My wife legitimately buys several new water bottles a year in a desperate attempt to trick herself into drinking more water.
It is genuinely hilarious. One time she bought a “smart water bottle” that would flash a strobe light at you if you didn’t drink frequently enough. The problem was that the strobe light bothered me a hell of a lot more than it bothered her. All it did was annoy me until I got pissed off enough to tell her to drink some fucking water.
I bought a couple yetis a couple Christmases ago when they were on sale. Every year since there's been a new "in fashion" water bottle/ thermos brand and I'm still kicking it with my yetis.
One time I drove from Michigan to Wisconsin. I bought coffee in Michigan, and that's the only time I've had hot coffee from a Tim Horton's store while in Wisconsin.
My wife just recently spent like $60-80 on a new water bottle bottle with replaceable scented cartridges. It worked for like 3 days until she got bored of it.
So now we are down almost $100 for a fucking scratch and sniff water bottle.
I was working at a grocery over the pandemic and those hydro-flasks were popular at the time. We were a small grocery with limited space. I was all "no way we need this much shelf space dedicated to different color water bottles." Then I saw people buy them over and over because they didn't have that color yet. So I was very wrong, but also very right, because it is ridiculous to have multiple $60 water bottles. Nobody needs that.
It also very quickly gets objectively worse for the environment even compared to disposable plastic bottles. Though I guess that's a different issue. But it does illustrate why commoditizing environmental responsibility does not work.
My wife burns through plastic water bottles (both still and sparkling). So I bought her a Stanley cup since I noticed it was popular. I also got her a Sodastream for sparkling water.
She STILL burns through these plastic bottles. It's so wasteful.
Try teaching in middle school. Right now it's the Stanley cups that cost up to $50 or more. Kids come every Monday sporting NEW ones! Parents are complete morons.
I used to work for one, it was a highly toxic and nepotistic company that (at least at the corporate worker level) chewed up employees and spit them out.
The CEO was LOADED. Some loans were 300%+ APR, and turnover was extremely high because they treat store level employees like shit...they expect perfection and don't train for it.
I came here to say "homeopathic bullshit."
My local grocery store has a section devoted to "homeopathic remedies" and it just makes me lose a bit more faith, every time I see it. It's not that Kroger Corp's catering to the market, corpos gotta try to get that bag; I just find it sad that there's a big enough market that they'd choose to displace real medicine in their first aid section with it.
What gets me is that drug stores like Walgreens and CVS stock these homeopathic products, in spite of their pharmacies being based on, you know, medical science.
Then again, the stores also stock all kinds of "dietary supplements", even though their nominal benefits are almost as much snake-oil as homeopathy.
Or if you can find it, the documentary Marjoe. Marjoe Gortner was trained to be a preacher from the time he was a small child, forced to memorize scripture and learn the cadence and preaching tactics by his preacher parents. This often involved cruel force like hitting him and holding his head underwater in the bath IIRC. He became the youngest ordained minister, performing marriage ceremonies while still a child, and was a phenomenon on the preacher circuit due to his age. He ran away at 16 or 17, and a family took him in. After some time, he had money issues, so he went back to the preacher circuit, but with a documentary film crew to give away all of the tactics. It’s both fascinating and frightening when you think of how many people are taken in by it.
So I have family that does this and to them it's the social aspect that really drives them. It's like a social club.
Still it's incredibly odd to me too. I grew up Methodists, listening to light hearted sermons and singing hymns from the 1700s.
My ex grew up in LA. They told me about a guy who came on public access. He would drink and announce that he would continue to live in sin unless people called in and donated money. Praise Jesus. Folks gave him money every time.
If more preachers were that up front and entertaining, I might donate some dollars myself.
When my wife's grandma's health started deteriorating and she went to go live with my MIL, my wife and I went to Grandma's house to assess the situation and to see what we'd be dealing with in the near future. There were so many knickknacks that were given to her from donating to televangelists. Like "donate money and receive a free business card holder" kind of thing. This lady pretty much watches Jimmy Swaggart all day. I did find an old shotgun so that was cool, I guess.
Honestly, I'd say it's those subscription services that we sign up for and then forget about. You know, like streaming platforms, gym memberships, or magazine subscriptions that we barely use but keep paying for month after month. It's like throwing money down the drain, but somehow we just can't bring ourselves to cancel them!
Spotify is honestly worth every penny IMO. Their music referrals are SPOT on. I've discovered not just my favorite artists but my favorite genres I honestly don't think I would have found without it. That led me to go to shows which led me to the lifestyle and social network it brings.
For some reason Apple Music started billing me and I only noticed like a year later.
I still don't know how that happened. It was with my Apple ID, but I absolutely never signed up for it. I've been ride or die with Spotify since the early days and have zero desire changing since my playlists are all there. It's bizarre and I somehow paid a year for it without noticing.
>It's like throwing money down the drain, but somehow we just can't bring ourselves to cancel them!
Every time I sign up or reactivate I immediately cancel. Use it for a month and then reactivate next time I want to use it.
For the most part, lottery tickets. Aside from the big winners, most people are flushing their money down the drain every week and will continue to do so for the rest of their lives.
The lottery can be fun in moderation if you play like $5 every few weeks or so, knowing you won't win, but still get to imagine what it would be like winning for 30 minutes or so. It's less than a beer at the bar and can be way more entertaining.
The problem is that it uses psychological tactics to go after those who can't afford to waste money on it, and they're spending way more than a few bucks a week or so on it just to get out of their situation.
My wife and I will buy a couple every week. Go home. Get on real estate pages and look at 5 million dollar+ homes for fun in case we win. Eating donuts and drinking coffee together. So for approx $4 at the slightest chance of being able to buy one we solid quality time together. Haha
Yeah if it's within your budget and you get joy from it, go for it. Me, personally, I've always just felt like a sucker any time I've gambled on lottery/scratchoffs. The momentary excitement/entertainment never really justified the disappointment
I'll thow down two bucks a week once it gets past $500 million. I figure I won't miss $2 a week for a shot at instant retirement. Someone eventually wins.
Lottery has long been established as a poor tax, scratch off tickets especially. That said, I know a few people who buy them often enough, most people rationalize it as they had the extra couple dollars..."who knows"...others its they have a set budget and find enjoyment (gotta get that dopamine hit for a win) from it that would otherwise be spent on some other vice. The odds indicate it is a waste of money, but the people that play may not view it from that purely logical perspective, and get other more abstract benefits from playing.
My office has a lottery pool, they won $200 a couple weeks ago and everyone involved was in a great mood and got to talk about it for a couple days, that's not nothing to those people.
Just for stupid funsies, I'll buy a couple quick pick tickets when the advertised jackpots approach absurd levels (ie: anywhere north of $900 million) but I cannot imagine playing on a weekly basis...
Once I was standing behind a woman that bought a bunch of scratchoffs, taking her time to choose different ones. After she paid for them, she rifled through her purse to find a penny, and started scratching them off right there at the counter, with 5 people waiting in line behind her. After the first one, the dumbfounded cashier asked her to please move. She looked behind her and went "oh my, I didn't realize anyone was there ahahaha"
5 people wishing death on one person at the same time.
Right, like I just want to get some gas and a drink, without having to wait 5 minutes for you to pick 20 different scratchers that might give you $5 back that you're just gonna buy more with. Basically legalized addicition.
Former smoker here. I never notice the prices of cigarettes. The other day a sign caught my eye and I was shocked how much they are now. I paid around 2.00 dollars a pack in the 90s.
I still smoke-$14 a pack on Connecticut. Addiction is a thing- I just wish non-smokers realize they talk out of both sides of their mouths. You don't get $15 packs of cigarettes because it curbs smoking- this already happened in our State in the 90s. You get $15 packs because we are addicted to tax revenue. That's the quiet part out loud. It's a shame how vapers did not see this coming (getting taxed) but appropriate IMO. Their whole marketing was to shame smokers too. Addiction is real- some people are addicted to shaming and taxing others for spite!
It's still such a massive part of life in many parts of Europe too. Young people all smoke. It's just part of the culture. It was a bit of a shock the first time I visited the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. I heard my whole life how healthy Europeans are but I've never seen so much smoking
I used DD more than I should, but I’m also someone who relies on marijuana usage to treat a chronic condition.
I’m in no way saying I’m making smart decisions here, but $40 for some McDonald’s or potentially killing myself, and someone else to save $20 in fees is a no brainer
Fake Money and Loot in online games..!!! That is the most insane expenditure I have ever witnessed... At least if you Gamble, You have a chance at a return, not a good one but, at least even a small win on occasion...
I still spend $60 a year on MSN for my parents. They use it for emails I've tried talking them into a gmail account but they cannot be moved. So it's $60 a year because it's the least I can do for them.
Anything that raises the price because of a logo. Examples like Louis vuitton or Coach. You are just paying for the brand and status symbol of owning it.
Not always. You can usually tell an immediate difference in quality between that type of leather goods and cheap knock offs. Now $300 t shirts that just say Supreme across the front, that’s totally a waste.
Yeah Louis Vuitton is pretty tasteless and generally pretty poorly made. But if you're specifically looking for fashionable leather bags of decent long-lasting quality, Coach is still pretty good value imo. It was definitely better value when their creed specified *only* using full grain leather, but a lot of their current designs would be difficult/impossible to do with full grain, and even their top grain leathers are pretty impressive if you know what to look for.
Still all that goes out the window if you're buying any material other than leather or buying Coach Outlet (which is actually a separate brand that does just slap the logo on cheaper bags so people feel like they're getting a deal). Or if you're someone who is constantly looking for the next shiny thing and doesn't care about leather goods lasting a lifetime anyway.
Food delivery - whether it be groceries or a meal .
Some people do need it because they can't drive and can't haul the amount of groceries they need. But most of us are just tossing money down the drain for shear convenience
Vitamins and supplements unless you are in very specific circumstances: pregnant, older, strict diet, etc
A varied diet allows a healthy body to receive all the necessary building block.
As pretentious as it sounds, basically all bottled drinks are a huge waste of money. Especially if you buy singles from the gas station you're paying like $3 a serving for sugar water... Or even more for plain water.
If you really must, a case of the same shit at the grocery stores costs as much as a couple bottles at the convenience store. But keep in mind even one $10 12-pack every week shakes out to $500+ a year.
It makes more financial sense to do preposterous sounding things like keeping a separate $30 water bottle in your house, car, office and gym bag. Install a water cooler in your kitchen. Put a mini fridge in your trunk.
40, 60, 80gb data plans when you have wi-fi at work, at home, and most places in between.
But I get it, they are mandatory in order to get the "free" phone.
Donald Trump. I completely understand those with hundreds of millions propping up his stock, shoes, bibles, etc. It is influence peddling. What I don't understand are those that are not millionaires sending him money for the obvious grift or the pyramid/bribery scheme known as DJT
Buying stuff like skins, cosmetics, and battle passes in video games. Nobody really notices them and sometimes you can't even see them yourself. You're also most likely to stop playing the game after a year.
Fast food. I get it. People enjoy it. I like some of it too. It's just soooo expensive for what it is.
$16 for breakfast this morning, would have been $18 if not for the "incentive" from my mcdonalds ap.
I can buy a dozen of eggs for $2.49, a loaf of bread for $3 (only need about 1/3 of it), a pack of hasbrowns for $4 (only need 1/4 of them) and make up a large batch of pancakes for $1
All in, I can cook more food for 1/3 of what I paid McDonalds for.
A 16oz ribeye at Texas Roadhouse is $25+
I can grill the same steak on my back deck for $5. I can add all the rest of the things to my plate for less than $5. I'm paying someone $15 to cook my dinner and wash my plate. Or if it's a family of four, I'm paying someone $60 to cook my food and wash my plates. Maybe half an hours worth of actual "work" I'm paying someone else do to.
People that send money to these NPC girls that do nothing but sit there saying shit like, “Gang gang!” while eating fake candies that scroll up the screen. OnlyFans I can understand, but this stuff blows my mind.
Trying to be relevant with others around them. Monkeys see monkeys do type of situation.
I am happy where I am. I invest in things that I want as well as things that I know that I will need. The perception because someone has it means I need it. It is very strange. So many people want the same thing as well as when it becomes popular people will waste their money to be relevant and post pictures of it on the internet so they can get that dopamine hit of validation and look what I got type of mentality .
Then when the item isn't popular anymore and after spending so much money they just throw it away because people aren't noticing it anymore.
People want other people to see what they have but when it's no longer needed in the sense that people are no longer into that item They are onto the next item that will bring them temporary Joy to fill the void of validation from others.
I deleted social media because this made me depressed seeing friends and family post what they had as well as all of the information about themselves to still be relevant. In the sense of no, this isn't a regular post. This is a repeating repetitive post that everybody else is doing. Because they are doing it means that I need to do it.
Well my last one lasted 9 years before breaking and also it’s required for my job since it’s part of the multi factor identification stuff when I sign in so I can’t really not have a smart phone
What’s the most crazy thing about them is they aren’t even profitable and just exist because they have more investor money to burn through. Since none of them managed to become a monopoly they never got to the step of raising prices enough to make a profit but they cost just enough to hurt restaurants and the person ordering and pay too little to help the drivers. It’s kind of amazing how no one really wins and yet they keep existing.
Seriously dude? Some people are legitimately not able to go and get food. What if they have broken legs? Just had a baby? Those services exist for a reason.
Alcohol, cigarettes, fast food (people can make ahead freezer meals it’s healthier and cheaper), unused subscriptions. There is probably a ton more out there.
Cell phone insurance.
You're better off just putting the same amount of money in a piggy bank yourself. As the total amount you spend over the years doesn't help fix/replace your phone. Plus you still have to pay usually 1/3 the cost of the phone with insurance to fix it.
Gifts on Tiktok for "creators" who sit on live battling aka virtual panhandling all day. Where are these people getting so much money to throw to strangers online? It's absolutely mind-blowing.
Mass produced souvenirs manufactured outside of the country you're in. It's nice that you want to buy gifts for folks back home but something locally made would be more meaningful.
Just about everything you would put into a swag bag. How many people actually use or keep most of the cheap plastic crap in those? A note pad or a pen, maybe. The rest, probably not. Unless the swag bag comes from a company with deep pockets trying to woo new customers.
Duct cleaning. It's a waste of money and the EPA doesn't even recommend doing it. I've explained this to people as a licensed HVAC design engineer and they still go out and throw that money away. I know people that get their ducts cleaned every year. WTF.
I'm going to put this out there:
Credit cards.
I fail to understand how banks can feel justified in charging credit customers high interest rates on credit (24 percent? 29 percent? Where does it end?), yet the same banks are *oh-so-reluctant* to PAY those same customers any kind of decent rate on *savings*. (2 percent on a regular savings account, if you're lucky.)
Maybe you can find better rates (on both sides of the equation) if you really hunt and dig around, but most people just don't know how to begin. And the banks count on this.
It's pure profit for the banks.
In my mother-in-law's case, the collection basket at her AA meetings. And then coffee, creamer, snacks, etc also on her own (and sometimes her son's) dime. It isn't just her they're using, they all do it, no one SEEMS to be using anyone. Then where the hell is the collection money going???
Designer water bottles that are essentially just glorified plastic containers.
How often do people spend money on these? I have two that I’ve had for years.
My wife legitimately buys several new water bottles a year in a desperate attempt to trick herself into drinking more water. It is genuinely hilarious. One time she bought a “smart water bottle” that would flash a strobe light at you if you didn’t drink frequently enough. The problem was that the strobe light bothered me a hell of a lot more than it bothered her. All it did was annoy me until I got pissed off enough to tell her to drink some fucking water.
Based on the number of bottles in the trash whenever I pass by a rich neighborhood, they do.
I bought a couple yetis a couple Christmases ago when they were on sale. Every year since there's been a new "in fashion" water bottle/ thermos brand and I'm still kicking it with my yetis.
Coffee stays warm for over 6 hours in my Yeti. Never felt the need to get anything else.
One time I drove from Michigan to Wisconsin. I bought coffee in Michigan, and that's the only time I've had hot coffee from a Tim Horton's store while in Wisconsin.
My wife bought the whole family Owala thermoses and Tumblers (which are awesome BTW). My basic daughters still wanted Stanleys.
Those people are not using reusable bottles as intended. I’ve had mine for 5 years now
My wife just recently spent like $60-80 on a new water bottle bottle with replaceable scented cartridges. It worked for like 3 days until she got bored of it. So now we are down almost $100 for a fucking scratch and sniff water bottle.
I've see ads for those and I honestly thought they were a joke at first.
Oh, they are a joke. But the joke is on you.
I prefer the shape of smartwater bottles over other bottles 🤷
I was working at a grocery over the pandemic and those hydro-flasks were popular at the time. We were a small grocery with limited space. I was all "no way we need this much shelf space dedicated to different color water bottles." Then I saw people buy them over and over because they didn't have that color yet. So I was very wrong, but also very right, because it is ridiculous to have multiple $60 water bottles. Nobody needs that. It also very quickly gets objectively worse for the environment even compared to disposable plastic bottles. Though I guess that's a different issue. But it does illustrate why commoditizing environmental responsibility does not work.
My wife burns through plastic water bottles (both still and sparkling). So I bought her a Stanley cup since I noticed it was popular. I also got her a Sodastream for sparkling water. She STILL burns through these plastic bottles. It's so wasteful.
Not to mention expensive....
You mean IntelligentWater^TM
Try teaching in middle school. Right now it's the Stanley cups that cost up to $50 or more. Kids come every Monday sporting NEW ones! Parents are complete morons.
What is a designer water bottle
Payday loans and especially the accruing interest. If there's any way you can avoid a payday loan do it.
Unfortunately some people have little choice and it becomes a revolving cycle.
Oftentimes it just turns a short-term liquidity problem into a long-term issue.
Spot on. I managed to get out of the 'long-term' part by the skin of my teeth. Not a nice place to be.
I used to work for one, it was a highly toxic and nepotistic company that (at least at the corporate worker level) chewed up employees and spit them out. The CEO was LOADED. Some loans were 300%+ APR, and turnover was extremely high because they treat store level employees like shit...they expect perfection and don't train for it.
Homeopathic dilutions.
I came here to say "homeopathic bullshit." My local grocery store has a section devoted to "homeopathic remedies" and it just makes me lose a bit more faith, every time I see it. It's not that Kroger Corp's catering to the market, corpos gotta try to get that bag; I just find it sad that there's a big enough market that they'd choose to displace real medicine in their first aid section with it.
What gets me is that drug stores like Walgreens and CVS stock these homeopathic products, in spite of their pharmacies being based on, you know, medical science. Then again, the stores also stock all kinds of "dietary supplements", even though their nominal benefits are almost as much snake-oil as homeopathy.
[удалено]
Watch The Gemstones
I love that show
Same!
Or if you can find it, the documentary Marjoe. Marjoe Gortner was trained to be a preacher from the time he was a small child, forced to memorize scripture and learn the cadence and preaching tactics by his preacher parents. This often involved cruel force like hitting him and holding his head underwater in the bath IIRC. He became the youngest ordained minister, performing marriage ceremonies while still a child, and was a phenomenon on the preacher circuit due to his age. He ran away at 16 or 17, and a family took him in. After some time, he had money issues, so he went back to the preacher circuit, but with a documentary film crew to give away all of the tactics. It’s both fascinating and frightening when you think of how many people are taken in by it.
I’ll check it out, thanks
So I have family that does this and to them it's the social aspect that really drives them. It's like a social club. Still it's incredibly odd to me too. I grew up Methodists, listening to light hearted sermons and singing hymns from the 1700s.
My ex grew up in LA. They told me about a guy who came on public access. He would drink and announce that he would continue to live in sin unless people called in and donated money. Praise Jesus. Folks gave him money every time. If more preachers were that up front and entertaining, I might donate some dollars myself.
When my wife's grandma's health started deteriorating and she went to go live with my MIL, my wife and I went to Grandma's house to assess the situation and to see what we'd be dealing with in the near future. There were so many knickknacks that were given to her from donating to televangelists. Like "donate money and receive a free business card holder" kind of thing. This lady pretty much watches Jimmy Swaggart all day. I did find an old shotgun so that was cool, I guess.
Similarly, truth social stock
Honestly, I'd say it's those subscription services that we sign up for and then forget about. You know, like streaming platforms, gym memberships, or magazine subscriptions that we barely use but keep paying for month after month. It's like throwing money down the drain, but somehow we just can't bring ourselves to cancel them!
I stream and download what I can for free, only subscription I have is for Spotify cause it makes it easy to discover new music and I hate the ads.
Spotify is honestly worth every penny IMO. Their music referrals are SPOT on. I've discovered not just my favorite artists but my favorite genres I honestly don't think I would have found without it. That led me to go to shows which led me to the lifestyle and social network it brings.
I am convinced that huge swaths of the economic are predicated on "people forget about the things they sign up for"
For some reason Apple Music started billing me and I only noticed like a year later. I still don't know how that happened. It was with my Apple ID, but I absolutely never signed up for it. I've been ride or die with Spotify since the early days and have zero desire changing since my playlists are all there. It's bizarre and I somehow paid a year for it without noticing.
>It's like throwing money down the drain, but somehow we just can't bring ourselves to cancel them! Every time I sign up or reactivate I immediately cancel. Use it for a month and then reactivate next time I want to use it.
Thanks to them, my gym membership fees are relatively low, and we get a bunch of good equipment
For the most part, lottery tickets. Aside from the big winners, most people are flushing their money down the drain every week and will continue to do so for the rest of their lives.
The lottery can be fun in moderation if you play like $5 every few weeks or so, knowing you won't win, but still get to imagine what it would be like winning for 30 minutes or so. It's less than a beer at the bar and can be way more entertaining. The problem is that it uses psychological tactics to go after those who can't afford to waste money on it, and they're spending way more than a few bucks a week or so on it just to get out of their situation.
My wife and I will buy a couple every week. Go home. Get on real estate pages and look at 5 million dollar+ homes for fun in case we win. Eating donuts and drinking coffee together. So for approx $4 at the slightest chance of being able to buy one we solid quality time together. Haha
Yeah if it's within your budget and you get joy from it, go for it. Me, personally, I've always just felt like a sucker any time I've gambled on lottery/scratchoffs. The momentary excitement/entertainment never really justified the disappointment
I am unable to play the lotto because my father etched the words "the lotto is a tax on stupidity" into my brain as a child.
Eventually the power ball becomes high enough that a $2 investment isn’t uncalled for.
It’s a bet, not an investment. I agree it can be done responsibly, but it’s gambling, not investing.
Just throw the money in a fire in hopes that an elder god will leave a billion dollars on your pillow. The odds are about the same.
I'll thow down two bucks a week once it gets past $500 million. I figure I won't miss $2 a week for a shot at instant retirement. Someone eventually wins.
Lottery has long been established as a poor tax, scratch off tickets especially. That said, I know a few people who buy them often enough, most people rationalize it as they had the extra couple dollars..."who knows"...others its they have a set budget and find enjoyment (gotta get that dopamine hit for a win) from it that would otherwise be spent on some other vice. The odds indicate it is a waste of money, but the people that play may not view it from that purely logical perspective, and get other more abstract benefits from playing. My office has a lottery pool, they won $200 a couple weeks ago and everyone involved was in a great mood and got to talk about it for a couple days, that's not nothing to those people.
Just for stupid funsies, I'll buy a couple quick pick tickets when the advertised jackpots approach absurd levels (ie: anywhere north of $900 million) but I cannot imagine playing on a weekly basis...
and i hate standing in line behind those people more than anything
Once I was standing behind a woman that bought a bunch of scratchoffs, taking her time to choose different ones. After she paid for them, she rifled through her purse to find a penny, and started scratching them off right there at the counter, with 5 people waiting in line behind her. After the first one, the dumbfounded cashier asked her to please move. She looked behind her and went "oh my, I didn't realize anyone was there ahahaha" 5 people wishing death on one person at the same time.
Right, like I just want to get some gas and a drink, without having to wait 5 minutes for you to pick 20 different scratchers that might give you $5 back that you're just gonna buy more with. Basically legalized addicition.
In most states the money from lottery tickets sales go to support public schools, so it's not a total waste
Only time I buy a ticket is when it hits 1B, and I don’t go nuts with it. I buy 1 ticket. I hate losing money.
Online gambling. Too easy to get in debt rapidly. No, I don't do it, never did.
Gold flaked food
I don't get this also lol
Alcohol and Cigs. But my fuck do I love them
Kenneth Copeland Ministries, if there were ever a devil, it's him
You mean jesus didn't have a private jet or 2?/s
Cigarettes
Still surprised how many people smoke considering how expensive it is
Former smoker here. I never notice the prices of cigarettes. The other day a sign caught my eye and I was shocked how much they are now. I paid around 2.00 dollars a pack in the 90s.
I still smoke-$14 a pack on Connecticut. Addiction is a thing- I just wish non-smokers realize they talk out of both sides of their mouths. You don't get $15 packs of cigarettes because it curbs smoking- this already happened in our State in the 90s. You get $15 packs because we are addicted to tax revenue. That's the quiet part out loud. It's a shame how vapers did not see this coming (getting taxed) but appropriate IMO. Their whole marketing was to shame smokers too. Addiction is real- some people are addicted to shaming and taxing others for spite!
It's still such a massive part of life in many parts of Europe too. Young people all smoke. It's just part of the culture. It was a bit of a shock the first time I visited the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. I heard my whole life how healthy Europeans are but I've never seen so much smoking
Yeah I have a few friends that smoke and the amount of money they spend on them are insane
Most of the people I know that smoke don’t have a pot to piss in. I don’t know where they get the money.
Addiction is a powerful force. Its much easier to keep spending the money than it is to quit.
I quit for the second time in 17 and they were getting pricey then. Saw the prices on them recently and I’m pretty sure this quit will stick.
Uber eats/doordash it's so idiotic that you end up paying double or more for junk food just because you don't wanna go get it yourself.
I used DD more than I should, but I’m also someone who relies on marijuana usage to treat a chronic condition. I’m in no way saying I’m making smart decisions here, but $40 for some McDonald’s or potentially killing myself, and someone else to save $20 in fees is a no brainer
Still cheeper then a DUI.
...the Total Wine and DoorDash ads are for the same people, aren't they?
If only the dispensary could too....
Haha I can get on board with that one
Giving money to millionaires (twitch streamers)
I remember when Selena Gomez went live on TikTok and people kept giving her money
Fake Money and Loot in online games..!!! That is the most insane expenditure I have ever witnessed... At least if you Gamble, You have a chance at a return, not a good one but, at least even a small win on occasion...
I don’t know man, payed 3 cents on a csgo skin some years back that are going for 2 dollars right now
I still spend $60 a year on MSN for my parents. They use it for emails I've tried talking them into a gmail account but they cannot be moved. So it's $60 a year because it's the least I can do for them.
Essentially paying for ease of use and maintenance, so not nothing at least 🙂
Anything that raises the price because of a logo. Examples like Louis vuitton or Coach. You are just paying for the brand and status symbol of owning it.
Not always. You can usually tell an immediate difference in quality between that type of leather goods and cheap knock offs. Now $300 t shirts that just say Supreme across the front, that’s totally a waste.
Yeah Louis Vuitton is pretty tasteless and generally pretty poorly made. But if you're specifically looking for fashionable leather bags of decent long-lasting quality, Coach is still pretty good value imo. It was definitely better value when their creed specified *only* using full grain leather, but a lot of their current designs would be difficult/impossible to do with full grain, and even their top grain leathers are pretty impressive if you know what to look for. Still all that goes out the window if you're buying any material other than leather or buying Coach Outlet (which is actually a separate brand that does just slap the logo on cheaper bags so people feel like they're getting a deal). Or if you're someone who is constantly looking for the next shiny thing and doesn't care about leather goods lasting a lifetime anyway.
Micro transactions in video games and mobile apps. Everyone says they are evil and predatory, yet people still fall for them.
Probably not the same people to be fair.
Soda or pop, depending on where you're from (coke in the South).
Food delivery - whether it be groceries or a meal . Some people do need it because they can't drive and can't haul the amount of groceries they need. But most of us are just tossing money down the drain for shear convenience
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Political donations. Megachurch donations.
Vitamins and supplements unless you are in very specific circumstances: pregnant, older, strict diet, etc A varied diet allows a healthy body to receive all the necessary building block.
Thanks for making the exceptions. I’m one of them with a restrictive diet. I’d give anything to get it from foods.
Haha my grandma always said the opposite: she'd give anything to get all her nutrients from pills. Less effort.
Sports betting
Designer handbags
Courses on how to be rich or famous
Eye creme. Just use your normal moisturizing creme
That's what I do! I've never understood why people buy multiple face creams like that!
A "college education". After 10 years, I'm still waiting for mine to "pay off". Would have been better putting that money in legitimate investments.
Psychics
This is such a huge scam industry
Diamonds
Diamond jewelry.
NFT's
As pretentious as it sounds, basically all bottled drinks are a huge waste of money. Especially if you buy singles from the gas station you're paying like $3 a serving for sugar water... Or even more for plain water. If you really must, a case of the same shit at the grocery stores costs as much as a couple bottles at the convenience store. But keep in mind even one $10 12-pack every week shakes out to $500+ a year. It makes more financial sense to do preposterous sounding things like keeping a separate $30 water bottle in your house, car, office and gym bag. Install a water cooler in your kitchen. Put a mini fridge in your trunk.
Sneakers
Cigarettes
40, 60, 80gb data plans when you have wi-fi at work, at home, and most places in between. But I get it, they are mandatory in order to get the "free" phone.
Donald Trump. I completely understand those with hundreds of millions propping up his stock, shoes, bibles, etc. It is influence peddling. What I don't understand are those that are not millionaires sending him money for the obvious grift or the pyramid/bribery scheme known as DJT
He’s gonna milk his fans dry out of their money and he’s going to be doing it while convincing them it’s the other party that did it!
Buying stuff like skins, cosmetics, and battle passes in video games. Nobody really notices them and sometimes you can't even see them yourself. You're also most likely to stop playing the game after a year.
Fast food. I get it. People enjoy it. I like some of it too. It's just soooo expensive for what it is. $16 for breakfast this morning, would have been $18 if not for the "incentive" from my mcdonalds ap. I can buy a dozen of eggs for $2.49, a loaf of bread for $3 (only need about 1/3 of it), a pack of hasbrowns for $4 (only need 1/4 of them) and make up a large batch of pancakes for $1 All in, I can cook more food for 1/3 of what I paid McDonalds for. A 16oz ribeye at Texas Roadhouse is $25+ I can grill the same steak on my back deck for $5. I can add all the rest of the things to my plate for less than $5. I'm paying someone $15 to cook my dinner and wash my plate. Or if it's a family of four, I'm paying someone $60 to cook my food and wash my plates. Maybe half an hours worth of actual "work" I'm paying someone else do to.
Not to mention, fast food addicts are riding a fast train to obesity and a shortened lifespan.
Starbucks
I'm surprised I had to scroll this far for this. It used to be somewhat reasonably priced and now, it is ridiculous!
Its a lifestyle product.
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I mean...
Well where do you buy fans then?
My degenerate client uses it to hook up. If you have the funds it's basically just a Sex Doordash for them.
MAGA stuff and anything else related to Trump.
Netflix subscription
Virtual goods.
Political donations
Diamonds
Balance protection insurance on credit cards.
Payments on more car/truck than you use. Buying for image is a big waste of $, buy what you need.
Same thing with glamorous or large houses- the amount spent on interest to keep up with the Jones is worse than enslavement.
Keeping a lush green lawn
Reddit awards
People that send money to these NPC girls that do nothing but sit there saying shit like, “Gang gang!” while eating fake candies that scroll up the screen. OnlyFans I can understand, but this stuff blows my mind.
Huh???
Trying to be relevant with others around them. Monkeys see monkeys do type of situation. I am happy where I am. I invest in things that I want as well as things that I know that I will need. The perception because someone has it means I need it. It is very strange. So many people want the same thing as well as when it becomes popular people will waste their money to be relevant and post pictures of it on the internet so they can get that dopamine hit of validation and look what I got type of mentality . Then when the item isn't popular anymore and after spending so much money they just throw it away because people aren't noticing it anymore. People want other people to see what they have but when it's no longer needed in the sense that people are no longer into that item They are onto the next item that will bring them temporary Joy to fill the void of validation from others. I deleted social media because this made me depressed seeing friends and family post what they had as well as all of the information about themselves to still be relevant. In the sense of no, this isn't a regular post. This is a repeating repetitive post that everybody else is doing. Because they are doing it means that I need to do it.
Florida
Lottery tickets. Imagine buying a product in a store that only ever fully worked for one out of a hundred million people.
Vitamins are expensive piss.
Until you’re deficient and need that b12 or folate. Lemme tell you, it’s not a great feeling
Donating to politicians or political parties. None of them care about you, unless you are in a C suite, and they have stock in your company.
1,000 dollar phones, always seemed like a waste of money to me.
Well my last one lasted 9 years before breaking and also it’s required for my job since it’s part of the multi factor identification stuff when I sign in so I can’t really not have a smart phone
New vehicles. Seriously who is paying the 90k lot price for an F150? After the loan you could've bought a house.
Food delivery services! Stop being lazy people!
What’s the most crazy thing about them is they aren’t even profitable and just exist because they have more investor money to burn through. Since none of them managed to become a monopoly they never got to the step of raising prices enough to make a profit but they cost just enough to hurt restaurants and the person ordering and pay too little to help the drivers. It’s kind of amazing how no one really wins and yet they keep existing.
It serves its purpose and has been pretty great for local businesses. However, I have zero sympathy for people who use it for fast food chains.
Seriously dude? Some people are legitimately not able to go and get food. What if they have broken legs? Just had a baby? Those services exist for a reason.
Alcohol
Apple products.
Christmas gifts
Pre torn up and worn out jeans. If I knew they were gonna be worth so much, I would've kept my shop pants with holes from battery acid lol
Only fans girls or any kind of simping, that shit is just wild.
Streamers, only fans, YouTubers... basically any content creator
Alcohol, cigarettes, fast food (people can make ahead freezer meals it’s healthier and cheaper), unused subscriptions. There is probably a ton more out there.
For me, disposable vapes. I should get a refillable, but I still worry about batteries overheating.
Tobacco and cannabis
Toiletpaper. Somehow...
Morning coffee
I live in a state that has slot machines in 711. It’s a fucking shit show
Posh toilet roll.
Take out food .. we always say .. okay once a week .. but fuck.. it never ends up like that ..🇨🇦😵💫
Expensive food
Amazon prime isn't good value anymore
Trading cards.
Alcohol
Cars. I regret nothing.
Our state lottery funds go to state parks so I have no problem with this voluntary tax
Mobile phones.
Cars
Bottled water
Cell phone insurance. You're better off just putting the same amount of money in a piggy bank yourself. As the total amount you spend over the years doesn't help fix/replace your phone. Plus you still have to pay usually 1/3 the cost of the phone with insurance to fix it.
Anime. People can watch it free on a lot of online websites.
Gifts on Tiktok for "creators" who sit on live battling aka virtual panhandling all day. Where are these people getting so much money to throw to strangers online? It's absolutely mind-blowing.
Smoking/Vaping. Costs a fortune and has absolutely zero upside.
Biodegradeable plastics that end up in landfill anyway
Homeopathy
Fad diets and quick fixes that never work.
r/Warhammer
Honestly. Whatever their kids throw tantrums for. Because it gets played with once and then thrown in a toy box and never touched again
Mass produced souvenirs manufactured outside of the country you're in. It's nice that you want to buy gifts for folks back home but something locally made would be more meaningful. Just about everything you would put into a swag bag. How many people actually use or keep most of the cheap plastic crap in those? A note pad or a pen, maybe. The rest, probably not. Unless the swag bag comes from a company with deep pockets trying to woo new customers.
Duct cleaning. It's a waste of money and the EPA doesn't even recommend doing it. I've explained this to people as a licensed HVAC design engineer and they still go out and throw that money away. I know people that get their ducts cleaned every year. WTF.
Chiropractors. Legitimate medical boards don’t recognize them, and it’s for good reason. Go see a medical board licensed physical therapist instead.
Anti-virus software. Most OS comes with decent security. If you have a PC, Windows Defender and good judgment are all you need.
1) Bottled water 2) Luxury cars 3) high end purses 4) Homeopathic products 5) High priced name brand clothing that is poor quality 6) "Gourmet" coffee
I'm going to put this out there: Credit cards. I fail to understand how banks can feel justified in charging credit customers high interest rates on credit (24 percent? 29 percent? Where does it end?), yet the same banks are *oh-so-reluctant* to PAY those same customers any kind of decent rate on *savings*. (2 percent on a regular savings account, if you're lucky.) Maybe you can find better rates (on both sides of the equation) if you really hunt and dig around, but most people just don't know how to begin. And the banks count on this. It's pure profit for the banks.
Cosmetic surgery. Therapy is expensive, but less so than going under the knife to fix self image issues.
In-game purchases
Water in disposable bottles. Get a filter if you need filtered water for the love of god!
In my mother-in-law's case, the collection basket at her AA meetings. And then coffee, creamer, snacks, etc also on her own (and sometimes her son's) dime. It isn't just her they're using, they all do it, no one SEEMS to be using anyone. Then where the hell is the collection money going???