We all make mistakes from time to time when it comes to spending. We might overstep our budgets or give in to impulse purchases. But these are valuable learning opportunities, so long as we actually do better the next time around, not just promise to try our best.
From smoking and subscription services to humongous weddings, the members of the r/AskReddit online community spilled the tea about the worst waste of money they know that some people can’t seem to avoid. Scroll down for their warnings about what you should probably avoid spending your hard-earned cash on.

#1

Huge weddings.

citizen_et:

I know a guy & his wife who took a loan for their wedding, and he had to sell his wedding ring in order to pay back his loan and she still pays her loan on her side.

Image credits: vanwithnotan

#2

Donating Money to influencers/streamers.

JayRam85:

Parasocial relationships are so dumb.
I've seen people regularly pay streamers $50-300, easily.

Image credits: Pineapplefrooddude

#3

As a smoker… Cigarettes are by far the most idiotic addiction I have.

NANNYNEGLEY:

Me, as well. The whole concept is idiotic. Buy something to intentionally set it on fire? Who does that? And if that’s not stupid enough, to then inhale the smoke produced? Who does that? I do, and have for over 60 years. How am I still alive? Guess I’m too stupid to die.

Image credits: bomzzz

If you have a lot of debt, are prone to emotional spending, and spend more than you earn, then you’re not just hurting your and your loved ones’ future. You’re also having a massive negative impact on your physical and mental health. Being exposed to long-term stress is similar to responding to sickness.

UCL researchers recently published a study in the Brain, Behavior, and Immunity journal about how stressful experiences and financial strain were detrimental to the healthy interaction between people’s immune, nervous, and endocrine systems.

When the communication between these systems is disrupted, our health suffers. For example, we become more prone to various illnesses like cardiovascular diseases, depression, and schizophrenia.

#4

There’s a government website that allows anyone to donate to covering the US national debt. People do it. 

Image credits: eaglebob1

#5

Designer and luxury anything.

Ambitious_Equal_1603:

Designer clothes.
You're literally paying a company to become a human billboard for them. Just so you can be associated with wealth and status.
No one will care as much as you do about your brands.

Image credits: abfukson

#6

Brand name baby clothes. Why in the world are you buying your new born a pair of Jordans that he/she’ll outgrow in a few months?

Image credits: trashboattheraccoon

Odessa S. Hamilton, the lead author of the study, said that chronic stress can disrupt the biological exchange between the immune and endocrine systems, leading to disease.

“We found that financial stress was most detrimental to biological health, although more research is needed to establish this for certain. This may be because this form of stress can invade many aspects of our lives, leading to family conflict, social exclusion, and even hunger or homelessness,” Hamilton said.

The people who reported dealing with financial strain, the perception that they might not have enough money for future needs, were 59% more likely to, 4 years later, belong to the high-risk group of people who develop illnesses.

#7

Chiropractors.

Image credits: sideshow9320

#8

Sending money to politicians. What the f**k are you doing.

Image credits: Cyber_Insecurity

#9

Gambling. Especially lotteries.

It’s never “worth” it from a math/odds perspective, but people continue to do it just for that small chance. It’s basically just throwing your money in the trash, and 99.9% of people will never win big. It ends up being a huge amount of wasted money for many people over their life time.

Image credits: WonderfulChild

If you’re feeling a lot of financial pressure, your first step is to create a budget so you can sleep more soundly at night. Slow down. Sit down. And go through your expenses in painstaking detail. To oversimplify a bit, you have two main tools at your disposal to dig your way out of this hole: reducing your expenses and increasing your income.

The latter is fairly straightforward (if not so simple to do in practice): you can look for a higher-paying job, work more hours, pick up a part-time gig, monetize your hobbies, invest, etc.

#10

Bottled water.

Kirjavs:

I lived in a city where the tap water was so healthy that they could legally bottled it. And the city was so bored of people still buying bottled water, that they did bottled the tap water to make them how stupid they acted.
But people kept buying bottled water…

Image credits: flatstacy

#11

I would say many baby toys. You spend a lot of money on flashy, expensive gifts that end up sitting unused, while the child plays all the time with a cheap toy from the dollar store.

It’s a bit of a cliché, but from my experience, kids often prefer the simple things, like a cardboard box. You don’t need to spend a lot of money on toys and games for a 1-3 year old.

Image credits: Jacobyspiritbear

#12

Tipping the cashier when I’m standing in line to place and receive my order. The way they swing that credit card thing around, either you tip or you wonder what they did to your food.

Image credits: Traveler_Protocol1

In the meantime, reducing your expenses inevitably means that you will have to adjust your lifestyle. To be sure, this can be unpleasant. When you’re used to a certain standard of living, it can be painful to imagine making any serious changes. Luckily, human beings are very adaptable.

You can start by eliminating all of the things you spend money on that have literally no benefit. For instance, you might have signed up for some digital subscriptions that you don’t have the time (or desire) to use. You might have a gym subscription, but it’s been months since you went.

#13

The cash people donate to celebrity ministers.

Image credits: Aware_Palpitation820

#14

University degrees with low job demand.

Image credits: Yoisnia

#15

Vapes.

Started out as a way to help quit smoking. Now most people do it because they think it looks cool.

Image credits: jamie9000000

Or you might feel so overwhelmed in life that you try to make yourself feel better and feel like you’re in control by impulsively buying things. This can look different for everyone. Some people buy lots of shoes, bags, or clothes they don’t even have a chance to enjoy. Others might buy video games or books at a discount even though they’re too exhausted to get to them. Still, others splurge on dining out and takeaway (cough avocado toast and lattes cough)—the costs of which quickly add up.

Whatever your weakness might be, it’s important to identify it and be honest about what this is: emotional spending. It makes you feel good for a moment, but it leaves you feeling hollow later on. This does not mean that you shouldn’t enjoy the finer things in life. However, you should be realistic about how much of that enjoyment your budget allows for. Treat yourself… once in a while, not every day.

#16

Reiki, Homeopathy, all the other pseudo-science b******t.

Image credits: itfiend

#17

In app purchases in games.

Image credits: Kaya_Tily

#18

Is Door Dash / Uber Eats / Grub Hub not on this list yet? I can’t believe people are wasting money on this s**t. If you’re disabled or sick or something I get it, but that’s not who is using these services 95% of the time, and people are always complaining about surcharges! No s**t! Go pick up your own damn food!

Image credits: histprofdave

#19

Twitter blue check.

Image credits: ChewbaccaTheRookie

#20

Premium gas unless your car has a high-compression engine.

#21

Subscription services to everything is becoming a massive problem that, despite our protests, are becoming more numerous and people just seem to be coming to accept.

I even fall pray to it for a few things.

Image credits: Onigumo-Shishio

#22

Outrageously over-priced concerts.

Image credits: ToYourCredit

#23

New phone every year.

#24

More more more shoes, clothes, and stuff.
Basically we’re over consuming everything we don’t need and yes I just bought another pair of shoes I don’t need a month ago but wanted ?.

#25

Stanley cups.
I said what I said.

#26

Ultra cheap anything. It’s so far and beyond better to try your best and save up for something of middling quality or higher.

Wether is be work boots, electronics, car parts, never go cheapest. It’s just no worth having to replace them, and it will cost more in the long run.

#27

Any product with excessive vitamin C for health or immunity.

Vitamin C is *barely* involved in those processes, and is stupid easy to get your daily needs met with normal food intake. Those products do absolutely nothing.

#28

Premade burger paddies.
Just get ground meat, season ir to your liking and literally press it with your palms. You'll be paying half for 5x the quality.

#29

Anything Gwyneth Paltrow sells probably.

#30

Insurance for small risks. E.g. extended warranty.

#31

Fabric softener. It ruins clothes, towels, and linen and is more expensive than old school nanna hacks.

Fabric softener is a con perpetrated by Big Wash!

#32

Snapchat + (yes I actually know people that pay for it).

Image credits: Maturegroundhog

#33

Going out to eat every day.

Some people I work with bring in Noah's bagels, or donuts or something nearly every day, then they go out and eat somewhere for lunch every day. Same group talks about the latest cool restaurant they blew $500 on.

Crazy.

#34

Adobe subscription. f**k you adobe.

#35

Honestly, paying thousands of dollars just to keep their old pet alive. Like, I appreciate that they love their pets, but there’s a point where you have to realize they are suffering and you should let go. No point in spending so much money so they can live a few more months.

#36

Home warranty companies.

Complete scam. You pay $75-$100 just to get someone to come out for what most likely would cost you $50 to do yourself. Even if you do have a major appliance or HVAC system repair or replacement, you’re getting the cheapest s**t installed by the lowest bidder.

And for that privilege, you pay them a monthly fee.

Put that monthly fee into a savings account for home maintenance and repairs, and you’ll be far better off.

#37

Premium social media subscriptions.

#38

Expensive Jewelry.

#39

The green powders people buy and mix into their drinks.

Almost anything the Kardashian family sells (especially Kourtney’s snake oil brand, Lemme).

#40

Tithing.

Image credits: TimmyTurner2006

#41

Getting nails and lashes done. My coworkers spend $150+ on nails monthly and $200+ on lash extensions and always complain about not having money.

#42

Tinder gold.

#43

Junk food.

#44

Anything labeled Organic.

#45

Cat toys. My cats seem to prefer empty boxes and the rings off of milk jugs to any expensive toys I bought.

#46

Starbucks.

#47

Some of these might be hot takes.

– Reddit premium
– most VPN's
– YouTube Red / whatever they're calling it now (just use reVanced)
– full coverage car insurance (most situations)
– Grammar correcting services
– meal prep programs
– Amazon Prime (a lot of people don't order enough to make it worth it on a non-family account)
– self help gurus
– any p*rn (OF)
– "fat burner" pills
– pretty much anything made by Chrysler
– every single vehicle oem replacement part manufacturered by Doorman
– most sportsbikes

#48

Alcohol.

#49

Funerals. In any way, shape and form.

#50

New cars.

#51

Based around last year’s audit, the pentagon.

#52

Soft drinks are a big sinkhole. In the grocery store near me they rotate between the 24-pack and 30-pack on special, if it’s not on special it’ll be something stupid like $50 for a 30-pack or $40 for a 24-pack and when they’re on special they cost about $10-15 less. Since I live with my mother and her and my brother love coke I just decided I’m not drinking this s**t anymore and voila the groceries are quite a bit more manageable and now I can buy treats that I usually wouldn’t like brioche buns for burger night :).

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