25 Items People Can’t Believe They Actually Paid For
Whether it’s a trendy gadget, an ill-fated investment, or a spur-of-the-moment buy, these experiences remind us to think twice before opening our wallets. After all, the best things in life often don’t come with a price tag.
Reddit, the internet’s bustling hub of discussion, often brings out the most entertaining, bizarre, and thought-provoking conversations. Recently, a user posed a simple yet intriguing question : “What is the dumbest thing you have ever spent money on?” The responses poured in, revealing a treasure trove of funny, regrettable, and downright puzzling purchases. Here are some of the standout answers.
#1
A pair of Christian Louboutin stilettos that I absolutely could not afford and paid for with my whole credit card limit. I wore them twice. They are INDESCRIBABLY uncomfortable, the soles are paper thin, and the red scrapes off pretty much immediately if you wear them outside. I was young and clearly very stupid.
#2
Cigarettes. I didn’t mind at the time, but having been off them for a decade, it is such a stupid way to spend money in retrospect.
#3
Extra lives on candy crush.
#4
My wedding. We are now divorced so I feel I could have used that money for something more worthwhile. Lesson learned.
#5
$40 on a pair of jeans and belt just to get into a club with my friends never wore them again.
#6
A life-size Danny Devito cardboard cutout. I use him as a seasonal decoration so right now he’s wearing a flower crown. In the winter he become a Christmas tree.
#7
A soup tureen. I thought a married lady who throws dinner parties and fancy brunches (which I was at the time — widowed recluse now) just HAD to have one. I searched for two years to find one that blended with my taste and looked good with my China but not so good that it was all matchy-matchy. Finally found the perfect one, bought it (expensive!) and put it in a cabinet. And NEVER used it, not even once. Turns out I’m too control freaky to serve from a tureen — have to plate the soup so I can get the swirl of sour cream or truffle oil or scattering of minced chives just right.
Kept tureen for a few years then took it to my cousin’s annual yard sale. It didn’t sell.
#8
I got my degree in audio engineering right before everyone stopped buying CDs and the music industry completely changed… So that.
#9
Actually my first cat.
I saw her and fell in love. Knew she had never seen a vet, was way too small and ill.
Regret came after I brought her to the vet.
I was dumb a f … that was expensive. (Cat is healthy now – and I am broke) .
#10
You know that box on your tax form that asks for $1 or $5 for the presidential re-election fund?
I checked it.
Once.
#11
I went for one of these stuffed animals vending machine with a claw. It was a big machine with a lot of empty space but a few animals on the right side. Actually it was so big that it had two payment terminals, two claws, etc. I paid for it using my CC on the left side and went for the controls. Well, guess what, it was not one big vending machine, but two separate machines with a god damn glass window between them, and the one on the left that I was using was completely empty.
The laugh my fiancee and I had was well worth the $1 I wasted. Actually after that I went for the other machine and… Also didn’t manage to get the stuffed animal. But my fiancee tried and got one in her first try!
#12
DLC and pay-to-play on phone games.
#13
A factory sealed copy of the Bibleman PC game.
#14
My ex-wife, of course.
#15
Know that replica frostmourne blizzard and epic weapons made? yeah one of those.
Doesnt even steal souls, what a rip off.
#16
A diet program that cost a fortune. Ended up binging on pizza instead.
#17
A Furby. I actually still got it somewhere, more than 25 years later.
#18
Honestly, fast food. I always crave a specific thing and buy it and then it’s just ok. Why did I spend $20 on a s***y burger and fries? I could have just taken my lazy as home and made better for cheaper.
#19
My Go-Pro camera 10 years ago. Turns out, I don’t live the exciting life I thought I did.
#20
I got given a voucher for a iwantoneofthose.com about 15 years ago, and could find nothing I wanted, so I now “own” a square kilometre of the moon.
#21
Once, just ONCE, I purchased in-game cash with real cash in a videogame.
I felt dirty afterwards. Never again.
#22
I bid on a guitar signed by Metallica through a radio station auction, where the proceeds would go to a charity. This was over the phone (before cell phones were big and everyone still had home phones) and live on the air. Me and one other dumb a*s got into a bidding war for this guitar signed by Metallica. I “won” by making a crazy ending bid of $8000, $1500 more than the last bid. The goal was to be the crazy one, and it worked. The other dude bowed out and I “won” it.
I went down to the radio station to pick it up. No party hats, no “great job!”, no greeters, just me and my shame of paying waaaay too much for a s****y, Chinese made Fender with 4 sigs on it. They gave it to me in an open cardboard box with no COA.
It’s worth about $300 now, probably. Even worse, I played it a few times and wore down one of the sigs. I mean, it’s still there, but you can tell it’s been rubbed off a little.
The only saving grace was that I got to write it off on my taxes and got back like 6K that year or something like that.
So yeah, used a credit card with 12% interest. Luckily I had a good job, so it only took 6 months to pay it off.
Do I win?
#23
I paid upfront for a 4 year gym contract. Price was mind blowing. I went once in 4 years, my own fault.
#24
Drones were such a fad. I bet 90% of people found themselves in a single situtation where they thought “Damn, I wish I had a drone here” bought one and never did again.
#25
A Porsche
Because midlife crisis.
Saumya Ratan
Saumya is an explorer of all things beautiful, quirky, and heartwarming. With her knack for art, design, photography, fun trivia, and internet humor, she takes you on a journey through the lighter side of pop culture.
