To ask what the most ridiculous thing you have ever spent money on is?

[AveAtqueVale]

Mostly to make me feel better. I'm currently up and about because I have a hacking cough and can't sleep, and have just spent £6.50 on a baby lego crocodile on eBay.

Backstory: DS(6) has a Lego set which includes a family of crocodiles. Today a friend's toddler was over and took a shine to the baby crocodile, so he gave it to her to take home. He is totally unbothered, and knowing him will remain so, but I've felt sorry for the parent crocodiles all day, and have now spent actual real money to assuage my upset that two small pieces of plastic might be missing a third smaller piece of plastic. I even caught myself (briefly) worrying that the new baby crocodile isn't quite the right shade of green, and that they might know it's not really theirs.

My only defence is that I am quite pregnant and hormonal, and due to aforementioned cough have had very little sleep for the last few days. I'm honestly not usually this batshit...

Has anyone else spent money on anything so completely ridiculous?

Aww OP that is so lovely. I hope your crocodile family will be very happy together.

As soon as I set food in a garden centre I come under the illusion that my garden is 25 acres of south facing slope, with patio, shaded areas, rose and herb gardens etc etc. And I buy accordingly.

Then I get home and have to squeeeeeeze the plants into my 30 metre x 3 metre patch, which is now so crowded with plants that I have to prune just to be able to get the washing line up.

It's beautiful, but.... squashed.

I became obsessed with gardening on my flat balcony, without using pesticides.
a plague of aphids arrived and I researched how to get rid of them. Tried washing up liquid and water, baking powder etc but nothing worked.

i found out you can buy ladybirds online to help eat the aphids. So I spent £12 on about 7 ladybirds who arrived in a box in the post. I put them on the plants and then watched them fly away after a day or so 😂

I spent about £10 on an identical backup of my son's favourite teddy, which originally cost £1.99, just in case.

It's been hidden away for three years now.

My parents did this for me with my beloved Piglet, I never lost him but he’s so battered looking, I had 4 ‘spares’ on a shelf in my room that I wouldn’t play with 🤣

I WANT A CROCODILE FAMILY NOW

I’m sorry @101Nutella but that really made me laugh.

Too many items to mention! However, anything I have bought for my children has always been worthwhile emotionally, even if it has made zero economic sense.
Most ridiculous money spent, in hindsight - alcohol and cigarettes! Your little one's lego crocodile sounds a much better buy.

I was obsessed with footwear when I was younger and owned a ridiculous amount of boots. I listed 6 pairs on eBay. Got the the last few hours and I tried to cancel the bids as I changed my mind and I couldn't do it had to create another eBay account and bid against other people for the right to retain my own boots. Cost me £19 in fees 🤷🏼‍♀️😂.

I was going through a crap time back in 2021 (we'd just lost my darling fil) and was shopping to fill the void he'd left

I bought a perfume that was based on scents Ann boleyn would have had around her

It arrived- a tiny bottle (about the size of my thumbnail) and its rank

It lives in my handbag as a reminder not to waste money on crap (I don't learn)

Dp couldn't stop laughing when he had a sniff

Limited edition Trunki for DS’s first Christmas, including next day delivery. He was 8 months old. I was having a really shit time, living hand to mouth and my loving parents wanted to take us to this amazing all inclusive in the summer. I felt so crap about how rough his start was (dad pissed off when I was 6 months pregnant never to be seen again) that I got it into my head everyone would pity him on holiday so I had to make sure we didn’t look pathetic. It was the height of the Trunki phase but the 1 day I took off work to get it they only ones I could find were totally standard. Ds is now over six feet tall and thr Trunki is sitting on top of the wardrobe filled with baby clothes.

I once looked everywhere for a pink dinosaur for DD when she was 3, found it in The Works of all places and was £6. Worth every penny when I saw her face.

I totally support you in this.

My tents, or as dd calls them my midlife crisis tents. Became slightly obsessed with collecting camping stuff, to make it comfy you know.

Anyway, have ended up with no less than four six tents of various sizes, good quality polycotton 😉. Literally a large shed full of camping accessories including three kitchen setups. Table top fridge & freezer, said it was excessive. Carpets for each tent. Electric cables. Camping stove(s)🙈 Table top electric oven/grill. Chairs (so many chairs), dining table. Camp bed.

In my defence we did camp in France several years but not enough to recoup the cost of the gear. The trailer is still very much used for house projects but France when we are able to go is just too hot for our dog and very prone to fires which freaks me out too much 😔 so we will go back to villas and aircon.

This summer I'm going to be setting up a tent at a time in my garden, fitting in around the weather. Quite looking forward to garden camping 😂 I've told dh I'm selling up as we just aren't using the stuff and its too good to have it all just sitting there in the shed, he's thrilled.

I might keep one tent though, just in case.

I love the baby crocodile @AveAtqueVale brilliant! I would feel than same tbh.

Here’s (one of) mine:
Went to a museum abroad with DD who loved the blue hippo from 2,000 years ago. The museum shop sold a plushie (she loves these) but I said no as it was too much ££.

About four years later, with her continuing to mention it sadly, I ordered it online. The postage cost more than the hippo!

Dd (who is 22 btw) loves it tho.

£50 on a hot wheels car 🥲

Me too! I'm having to give away plants that have outgrown their space....but I take cuttings first and so the cycle continues. I have approximately 60% more plants than I have space.

This is amazing.
I squirt mine off with a Calpol syringe!

My allotment, £1000s over the years, to produce a glut of plums, some potatoes and some flowers....

I'm going to bite the bullet this year and give most of it up as I went up today to find the pigeons had stripped the sprouts. Little fuckers.

I think I speak for a lot of us when I say I would like to see a picture of the crocodile family, please

Done that too

Literally the week my child suddenly decided he loved a different teddy, hasn't given a look at the old one since.

Still worth it 😂

Baby Havana's, sunglasses, beach towel and toiletry bag for my 3 month old baby to go to Cyprus - I have since given my head a wobble ...

DS cuddly cat Fluff disappeared. He remembered this for years, mourned the loss of his beloved companion, insisted we search for him regularly.

Out of desperation we looked for one online to replace him, after a lot of searching we thought we'd found the right one - Ty Classic Maggie. Wrong cat, it was A Ty Classic Carly.

Fluff was eventually found in the attic. Maggie was never accepted as a replacement, but once we found Fluff, Maggie became Fluffy who is Fluff's older brother. £30 wasted.

Totally get you on the crocodile though. I'd have to have replaced it, get me at the wrong time of the month and I'd have been crying my eyes out on the parent crocodiles behalf. I cried when my in laws were going to throw away DH's childhood lion and he mentioned the lion had just been on a shelf in a cupboard for years anyway. All I heard was that Lion had been abandoned and alone for years in the dark. Lion came home with us.

Yep! I did this! Honeysuckle covered in aphids. 15 quid on ladybirds just to watch them fly away!

Someone could set up a good scam with this. Train them as homing ladybirds, sell them, wait for them to come home and sell them again and again and again.
😂🐞