You ever click “buy” on something and immediately feel guilty for it? Then you tell yourself, “Well, it’s not too late. The order hasn’t been processed yet. Surely I can just tell them to cancel it…undo my egregiously irresponsible mistake…”
But then you just stare at the screen, and you realize; you’re not gonna click cancel. You’re buying this thing, dammit. And nobody’s gonna stop you. We’ve all made dumb purchases. Just ask the 18,000 or so people who responded to this question on r/AskReddit by user 3VD:
Here are just a few of the greatest hits from the massive thread that ensued:
1. When the internet was young, sometimes we’d buy CDs over the phone.
I was drunk and bought Monster Ballads off an infomercial.
And I paid an extra $20 for rush delivery, because I was drunk and needed it asap, and it showed up a month later.
– TheDandyWarhol
2. Always be careful when someone is selling you a way to make money.
There was this guy named Don Lapre who sold money making kits. Like how to make money with classified ads.
I think I “invested” about $350 and received literally nothing of value.
I was young(er) and being stupid.
Looked him up tonight to remember how to spell his name. Turns out he killed himself with a razor blade while in jail in 2011.
– fishintheboat
3. I sympathize with this guy’s particularly bad car luck.
When I was 19, I got a construction job that paid fairly well. Stupid me got all hot and horny for a fun car.
I signed up for a 5 year loan after test driving the first one. I ended up having engine failure almost 2 years later.
Because it was a used car and from a shady used car dealer, the warranty was well expired.
I couldn’t afford to get a new engine for it so I ended paying over 3 years for a car that I wasn’t driving.
– corneliusthunderfoot
4. This story is just weird in a way I can’t put my finger on.
This past Christmas Eve I was doing some last minute shopping and came across a wine glass shaped like Buddy from the movie ‘Elf’ which of course also had Will Ferell’s face on it. With everything kinda being out of order with the holiday rush I didn’t know how much it cost, but I bought it on pure impulse because I thought it was funny.
It wasn’t until I left the store and looked at the receipt did I realize that it cost 22 dollars, which is way more than it’s worth.
To remind me of my mistake, I now drink out of that glass exclusively and have been for the past 5 months, I have to wash it like twice a day but I won’t stop using it until I feel like I’ve gotten my 22 dollars worth
– JustSarver
5. Remember: cars are for travel, they are not toys.
Most expensive dumb thing?
A Mercedes 500SEL.
Literally bankrupt myself buying parts and gas for that fucking land yacht. Sold it for half what I paid and felt lucky to be rid of it.
– PM-ME-PO-TA-TOES
6. Everything at an amusement park is a scam.
I spent $40 one of those amusement park booths where you had to throw darts at balloons.
For some reason, I picked out this really ugly 7ft tall frog stuffed animal.
It’s in the corner of my closet and still scares me when I’m half awake in the morning.
– -ariose-
7. Drunken weaponry. What could go wrong?
Got drunk and started ordering Ninja gear off of Amazon and forgot about it until it showed up like a week later.
Swords, nunchucks, a suit and mask.
– CeeArthur
8. You have dishonored your ancestors.
I was just a few weeks out of basic training and bought one of those family lineage with the shields on it and description.
I blew $500 or so bucks just to find out it wasn’t even accurate.
– th3_warth0g
9. This one is from a world we’d all forgotten…
Shamwow. I mean, it’s got “sham” right there in the name.
But I wanted to support Vince from Shamwow’s crusade against Scientology.
– tellincob
10. It’s disheartening how many people answered like this:
Big Wedding…all that money…could’ve helped so many problems we had later….divorced anyway.
– John-Uskglass
11. You can get into trouble if you always try to play it by ear.
I bought a ‘make it yourself’ music box, with a series of cards to punch out the notes and then insert so you can play whatever tune you want.
Thought I could make my GF a special gift, then I realised that I cant read music and when I tried to punch it by ear it sounded bloody awful.
– LifeIsBizarre
12. Delivery fees are gonna getcha.
10$+ delivery fee for a 6-8$ meal
– _M4gician_
13. Some purchases come with lessons that are obvious in retrospect.
I once bought my girlfriend a hat and had her name embroidered on it.
She asked me if I would ever wear a shirt with my name on it.
I would not.
– armen89
14. I need to know more about this person’s life.
This year I paid $60 for a Shrek action figure wearing a Nascar racing suit at a thrift store
– Almost_A_Pear
15. Some purchases are always a bad idea.
I bought a timeshare.
– Dyspaereunia
If I remember my Sunday school right, I think there’s something in the Bible along the lines of “A fool and his money are soon parted.” Or was it partied? Either way, it definitely rings true.
What’s the dumbest thing you’ve ever spent money on?
Tell us in the comments.