Nate
Living frugally and sticking to a budget is the responsible thing to do but sometimes you gotta live a little. It could be something as extravagant as a spendy vacation for your family or as simple as backstage passes to meet your favorite musician but is it a waste of money if you don’t regret it?
After a Reddit user asked, “What was the highest waste of money that you don’t regret?” people responded by sharing purchases that felt irresponsible at the moment but turned out to be worth it.
1. Trip To Maui
A quick 7 day trip to Maui in February a couple of years ago with one of my teenage daughters, who happened to be free the same week I had off. Work was grinding me down and I needed a break.
My wife and the rest of the family couldn’t go, they were working or in school. The tickets were expensive, $850 each for bare-bones economy narrow rock hard seats, it was a 12-hour flight that was packed to the brim – I was getting bedsores by the time we arrived.
We rented snorkeling gear and a car, and spent every day from dawn to dusk snorkeling, sitting on the beaches and hiking in the mountains; we did the Hana road, the Seven Sacred Pools, and the Haleakalā volcano national park at sunset, and took tons of photos. We ate spam musubi for breakfast, poke and somen noodles for lunch, and loco moko for supper. Slept like babies with the windows open wide in the cool nighttime breezes.
The best way to blow $5,000 EVER. So much what I needed at that point in my life.
2. An Actual Living Mule
I spent $300 on a mule. An actual living, 4 hoofed, long-eared mule. We raise cattle, so a protection mule was a good excuse. But, really, I just fell in love with him. He’s huge and sassy. He’ll steal your hat and run away. He’s got a Ninja mode where he can sneak up on you, just to breathe down your neck or startle you. He does keep the coyotes away.
However, he has proved himself priceless because he eats thistle. When we got the lease on the land for our cattle the pastures had been neglected and were in bad shape. Thistle is a spiky plant that spreads across the pasture, choking out grasses. Cows won’t eat it. It’s really hard to get rid of.
To our surprise, the mule cleared out nearly all the thistle in a matter of months. He would eat the flowers out of the center. He saved us an enormous amount of money and labor. We were able to avoid using chemical weed killers, which we really didn’t want to do. Probably the best investment in our whole cattle raising experience.
3. Helicopter Ride
$800 for a front-seat helicopter tour of Kauai for me and my wife! Totally worth it!
4. Art Work
Art work. Can I always afford it, no? But my walls are full of original, 90% local art. They make me happy to look at, I’m sure I made the artist happy too.
5. Cat Litter Box
My Litter Robot.
Yes, I spent $600 on a cat sh*tter, but my house never smells, I don’t have to scoop litter, and I only have to empty the drawer once a week. Definitely worth it to me.
6. Treadmill
I spent too much money on a big treadmill for a very small apartment. But I’ve run 15-25 km on it every week for the past several years and it’s been incredibly helpful both physically and mentally.
7. Towel Heater
$120 for a towel heater. I will never dry off with a cold towel again.
8. Motorcycle
Finally found the motorcycle I wanted years ago but could not get. It was not running, but after around dumping $3,500 into it and doing a full frame-up restoration and custom job on it. I have the bike I wanted years ago, but better. Yes, I did everything myself, full paint job Tank frame fenders everything. I also did a full engine rebuild, remade the wiring harness, everything was all done in-house. So I put a touch over 3K into a bike that is only worth about $1,500. on a good day, but hell it is mine and I built it.
9. Nugget Ice Maker
nugget ice maker. Dang thing cost more than my car payment but, man oh man, I love nugget ice and I use it the heck out of it every day.
10. Michelin Star Ratsurant
Dining at a Michelin starred restaurant in Milan. We had an 18-course meal with wine pairings for like $400 or so.
11. Clothes
I’ve been a fat guy all my life. Like, really fat. Dressing comfortably was always my preference because being stylish just isn’t an option at my size. This was always a source of anxiety at any social event that required dressing up. When I realized I had 4 weddings of close friends all coming up within the year, I decided to bite the bullet and get some decent “formal” clothes. I spent $800 on a suit jacket, $250 on two pairs of dress pants, a little over $300 for 3 shirts and 3 silk ties that were between $70 and $100 each. I stood for all my measurements and had everything tailored to my exact specifications.
Did a fitting and had a second round of alterations on the pants so they actually looked decent, even though I wore them under my gut. People were floored when I showed up at the first wedding. I received so many compliments and actual double-takes. Being introduced to new people felt completely different. I felt impressive. Some of those weddings were the best times of my life and it was due, in no small part, to how those clothes looked and made me feel.
Some of those friends have big pictures from their weddings hanging on their walls, and I don’t cringe in embarrassment when I see myself in them. Those clothes cost more than I had/have ever spent on clothing in any ten-year period, and they were worth every penny.
12. Water Heater
Due to poor insulation and distance from the water heater, my shower is never properly warm in winter. I just bought a single end-point tankless water heater for just my shower. Best hundred and fifty bucks I ever spent. Could I really afford it? No. Did I need it? No. Do I love it? You bet your sweet bippy I do!
13. Kickstarter
I got into a stupid fight with my brother, so I found a game he had pledged on Kickstarter (Space Haven) and saw that for 360 dollars I could write a premade character bio that would randomly show up. So I pledged it and wrote a character bio with his name and made him a flaming a*shole. I have never played this game and don’t want to.
14. Water View
The extra I pay in rent for a water view
Completely worth it
15. Backstreet Boys VIP
I spent $3000 for my wife to meet the backstreet boys and get front-row seats. It is the best thing that has ever happened to her and the smile on her face after the show and look of pure bliss in someone who suffers often from anxiety was worth every cent.
16. Mall Trip
Back in 2017, my family went on a road trip to Minnesota to visit my nana shortly before she passed. During our stay, me and my little sister went to the Mall of America and bought whatever we wanted. Big ice cream cones? Lego store souvenirs? Tickets to the aquarium? Fare for every indoor amusement park ride? A doll from the American Girl Store and eating an expensive lunch in the Store with your new doll sitting at the table with us? I dropped over $300 in that one mall trip but damn was it was one of our best shopping days ever, we still talk about it to this day.
17. Thrift Shop
When my mom was diagnosed with cancer (a year after my dad died unexpectedly…from cancer) I went to the animal aid thrift shop, bought a bunch of odd dishes, put down a drop cloth, and threw them at my house while screaming bloody murder. I don’t regret one second of that temper tantrum or one dime I spent to make it happen. I eventually made a couple of beautiful mosaics out of the pieces. And my mom is 6 months cancer-free.
18. Wheel Of Cheese
The summer after graduating high school, I won a decent amount of money playing online poker. Since I wasn’t going off to college and all of my friends were, I decided to buy them all ridiculous going away gifts. A carpet, mailbox, toilet seat, etc. were among the gifts. The most expensive and ridiculous gift I bought on a whim was a massive wheel of cheese, somewhere between $200-300.
Little did I know at the time, that cheese wheel would set off a yearly event called “Cheesegiving” where our entire (much larger now with spouses and kids) friend group gets together to celebrate and partake in cheesy goodness. This year was our 17th (unfortunately all virtual due to covid) and I genuinely hope it never ends
19. Pilot’s License
Exactly one year ago I got my private pilot license. So much money went into it, and now it costs a lot of money to keep it (by flying). I don’t regret it at all, a very cool feeling to go flying!
– kazador
20. Renaissance Fair
I went to a Renaissance Fair with my husband and some friends. It was his first time, and he’s a pretty introverted person, so while he has fun watching everyone else dress up and act all goofy and old-timey, he doesn’t really participate. When we went to buy our first beer, the wench tried to sell him on one of those big mugs that looks like it’s carved out of wood but it’s just plastic.
It cost $100. Yes, you get free refills, but we were not planning on drinking $100 worth of beer that day. I could tell by the look on his face that he wanted it- he looked like a little kid at Disney World. Without thinking, I whipped out my credit card and dropped $100 on a sh*tty plastic mug.
– PMbleh87