What stupid stuff do you waste money on?

[SammyTheDog]

For me it's candles, and clothes in Primark that I'll either never wear, or wear once and chuck in the charity bag. Or getting tipsy on a night out and ordering (and paying for) expensive shots for everyone. I often wonder how much money I'd have for my retirement if I didn't spend so much on crap. Anyone else do this?

Folio Society books. I just love them. Some months I spend all my disposable income on them.

Perfume for me too. I have over forty. And ebooks. But I only get ones now that I would've purchased if it was a real book. I don't go for these cheap offers and they end up rubbish any more.

I play 2 games. On one I buy gems which are useful for various things. On the other you need to collect sticker sets and sometimes I might just need one to finish the set (and get the prize!) So I sometimes pay the £2 odd to get it, rather than wait weeks or not get it at all.

I don’t buy much material things or spend money in salons but I am crap at paying as little as possible for utilities, insurance etc. At the moment I’m paying for internet with two different companies for example just because I can’t figure out how one of them works and I can’t be bothered to get a technician out. Stupid as I don’t even get anything for it.

For those of you saying magazines, I really recommend a Readly subscription. It’s £10 a month & you can read the lot online.

Iced Coffee! All the Coffee, all the time!! 🙈

Council Tax.
I really should kick useless DH out, & get the single person discount.

Lipsticks go off too don't they?

Lego and lol dolls, there was a poster called that but I can't pinch her name. My DD loves playing with lol dolls, I buy them in second hand bundles and sell off the duplicates, I make a profit if I put my mind to it.

Omg so did I. 😂 Which one did you order?

Books and chocolate. Cant buy enough of either but settling down with a much anticipated book and a bar of chocolate (and possibly a coffee) is one of life's great pleasures for me.

I take a big flask of tea into work every day instead of having to faff around with tea rounds and contributing to the milk fund and other annoying office stuff. However, I’m on a seemingly constant search for the perfect thermosflask - so far, I’ve had ones that are too big, too small, too difficult to keep clean (not dishwasher proof) , too unreliable about keeping the tea warm enough. I must have bought 4 or 5 in the past 2 years from Amazon. I need help.

No. Don’t ask for tips. You don’t NEED any more thermosflasks!

                          😂

Doc Martens boots. I have so many, but can't resist buying new ones. I even bought a pair that I already had a pair of, same colour, size and style, as I forgot I had them.

Food. I meal plan but I cook a very wide variety of food and all the little ingredients soon add up. I see people on Mumsnet say they're spending £100 a week on food for a family of 4 but I don't manage that with just me and DP.

Perfume. I love it and like to vary what I'm wearing rather than have a signature scent. It's particularly ridiculous because I have a terrible sense of smell (I have to sniff my wrists to smell perfume at all).

This is going to sound horribly smug, but it’s the truth. I do not waste money on crap.

I grew up very poor, and survived by literally counting the pennies until I was well into my 20s. The thought of waste; of food, of money, of anything, appalls me.

If anything, I have the opposite problem. Even though I am now comfortably off I still really struggle to spend money on non-essentials, particularly on the sort of day-to-day stuff that most people buy without thinking, eg takeaway coffee. Growing up in poverty does that to you.

I was wondering if I might get some good recommendations. Although I think I’ve bought all the flasks out there tbf.

Vinted
Half the time it doesn't fit, or it's knackered.

Plants, bird seed and books. However…they give me pleasure and help make the house our home. I save elsewhere - always take a thermos from home, have never had a takeaway coffee 😬. Also - the books are secondhand. But the birds stare at me until I put more feed out…I do try to resist, but the stares are hard to ignore.

These days I am painfully sensible and don't even waste money on stuff for my son anymore, because everything has got so expensive I just have to say no.

But I have not forgotten the joy I got from buying silly fun gorgeous stuff back when prices were low and I had disposable income and all my money wasn't immediately eaten up by childcare and insanely expensive car insurance and fucking water charges and everything going up and up and up. On some level I hope to get back to the mindless consumerism when I can, because it was fun and I loved it! Lamps, cushions, bags, candles, eyeshadow, perfume, flowers, lovely underwear, clothes because I loved them, not because I needed them...

I still buy books but I don't consider that to be wasteful because I read them all.

Came here to say this! I have found some lovely things on there, but more often than not it isn't quite right. I've given up tbh.

Also, just not being picky enough at point of purchase. So many things I've thought are nice and kept past being able to return...and then realise they aren't that nice / useful after all.

Same with Skincare and make up.

This is going to sound horribly smug, but it’s the truth. I do not waste money on crap.

It doesn't sound smug to me but it sounds a bit sad! Sometimes buying lovely things is fun.

Yarn
Yarn
Yarn

I don’t dare stop. This is what happens if they don’t get fed on time. But they do bring me gifts tbf.

@Polarnight

so you just asked to be a judgemental cow about it? Nasty.

She can have my 2.5 quota as I was unable to have any.