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Only a small percentage of people are truly rich and have no need to think about the price tag, if something is a scam or if it’s overpriced. Majority of people are not so they have to be mindful about how they spend their money, but it doesn’t always mean that they are making the right financial decisions.
Of course, it’s fun to splurge from time to time but it is also smart to stop and rethink if the things we are spending money on are really worth it. People on Reddit listed some things that you may consider stopping spending money on after caloriedeficit101 asked, “What in your opinion is the biggest waste of money?”
We would like to hear what other things you would add to this list and if there are any things mentioned here that convinced you to save money on. Also don't forget to upvote the submissions that you agree with the most!
More info: Reddit
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Buying products from the Kardashians. Literally from any celeb.
#2
AimlessCreator said:
Cigarettes
[deleted] replied:
I was never a smoker, but years ago, I worked at a medical office part time. The office manager was a former smoker. Her husband had been on her to quit for years. Finally, he said if she quit, he would take the money she would have spent on cigs (2 pack/day habit), put it in a savings account and take her to Hawaii, which had always been a dream of hers.
Well, it was the motivation she needed. For 2 years, he put that money into an account on her 2 year quit-a-versary, they took a first class trip to Hawaii for two weeks, completely paid for with cigarette money.
She'd been seven years cigarette free when we worked together.
#3
Weddings. A family member will have spent over $60,000 on her wedding that is this summer. They don’t even own a house. And 65%( after gifts from both parents) is credit card debt . If you have the money spend it on what you want but I just find it incredibly narcissistic to get yourself in so much debt because you need your ‘big day’.
Chrissyfox 2 years ago
The sad part is that 41% of all marriages end in divorce. All that money. Wasted.
#4
Name-brand shoes for toddlers and pre-schoolers. They’re not gonna stay clean and they’ll grow out of them faster than you think.
Doctor Strange 2 years ago
Name brand shoes period. An extra hundred or two so it says 'Nike' or whatever is a waste. The shoe quality is just the same, and sometimes better, on my twenty dollar shoes.
#5
TheShoot141 said:
Gold flake covered food
buttgers replied:
Looks tacky.
Has no nutritional value.
No enhanced flavor.
It's one of those "because you can" status symbols, but it's a stupid one.
Vix Spiderthrust 2 years ago
I think I read somewhere that gold, being a heavy metal, can't actually be purified from your system. So this is merely a very expensive way of poisoning yourself.
#6
Invading a neighboring/foreign country. As we are seeing right now Russia is doing a marvelous job of creating so many financial problems for itself and its people in the very near future. Like monday near future.
#7
Primary_Asparagus_58 said:
Buying new electronics every year just because it’s a new model.
shak_0508 replied:
I genuinely can’t fathom why people upgrade their phones on a yearly basis. 99% of what you do with the phone stays the same.
Luke Branwen 2 years ago
Signed, my seven-years-old phone with 2GB RAM who takes 6-8 business days to do anything xD
#9
The medical industry. Not the actual providers, all those middlemen, managers, CEOs, and companies (with all their shareholders).
#10
Daydreamer631 said:
From what little I understand of it I’m going to say NFTs
DanF*****gSchneider replied:
At least with crypto, when you lose big all you do is lose your house. When you lose big with NFTs, you lose your house, and also “own” a picture of a monkey forever to remind you that you’re financially incompetent.
#11
Diamonds because of all the artificial scarcity, I was told if anything buy precious stones. That’s why if you look at royalty they always have rare or precious stones.
#12
Not having money. Stick with me here:
When you need shoes, you buy cheap and they don’t last
Fast food is convenient and cheap, but not good
You end up renting and can’t build equity.
Being financially unwell is a waste of money.
#13
Often out of season fruits (like strawberries in the winter) are really expensive and taste like water
#14
hikeoff said:
Starbucks
TLMoore93 replied:
One week I decided to try Starbucks instead of Costa for my weekend coffee treat and I will never make that mistake again in my life
Poppy 2 years ago
Starbucks coffee tastes burned plus they use tax avoidance loopholes in the UK to avoid paying any tax so I boycott them. Whilst I prefer to use independent coffee shops it's not always possible and Costa is much better than Starbucks, plus it's UK owned and operated and pays tax like it should.
#16
looneythalostkidd666 said:
The lottery
wastelandtraveller replied:
objectively yes, but I still enjoy buying a ticket so I can entertain the idea of waking up rich as f***
#17
All the food delivery services. It’s obscene how much more expensive it makes a meal.
#18
Funerals: nothing better to honor a loved one with than personal bankruptcy
MotherofGuineaPigs 2 years ago
My husband passed late spring 2021 and he said he took care of everything. He left his body to science. What I didn't know was when they are done with the study they get cremated and returned to you $0. He came home last week.
#19
IsThisNameTakenThen said:
Gambling
PseudonymIncognito replied:
This. There's a limit to how much a person can spend on a drug addiction without killing themselves. A gambling addiction can destroy multigenerational wealth if it gets out of control.
S Mi 2 years ago
Also most substance addicts *know* the addiction isn't actually solving anything. It makes them feel a little more okay and their brain tells them it's fine. Gambling adds another layer. Technically, it's possible (however unlikely) that Gambling could fix money problems. Even harder for some brains to ignore that possibility.
#20
unused gym memberships
subscriptions to services I rarely (if ever) use
insurance, when as soon as you make a claim, your premium increases
Adam Belaire 2 years ago
I saw one suggestion many years ago that you pay X amount for the gym (let's say $500) then every time you go, you get credit back. Say you get $5 every time you go, you'd eventually get the whole fee reimbursed and it would motivate you to go to the gym. Would love to see something like that instituted.
#21
[deleted] said:
Kids.
mascottaricotta replied:
As an adult now I think back of all the money that my mother did end up wasting for me up until I moved out, and I feel terrible because she never had a lot. Kids and teenagers are constantly growing and figuring out who they are and what they like. There is a lot of trial and error, and as a parent frequently you're gonna pay for things that don't get used. Toys that don't get played with, clothes the kid wears once or twice, hobbies that get abandoned, etc.. it's part of life I guess. My mum did an amazing job not letting me worry about finances when I was a kid. I wish I could repay her
#22
Air pods and upgrading phones every time a new one comes out
#23
Name brand items. Doesn’t matter what it is, if it’s name brand it’s a ripoff. I’m not paying $500 for a tshirt with an ironed on Gucci logo, when I can get the same shirt for $5 at target. And it probably cost 50 cents for them to make.
#24
WatchY0urStep said:
Video game skins.
12odriguez replied:
But I shoot better with a nice gun skin. Rude.
Well-Dressed Wolf 2 years ago (edited)
Watched my ex spend $60 on a “season pass” for a first-person shooter game. Said “season pass” could be bought for cheaper, but the $60 came with 3 special weapon skins you couldn’t get anywhere else!!! …game sucked, was full of bugs and glitches, company ended up shítting the bed and the servers were ghost towns a few months later, and the company stopped running the servers shortly after that. Ex basically got like an week of actual playable gametime in before the servers went poot. Sooo worth it to buy those weapon skins :p
#25
Voss water, it’s too expensive and just drink tap water if you can
#26
megabestfriend:
Reddit gold
edit: just because it’s a waste of money doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate it
megabestfriend said:
Been using reddit for a very long time, no idea what gold or coins actually do. Or why anybody would care about the sub you get access too.
Catflap_Boi replied:
I leave a comment and then I'm gone, I only find out someone's given me something years later when I eventually check my messages.
#27
ThatMeasurement3411 said:
Ridiculously expensive skin care
Burrito_Loyalist replied:
My wife is a makeup artist. She says the expensive stuff is much better because of the better ingredients.
The cheap stuff at Target is literally packed with ingredients that are harmful to your skin.
RoanTheMad 2 years ago
Normally I laugh at people who "swear by essential oils" but I had a cold the other day, and because I didn't have any vicks, I used mint essential oil leftover from mixing up my own hand gel, added it to a bowl of hot steaming water, shoved the towel over my head and just steamed my face , it got rid of my fuzzy head, stuffy nose AND my skin actually has felt great ever since. I haven't used my face cream in a few days and it still feels soft. (and I suffer badly with dry skin o.o)
#29
Paying to have nitrogen put in your tires. It’s a total scam!
Bored Panda 2 years ago
"It's a total scam!" if you don't understand science. I wouldn 't pay much for it, but nitrogen does make a difference in your tires. Nitrogen-filled tires rarely need to be topped up - even for many many thousands of miles, whereas regular "air" filled tires should be checked regularly (I'll bet you don't do that, do you?!). If I understand the science correctly, nitrogen molecules are simply larger and permeate tires far less than the molecules in regular "air". Don't knock it if you simply don't understand it!
#30
Excellentbees said:
Cable.
JMS1991 replied:
It's not a waste if you watch a lot of sports. Most sports are still not on streaming services, and the illegal streams are usually pretty hit-or-miss as far as picture quality, and the possibility of them getting shut down in the middle of your game and needing to find another stream.
There are non-traditional cable options, like YouTube TV, Sling, etc, but those are still basically cable. They're just over the internet and with more transparent pricing.
What do you think ?
PattyK 2 years ago
I agree with both weddings and funerals. Both are giant rip-offs. Jessica Mitford’s “The American Way of Death” is stll true after all these years; the funeral industry takes mourners to the cleaners.
Joseph Teopaco 2 years ago (edited)
My coworker pays for YouTube premium and yes I made fun of him for that
PattyK 2 years ago
I agree with both weddings and funerals. Both are giant rip-offs. Jessica Mitford’s “The American Way of Death” is stll true after all these years; the funeral industry takes mourners to the cleaners.
Joseph Teopaco 2 years ago (edited)
My coworker pays for YouTube premium and yes I made fun of him for that
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