What's the Stupidest Thing You Spent Money on Recently? (any price!)

[RainyDay]

After reading the thread on "what's the stupidest thing you're lusting after right now," I figured this one would be kinda fun!

Mine:  a supposedly "static-free" hairbrush. Cost: $8

My old (like, 25 years) hair brush literally broke in half, and I needed a new one anyway.  Due to the dry weather and having long-ish hair, static-y hair irritates me.  So I bought the static-free brush.  It's NOT. 

What are your minor or major regrets?

[DeniseNJ]

I'm here with my tail between my legs.  I mentioned on the stupid thing I'm lusting after thread that I wanted lots of new nail polish, even though I have plenty.  Well I bout about 10 new bottles, 12 to 14 bucks a piece (please don't do the math!).  Some I really like, some not as great as they looked online.  I think I went a bit overboard and regret it.  I should have set a dollar limit but I just kinda went nuts with a need for multi chrome magnetic polishes.  No more polish for me for a least a year.

[Askel]

Season ski pass.

For a ski hill that requires 1+ hour of driving just to get there. 

And I don't even use the chair lift that often.  I mostly ski off the back of the hill which requires I ski back to the top on my own. 

But it was only $225.  And I really want to support this place. Great little hill without the dudebro attitude of most hills.  Super relaxed, they're perfectly OK if I bring in a pack of brats and roast them in the lodge fireplace while having a beer.   

Still, as often as I can get there and as frequently as I use the lift- I figure I'm paying somewhere between $5-$10/ride. 

[RainyDay]

Season ski pass.

Still, as often as I can get there and as frequently as I use the lift- I figure I'm paying somewhere between $5-$10/ride.

$5-10 per ride doesn't sound that bad!  It's been years since I skied, but I know day passes are outrageously expensive now.  As a kid, we would pay $14 for a day pass at a small resort (middle of nowhere NH) but I take it those day passes are now upwards of $100.

[Luke Warm]

2 nights at a holiday inn express: $300. i could've used credit card points but i didn't think about it at the time

[wageslave23]

Weighted blanket.  I had been kicking around the idea of buying one for about a year.  My MIL asked what I wanted for Christmas.  She would buy me something regardless, so I said a weighted blanket.  She bought me a 40 or $50 one that leaked beads.  So she returned it and bought one for about $100.  I tried using it twice, and couldn't get used to it.  Its still on the floor in our bedroom because I don't want her to have to return it and buy me something else that I don't really need or want.  And I don't want to throw it out.  Technically I didn't buy it, but I feel just as wasteful with other people's money.

[MagneticNorth]

Weighted blanket.  I had been kicking around the idea of buying one for about a year.  My MIL asked what I wanted for Christmas.  She would buy me something regardless, so I said a weighted blanket.  She bought me a 40 or $50 one that leaked beads.  So she returned it and bought one for about $100.  I tried using it twice, and couldn't get used to it.  Its still on the floor in our bedroom because I don't want her to have to return it and buy me something else that I don't really need or want.  And I don't want to throw it out.  Technically I didn't buy it, but I feel just as wasteful with other people's money.

It actually took me a little while to get used to my weighted blanket, but now that I can sleep with it, it really does keep me from tossing & turning as much, so I sleep better. The marketing is all about how transformative is from the very first night, and I don't think that's really accurate for most people.

What worked for me (accidentally!) was that I relegated it to the guest-room bed where I sometimes nap during the day. I started napping under it, in the logic that I don't want to sleep too deeply during a nap, and pretty quickly got to like it. Now it's back on the real bed and I no longer feel like I wasted the money :)

I wanted to share, in case you also might just need a little time to adjust, since I had almost exactly the same problem.

[Asalted_Nut]

So last year I got really into growing dahlias, ordered about seven varieties. This year I was up to about 20 varieties ordered (so around $200), and was ready to stop, but then was gifted about $30 with the stipulation to order a few more. Unfortunately, most growers don't offer free shipping until you hit around $75, so I ended up spending another 80-90$. Not sure where I am going to plant all of them!

[GuitarStv]

Stroopwafels.


We've purchased more than 100$ of Stroopwafels this winter and are out again.  I may have to go on a 12 step program.

[Virtus3]

Stroopwafels.


We've purchased more than 100$ of Stroopwafels this winter and are out again.  I may have to go on a 12 step program.

Oh man I love Stroopwafels! I was introduced to them in Amsterdam a few years ago which unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) ruined most store bought varieties for me but I still do occasionally get them.

[American GenX]

Weighted blanket.  I had been kicking around the idea of buying one for about a year.  My MIL asked what I wanted for Christmas.  She would buy me something regardless, so I said a weighted blanket.  She bought me a 40 or $50 one that leaked beads.  So she returned it and bought one for about $100.  I tried using it twice, and couldn't get used to it.  Its still on the floor in our bedroom because I don't want her to have to return it and buy me something else that I don't really need or want.  And I don't want to throw it out.  Technically I didn't buy it, but I feel just as wasteful with other people's money.

It actually took me a little while to get used to my weighted blanket, but now that I can sleep with it, it really does keep me from tossing & turning as much, so I sleep better. The marketing is all about how transformative is from the very first night, and I don't think that's really accurate for most people.

What worked for me (accidentally!) was that I relegated it to the guest-room bed where I sometimes nap during the day. I started napping under it, in the logic that I don't want to sleep too deeply during a nap, and pretty quickly got to like it. Now it's back on the real bed and I no longer feel like I wasted the money :)

I wanted to share, in case you also might just need a little time to adjust, since I had almost exactly the same problem.

I've had mine for over a year.  I made sure to get one that was long enough to cover me completely and proper weight  I felt like I adapted to it quickly, but it didn't keep me from waking up in the middle of the night and having trouble getting back to sleep.  I stopped using it eventually but then decided to give it another try recently.  At least it doesn't seem to hurt.

[American GenX]

I bought a few candy bars over the last couple months.  I can't think of anything else worth mentioning.

[wageslave23]

Weighted blanket.  I had been kicking around the idea of buying one for about a year.  My MIL asked what I wanted for Christmas.  She would buy me something regardless, so I said a weighted blanket.  She bought me a 40 or $50 one that leaked beads.  So she returned it and bought one for about $100.  I tried using it twice, and couldn't get used to it.  Its still on the floor in our bedroom because I don't want her to have to return it and buy me something else that I don't really need or want.  And I don't want to throw it out.  Technically I didn't buy it, but I feel just as wasteful with other people's money.

It actually took me a little while to get used to my weighted blanket, but now that I can sleep with it, it really does keep me from tossing & turning as much, so I sleep better. The marketing is all about how transformative is from the very first night, and I don't think that's really accurate for most people.

What worked for me (accidentally!) was that I relegated it to the guest-room bed where I sometimes nap during the day. I started napping under it, in the logic that I don't want to sleep too deeply during a nap, and pretty quickly got to like it. Now it's back on the real bed and I no longer feel like I wasted the money :)

I wanted to share, in case you also might just need a little time to adjust, since I had almost exactly the same problem.

Thanks. I'm thinking I might do the same, start using it for naps.

[Just Joe]

AM Transmitter. ~$100

Have several antique radios and AM isn't what it once was. Locally we have lots of country music, conservative talk radio, and one oldies channel.

With the transmitter we can listen to anything on the old radios. Fun when entertaining guests b/c we can switch on several old radios around the house and anyone can bluetooth anything to all of them at once.

Sort of "wrong" to listen to say Jimi Hendrix or Meat Loaf on a 1930/40s radio but whatever... ;) 

[GuitarStv]

Sort of "wrong" to listen to say Jimi Hendrix or Meat Loaf on a 1930/40s radio but whatever... ;)

If that's wrong, I don't want to be right.

[habanero]

I impule bought a new down jacket. Was on sale for about 200 bucks vs a sticker price of 400. I already have a down jacket but this was thicker and warmer and more lightweight and came with a compression bag. I think, but don't know, that at some point in the future during some winter it might come in handy and be worth every penny. It violated my principle of letting any purchase linger for a while to feel if I really need it. My size wasn't even available in the color I wanted (orange) so I ended up with a blue one. On the other hand, when it might come in handy noone will see me anyway so guess color doesnt really matter..

[Morning Glory]

A pretty shower curtain with flowers on it. Maybe $15?  So nice to look at that now my son uses my bathroom all the time because his doesn't have flowers.

[Cawl]

Warlord Titan model. I keep laughing because of the absurdity of this two foot tall plastic model being as much as my friends (old, extremely worn out) vehicle.

[cupcakery]

I bought a few Covid tests online about a month ago when everyone was talking about how you have to have them in your house and no one could find them anywhere.  I told DH that I figured that since I planned ahead, we won't need them.  (Murphy's Law)  They are sitting a drawer and I figure I probably wasted my money. 

[wageslave23]

I bought a few Covid tests online about a month ago when everyone was talking about how you have to have them in your house and no one could find them anywhere.  I told DH that I figured that since I planned ahead, we won't need them.  (Murphy's Law)  They are sitting a drawer and I figure I probably wasted my money.

Not to mention they are sending them out for free now.

[cupcakery]

I bought a few Covid tests online about a month ago when everyone was talking about how you have to have them in your house and no one could find them anywhere.  I told DH that I figured that since I planned ahead, we won't need them.  (Murphy's Law)  They are sitting a drawer and I figure I probably wasted my money.

Not to mention they are sending them out for free now.

Exactly.

[Sanitary Stache]

Stroopwafels.


We've purchased more than 100$ of Stroopwafels this winter and are out again.  I may have to go on a 12 step program.

I was out for a ski on Saturday and have a mostly frozen snickers with my coffee.  I bite of snickers, a sip of coffee - it tasted very similar to a stroopwafel.

My stupid purchase was on skis.  First I bought a used pair of skies for DW. They came with a non-functioning discontinued binding that I had to replace.  Then I bought myself a great pair of skis and skins and I broke the binding before I even got my first run down.  I didn't realize my binding was broken, so I fell on the run and also cracked one of my boots.  I am wondering if I can make it through the rest of the season with my broken gear of if I need to spend more $100s on more crappy gear.

[vand]

I actually bought a frickin' latte the other day. Felt dirty.

[Boll weevil]

Toys, trading cards, and patches… I built small collections of these as a kid, and decided to pick them back up and grow them. I’ve been buying toys for a few years now, picked up patches again last summer, and picked up trading cards again a couple months ago.

[jinga nation]

While waiting for a haircut appointment, went to the high end supermarket in the same plaza just to browse (they have a very nice cheese section). Saw a spicy trail mix in the pick-n-fill section. Sat outside and munched. Next 5 days, sore throat. Or maybe it was the Original New York Seltzer that I had with it. Stupid waste of $8. And this was about an hour before dinner time.