at bars. But interestingly I do not regret things of value and beauty, some used but high quality furniture, Persian rugs my husband bought when deployed, a few art pieces that I love, my 2 rescue mutts with their food, vet bills, boarding. And travel, I never regret the experiences we have had traveling to interesting places.

yeah, I haven't made any large regrettable purchases (I haven't really made that many large purchases, LOL), but man I've wasted a fuckton of money at bars.

[FrugalFisherman10]

I was lucky that early on my parents drilled me to save to spend.  While not exactly the right advice, it kept me from ever having debt. Unfortunately though the first few years I had some income I would save and then make purchases that drained my savings. A play station.  A laptop, new skis, my first motorcycle.  When I started saving properly I should have already had 20k sitting there waiting. 

Oh and too many big nights out feeding my ego by buying drinks by the round. Paying too much for beer aside, It disappointed me greatly how few people would appreciate it, and even fewer would return the favour. 

Oh and the last one.  I paid for my university as I went.  If I had saved the cash in term deposits or something secure and taken the interest free loan, I would have then been further rewarded by our government with a 10% discount for paying it back faster then required. 

Man too many things.....

You get a 10% discount for paying it back faster in NZ!? That's legit! I don't think there's a similar opportunity here in the US (unless someone knows of one). I'm knocking my student loans out within a little over a year of graduating, and the interest  I'm avoiding is a big enough motivator for me - it's my first step in the mustachian journey.

As far as my answer to the OP, I spent too much  money on clothes in college, and I'm a guy...somewhat trying to follow the trends more than I should have. But no over the top super expensive purchases (like a TV), and I ate super healthy for super cheap, and my girlfriend and I were pretty frugal about our dates and stuff. And I was working some each week