There was a sub about how to budget food/living expenses. And the ideas that people had were ridiculous and required you to be financially well off enough to facilitate their idea of what saving money is. I don't think I received advice from anyone who knew what it was like to be poor, or actually truly need to responsibly budget their funds.

One guy wanted me to plant a garden to grow some carrots or other veg. I explained that I have a small apartment, and that carrots are a dollar for a big bag. He actually got uppity with me and became a total shithead when I explained that I live in a small apartment in the middle of the biggest city in canada. There is no benefit to turning half my apartment into a garden so I can grow five bucks worth of veggies in a few month's span. I can't just go outside and plant vegetables. It's also cold here 9 months out of the year.

I got berated out of the sub after pointing this kind of s**t out numerous times.

anon Report

POST

View more comments

Bottled water. It's marketed to appear that it's healthier and cleaner than tap water, plus the plastic bottles are not sustainable. Just buy yourself a thermos or reusable water bottle and stop buying overpriced plastic with over-glorified tap water included.

anon , RODNAE Productions Report

POST

View more comments

Cheap batteries. They don't last, they don't work well, and many of them are duds. When I was in high school, I always, always listened to my discman. One day the batteries died so I walked up to the gas station and chose between the Duracell batteries and the bronze-colored batteries. I bough the cheaper no-names and they died before the day was over. And I had to go through social studies without music.
I learned two things that day; WWI history, and not to buy cheap batteries.

lazarus870 , Ian Report

POST

View more comments

"Rent is throwing money down the drain"

Owning a home is not always smart. It can be, but not always. It's not just the house cost, but costs in taxes, interest, insurance, repairs and maintenance, etc.

Then there's opportunity costs. I know folks who can't move until they sell, and can't take better jobs cuz they can't move. A house can be a big anchor in some contexts.

Illah , Pixabay Report

POST

View more comments

Cheap, single ply toilet paper. You end up having to use way more just to get the same effect of the good stuff.

anon Report

POST

View more comments

Aggressive lane changing while driving.

All that accellerating to get into the "better" lane just wastes fuel, and you save a negligible amount of time.

There was a small TV documentary here in Australia I remember watching that did tests on it. They sent two drivers across Sydney in rush hour traffic: one who would change lanes only when it was absolutely necessary (obstructions, turnoffs, etc), and one who was super aggressive changing all the time.

The aggressive driver got to the destination 2 minutes earlier, though with *80% more fuel consumption than the other driver*.

custron Report

POST

View more comments

I once watched a show about extreme penny pinchers. One episode depicted a man who spent about 3 hours a day riding his bicycle or walking around looking for dropped change around pay phones, gum ball dispensers, etc. The whole time I couldn't help but think that even a minimum-wage job would yield him more capital for his time, especially once you factor in bicycle tubes and shoes.

In general, people of this nature fail to realize that the benefits of having money is its positive influence on your quality of life. When your quality of life suffers in order to save money, you've completely reversed your priorities to a mind-boggling level.

black_spring , Oleksandr Pidvalnyi Report

POST

View more comments

All construction.............do you want it done cheap? or do you want it done right?

firephoxx , Pixabay Report

POST

View more comments

Not going to the doctor/dentist!

Wellness checkups are important. Your prognosis will always be better if something is caught early on.

castrator_gator , Andrea Piacquadio Report

POST

View more comments

Surprised I haven't seen this yet; using third party hotel booking sites. The sites guarantee you a room and a price but not the type of room you requested. Calling the hotel directly will not only guarantee the room you want but often they beat the price of the websites. On my last trip a particular site favored by an Enterprise captain quoted $129 a night, when I called the hotel they gave me $79 a night.

lurch350z Report

POST

View more comments

Doing the dishes by hand vs. using a dishwasher. The dishwasher requires a lot less water, time and energy.

mabimbo , cottonbro Report

POST

View more comments

When it comes to tools, buy nice or cry twice.

SkinnyMac , Anete Lusina Report

POST

View more comments

I saw a popular comment here a couple weeks ago talking about reusing those little handwarmer packet things by slicing them open and adding more magnesium flakes obtained by shaving down sparklers.

For f**k's sake, just buy some new handwarmers.

Planet-man , Technology Connections Report

POST

View more comments

I knew a fellow who owned one of the most expensive houses in town, but was too cheap to run his swimming pool filter except when he was actually swimming. With virtually no filtration, the water would get thick with debris and algae. He would then by stuff to kill the algae, but then he would have water full of dead algae. And the crud would stiff on the pool bottom, making it very hard to clean off. He spent way more on chemicals than he would have spent on electricity. The owner of this cement pond was a retired rocket scientist.

rylos Report

POST

View more comments

Cheap condoms

pmk422 Report

POST

View more comments

i went to greggs, a well known bakery in the UK. I bought a sandwhich and a drink. as i went to pay, the guy offered me the meal deal. "a sandwhich a drink and crips (chips) for only £1.99. a sandwhich and a drink was £1.59. the sandwhich was £1 and the drink was 59p. by themselves, crisps (chips) were 20p but as part of the meal deal they were 40p. this means that the SPECIAL MEAL DEAL OFFER was more expensive than buying each item individually. CLEVER F*CK***

anon Report

POST

View more comments

Heating and air-conditioning. Being uncomfortable, irritable, and unproductive isn't worth the few hundred dollars you save by lowering the heat or not turning on the AC.

jondonbovi Report

POST

View more comments

In many cases, buying a name-brand product with a coupon is *still* more expensive than buying the store-brand.

Or, buying something just because it's on sale, but not necessarily because you need it.

dogandcatinlove Report

POST

View more comments

Mobile phone contracts with a free iPhone etc.

You think you're getting a good deal with a free phone but with 35 pounds a month contact for 2 years, they really screw you.

faixa_rua Report

POST

View more comments

Buying heavily used cars, sometimes. There are exceptions, but all of my friends who religiously buy the cheapest car they can find are always having trouble. Very expensive trouble, that sometimes adds up to close to the cost of a new car, or at least a better maintained used car.

Sqyud , Andrea Piacquadio Report

POST

View more comments

Travel and times: A lot of people take the cheapest flight they can find, but to me, saving 50 bucks on a $500 ticket isn't worth a 7am flight or a red eye.

ironoctopus , Alan Levine Report

POST

View more comments

"Buying that rent-to-own laptop Consumer Reports checked out is equivalent to paying 311% interest, which is far worse than the 30% interest rate you see on crummy credit cards.

laterdude , Djordje Petrovic Report

POST

View more comments

Buying a big cheap house far from your common destinations.
You will pay with time, petrol, housework, sleep, your relationships, and/or career
Instead:
1.Buy or rent a small house with a 10-30 minute commute.
2. Let happiness ensue.

TomasTTEngin Report

POST

View more comments

Home brewing beer.

It's a wonderful hobby and I highly recommend it, but don't think you're going to save money.

squeegee_boy Report

POST

View more comments

Extended warranty

You think you are saving cash on the off chance the product you bought doesn't hold on and you need repairs, but I don't know anybody who has ever been happy about this choice

On the opposite end of the spectrum, car insurance for rental cars. My father and his colleagues used to travel the world and rent cars for several weeks at a time. It would only take one car accident in all those years of renting cars to justify the cost. Many of these rentals were for off-road use. The rookies thought to save cash passing on the insurance and would eventually shell out thousands on repair

f_ranz1224 Report

POST

View more comments

Cloth diapers. You still have to buy special (expensive) detergent, and run so many loads in the washing machine. I worked it out when we started cloth diapering 3+ years ago, and it cost the same as if we just did disposable diapers.
Plus all the TIME put into washing/drying/assembling.
I like cloth diapering, I do recommend it, but I hate when it gets lauded as a cheap alternative.

(Edit: Yes, really, you do have to use specially formulated detergent. You don't? That's cool. Your diapers are getting build up of both ammonia and detergent. Good luck with that smell and the leaks, and that is coming from experience.
Also, nowhere did I mention the upfront cost of the diapers themselves. When I talk about price, I'm talking about water and electricity bills.)

yampuffs , Brittany Report

POST

View more comments

Being cheap with anything you’re going to use a lot or over a long time. Better to spend $180 on a single frying pan that will last 10+ years than buy a $40 frying pan each and every year because they c**p out so easily no matter how careful you are with them. This metaphor, of course, fits the bill for almost any frying pan that is non-stick or costs less that $100 to begin with.

rekabis , RODNAE Productions Report

POST

View more comments

Leasing a car instead of buying one. I'm not gonna get into the specifics but it's pretty much always more costly

nuzz5555 Report

POST

View more comments

Justifying the purchase of anything solely because it's a "good deal." I hear this misconception all the time.

If you spend $100 on shoes, even if you bought it at 99% off, you're still out $100. You haven't saved a penny, and that'll be a real problem if you needed that $100 to pay your utility bills.

Edit: clarity and $10,000 shoes.

http://www.luxist.com/2010/02/26/louis-vuitton-offers-10-000-alligator-wingtips/

OneJD Report

POST

View more comments

Professional home repair services. Real companies have insurance, you can sue if things go wrong. Some handyman that someone knows is likely going to do something that violates a warranty, will be judgement proof, and won't get a permit.

black_flag_4ever Report

POST

View more comments

People with flex fuel vehicles buying E85 instead of gasoline. The reduced mileage you get out of E85 eats up any saving you get at the pump.

el_monstruo , Dimka Nevedimka Report

POST

View more comments

I know people that skip going to the doctor until the last minute to save the office visit payments. It's a terrible idea since by the time they get there the simple cold turns into pneumonia and costs much more to heal.

NextArtemis Report

POST

View more comments

Not paying off your mortgage to save the tax breaks...

While it is nice to save taxes, the long term financial benefits are astronomical when you free up a mortgage payment.

mra101485 Report

POST

View more comments

Dining Plans at college. I literally could go out to eat for every meal for the price of them. And I often did. I saved a ton of money because I don't eat that much/snack more often .

anon Report

POST

View more comments

Supermarket specials.

Next time you go shopping, grab a calculator and work out the cost per 100 grams (or whatever equivalent weight) and you'll almost invariably find that the products with the big 'Sale!' signs are not the cheapest.

Of course it's impractical to do this with every item so you can of course estimate, or shop at a store that all ready has the cost per 100 grams of the price tag like I do.

IAMZEUSALMIGHTY Report

POST

View more comments

Shaving with a straight razor. It's a larger down-payment to start into it (simple but nice razor, strop, and brush cost me about $100), but I recouped that in less than a year just by not buying more cartridges. In theory, a razor will last pretty much forever, for free.

Here's the problem, though. I nicked my blade and had to repair it, so I bought about $80 worth of reworking stuff (much less than I could have spent). Then I bought a fancy 1930's blade and restored it. Then I bought a better brush, and a better stop, and a better shave mug, etc.

I started because it appealed to my practical side. Then it quickly became a ritualistic money hole.

GoblinJuicer Report

POST

View more comments

A $5 pair of sneakers is not a deal, no matter what your wallet says.

Maybe consider them if you only need shoes for another month...

Ucantalas Report

POST

View more comments

Where I work, we do price adjustments on products that have gone on sale since the customer purchased them. Most of the time, the refund isn't worth the amount of time, energy, and gas the customer uses driving to the store.

wedlaylikedogs Report

POST

View more comments

Steam sales. You think all these games are a great deal, but you end up playing very few of them and proceed to buy new games you would buy anyways. Remember, you didn't save $7.50, you spent $2.50.

Pokemon_Rusty , steam Report

POST

View more comments

Stopping at Costco for just one thing because its cheaper than the grocery store. Sure I save 3 dollars on the initial item that I went in to get, but the bill at the till always seems to average 400 bucks.

The_Devil_Memnoch , Mike Mozart Report

POST

View more comments

Cheap legal services.
A good lawyer that takes 3hrs at $300 an hour will do a much better job far cheaper than a shitty lawyer that takes 5hrs at $200 to do the same job.
This is partly why good lawyers are so expensive - because they're cheaper.

ChannelVendetta , Karolina Grabowska Report

POST

View more comments

People overinflate the hell out of their tires to get better gas mileage, then have to spend much more to get new tires when they wear out far sooner.

dsjunior1388 Report

POST

View more comments

Rewards points. You are paying for them.

ihaveseenthefnords , Karolina Grabowska Report

POST

View more comments

Restaurant specials. It's rarely cheaper and it's typically food that is about to go bad and needs to be sold instead of thrown out.

Clintman Report

POST

View more comments