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Bored Panda

Simona Kinderytė

“Months Of Saving”: 50 Times People Instantly Regretted Spending Money

None of us want to see our hard-earned money go to waste. That’s what makes buying things of poor quality and other unnecessary spending so painful. But sometimes you can’t know that you’re spending money on something that is totally not worth it until you see what you got.

After such unsuccessful attempts at shopping, many people let their frustrations online, and today, we’re bringing them all to one bittersweet list – arguably only amusing to those who weren’t the ones paying. If you’re curious to see what people were frustrated about, scroll down to find netizens’ instances of ‘money not so well spent’ on the list below and use this as a reminder – buy cheap, buy twice.

On the list below you will also find Bored Panda’s interview with an expert in personal finance, the co-founder and CEO of ‘Spring Planning’, and the co-author of “Women & Money”, Julia Chung, who was kind enough to answer a few of our questions about saving money.

#1 The Box My Cats New Cat Tree Came In Had Instructions To Turn It Into A Little House, And My Cat Prefers The Box To The Tree

Image credits: Rnin0913

#2 Bought A Fake Snake To Deter Birds. Instead They Used It As A Nest

Image credits: thabiiighomie

#3 I Think The Raccoons My Brother Paid To Get Rid Of Are Back

Image credits: Environmental-Joke35

Have you ever found yourself in the “you have to save money” and “treat yourself” limbo? If you have, you might take comfort in knowing that you are definitely not alone. Arguably especially relevant for young adults, who are trying to create a life for themselves, at the same time trying to actually enjoy living life, such a limbo can feel really draining.

Take something fun, like a concert or traveling, for instance. Both might be quite costly, but on the other hand, you will never be this young again, so what better time is there to enjoy one or the other? (Or both?)

For many, feeling torn between saving money and ‘living life’ results in them looking for middle ground – buying the cheapest concert ticket, for instance, or looking for affordable ways to get from point A to point B. But the former might result in a seat with no visibility whatsoever and the latter – sleeping in airports, neither of which make the two experiences any more enjoyable.

#4 Paid $12 To Go To This “Pumpkin Patch”, Aka A Field With Pumpkins Placed In It

Image credits: _grumpycat1

#5 My Husband Was Very Upset About This Cake. Thoughts?

The baker we ordered it through said it was "no problem" and she's done "many like it". It was $175 plus he tipped her $20. She dropped it off at our house at 6am (she was supposed to bring it around noon-2pm) so in the chaos of her literally waking him from a deep sleep with the doorbell and handing her the tip (he prepaid for the actual cake so he didn't have to handle that), he didn't even think to check it and she didn't offer (probably because she knew it's not what we wanted lol). He stuck it straight in the fridge and didn't even look at it until we were getting ready for my party, and he was heartbroken. We don't usually order cakes like this, we just don't have the money, but he wanted to do something nice for me this year because we've had a lot of crap going on. He was very upset with the final product. Not only was it ugly and not what he wanted, but it tasted awful, it was very bland but also VERY salty. He reached out to her about it, but heard nothing back whatsoever, so he left a review showing the pictures. Her site isn't up anymore, or on Google. ??‍♀️

Image credits: kryskryskrys

Be it traveling, a concert, or anything else, for that matter, it’s important to think long and hard about what it is that you want and if it’s worth spending your money on. In many cases, it is, so you can go ahead and treat yourself; but when it’s not, taking a moment to think about it can really help minimize unnecessary spending.

Discussing unnecessary spending, the personal finance expert Julia Chung pointed out that the things we tend to regret buying are the stuff that isn’t aligned with our values; like visiting a place we didn’t even want to go to or dining in a restaurant with people we don’t like. Thinking things through beforehand might help avoid such situations.

#6 There Aren't Enough Seats In The Lecture Rooms, So I Don't Have A Table Or Seat, Even Though I Pay A Lot Of Money To Study

Image credits: MerelYael

#7 My 7 Year Old Spent Saved-Up Pocket Money On 4 Mystery Box Toys. We Warned Him

Image credits: FloatyFloatyCloud

#8 This Haircut That I Paid $60 For

Image credits: rainstorm22

The expert continued to note that there is no ‘one right way’ to spend your money other than a way that is aligned with your values and your goals for the future.

Just like there is no right way to spend money, there is no one right way to save money, either – while some tips and tricks regarding saving can be helpful to many, what works for one person may not necessarily work for another.

#9 I Paid 16 Euros For This Pizza

Image credits: ercantomac

#10 Poor Man Couldn't See Wtf Was He Suppose To Do

Image credits: ChrisArnoldInc

#11 I Ordered An Iced Tea From A Cafe At My University. When I Complained To The Barista She Told Me “That’s Just How We Do It Here, This Isn’t Starbucks”

Image credits: reddit.com

Discussing advice for those struggling to save money, Julia Chung emphasized that it’s important not to beat yourself up about it. “Sometimes we're struggling to save money because we just don't have enough,” she told Bored Panda. “I've read enough personal finance media, books, texts to know that what people hear all the time is that it's some kind of moral failing on our part if we can't save money. It's not. The first thing to do is to stop beating yourself up.”

#12 I Bought This Pallet Specifically For The “Blue” Middle Shade. Wasted My Money Because I Need It For My Halloween Costume

Image credits: Admirable-Employee-7

#13 Wore These “Waterproof” Hiking Boots For 30 Min In The Rain

I have to walk home now

Image credits: Duper18108

#14 2 Minutes After I Bought My Breakfast And Left It Outside

Image credits: Snagod

“The second piece of advice is to be realistic: Do you actually have enough to save?” Chung continued. “Sometimes you do because you've been spending on things you don't even care about. Sometimes you do because there are changes you've been wanting to make in big places like the cost of your housing and transportation that you just haven't pulled the trigger on.

“It's not coffee or avocado toast that is getting you in financial trouble, by the way. It's larger expenses, whether housing, transportation, holidays, and so on, that really make it tough,” the expert added.

#15 I Need A Pair Of Those For Cleaning The Hair Out Of My Bathtub Drain

Image credits: Jenna_M_Walters

#16 I Spent My Hard Earned Money On A "Smile" Cookie To Brighten My Day. This Is What I See When I Open The Bag When I Get Home

Image credits: DJ_DTM

#17 I Paid $100 For This? I Can Barely See Half The Field

Image credits: LarryWiles33

“Other times, you simply don't have enough,” Chung noted. “You may be in a low-paying job in an expensive part of the world and you are scraping your way up. You might be a single parent just trying to get through each month with enough food in the pantry. Those are really good reasons to not have enough to save. It doesn't mean you never will, but it might mean you don't right now.

“I often tell parents of very young children that if you can save anything during those first 7 or so years, I'm impressed with you. Reduced income, increased housing and childcare and living expenses all combine to make those times in your life really tough.”

#18 To Shoot Some Sweet Archery Video

Image credits: TheTim

#19 This Is The Hot Tub Of The Airbnb Which Was The Main Reason Why I Rented The Spot. Smelled Terrible And Was Obviously Not Cleaned In Forever

Image credits: Forsaken_Storm_6397

#20 My Window Seat On The Plane I Paid Extra For

Image credits: pxbianx

During times when it’s difficult or impossible to save up money, it might be good to try and imagine when such tough times might end, Chung suggests. “Plan for those. What will you do when you get there? Yes, you might increase your lifestyle a bit – that's fair. [But] consider splitting the additional money between improved lifestyle and savings, so that you get to enjoy your life now as well as in the future.”

#21 I Ordered This "Ottoman" For My Wife... Should Have Double Checked The Dimensions

Image credits: Nach_Steel84

#22 Cyber Truck Is Cyber Stuck On Local Santa Cruz Beach

Image credits: reddit.com

#23 The Bacon And The Cheese Were Good And The Bread Was Fine Which Is Why It's A Shame The Egg Is The Size And Flavor Of A Buick

Image credits: la___cuna

#24 I Paid For An Upgraded Lake View

Image credits: thrdroc

#25 Something Tells Me The Salad I Bought Last Night Isn't Safe To Eat

Image credits: reddit.com

#26 Paid $3 For A Chocolate Croissant, Got This

Image credits: awesomedavid0165

#27 My Neighbor Spent A Ton Of Money On A Granite Mailbox Post. They Used An “O” Instead Of A Zero To Make The Street Number. It Annoys Me Every Time I Walk By

Image credits: mollymoose75

#28 The View From My 30€ Ticket

Image credits: Michaluck

#29 I Spent $12 On "Anti Fog" Mirror Film

Image credits: kelleh711

#30 I Had Misplaced My Wedding Ring, Spent Money Buying An Exact Same One; Only To Find The Lost Ring Later At Home

I had misplaced my wedding ring, I didn’t want anyone to find out about the missing ring hence I spent a bunch of money to get an exact same band. Couple months later my mom found the lost ring at home. Now I’ve got two identical wedding rings.

Image credits: mclovinnn12

#31 This Guy

Image credits: General_Management76

#32 Months Of Saving, Travelled Over 5000 Miles And An 11 Hour Flight. Ladies And Gentlemen The Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, CA

Image credits: Gmunns

#33 My Sister Spent Her Own Money For A New TV For My Dad On Christmas Opened It And Turned It On And We See This

Image credits: Toast--over

#34 Looks Like Squid

Image credits: itsjakss

#35 Company I Bought A Sculpture From Claims "Approx. 12cm" Equates To 7cm

I bought this bird sculpture for my dad for Christmas and spent, what for us, is quite a bit of money on it (£90). It's just arrived and there is visible glue around the beak, its legs are so uneven in length it can't stand up, and it's less than a third the advertised size. I contacted the company, TwentyTwenty One, to arrange a return and refund, and whilst that's possible (which is good though still annoying), the person on the company chat tried to convince me that 8cm is approx. 12cm. They even told me that it's actually the height standing up that counys - which if it could, would make it only 7cm. That feels like that's a push, right? Anyway, the interaction with customer service upgraded this from a mildly frustrating moment for me to a mildly infuriating one for me.

Image credits: Romjul

#36 Bought A 3-Pack Of Blank Cassettes And None Of Them Had Any Tape In It

Image credits: eamezey

#37 Bought A $2500 E-Bike Two Weeks Ago. Locked It Up In My Apartment Building's "Secure Storage Room". Walked Downstairs Today To See This Where My Bike Was

Image credits: ChrisBChips

#38 My Mom Bought The Pro Power Save Devices. (Scam)

She called me and told me she had a gift for me. To come over and pick it up. So I did. She excitedly hands me this and tells me how it’s supposed to to save me 100s of dollars on my power bill. Tells me how it cleans my dirty electricity from my appliances and it was developed by ELON MUSK…. Wow!! It’s so amazing I can’t even believe it!! She’s not got dementia or anything but she sure did fall for this one.