How Much $$$ Do You Think You've "Wasted" In Your Life? (2015, years)
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I am the same with cars. They are transportation to me. I am driving a 2010 Corolla with 153K miles on it. I bought it used in 2012 after the Sandy storm took out a bridge over water on my train line, and I had to drive to work. Then I started traveling to Canada regularly, and hey, the thing is good on gas.
Recently I was invited to the home of my S.O.'s sister for a cooking activity, and she said "if you need a ride, it can be arranged". Made me scratch my head--why would I need a ride to her home half an hour away? Then I realized that since they are well off and drive late-model big SUVs, she was probably questioning the integrity of my poor old Toyota. Lol.
I want to hit 200k before I buy another vehicle, just because. But I can afford one.
By the way, I once calculated that quitting smoking bought me that car. So earlier in life, I wasted money smoking what could have been better cars!
I used to work for a very wealthy CEO. He drove a Lexus that was in nice shape but it was 18+ yrs old. Lived in a 10mm house, had a 3mm jet.............yet had a $5000 car?!?!
He wanted to drive it 200K miles then replace it! Guy could talk airplanes for hours, cars he simply could care less.
I am the same with cars. They are transportation to me. I am driving a 2010 Corolla with 153K miles on it. I bought it used in 2012 after the Sandy storm took out a bridge over water on my train line, and I had to drive to work. Then I started traveling to Canada regularly, and hey, the thing is good on gas.
Recently I was invited to the home of my S.O.'s sister for a cooking activity, and she said "if you need a ride, it can be arranged". Made me scratch my head--why would I need a ride to her home half an hour away? Then I realized that since they are well off and drive late-model big SUVs, she was probably questioning the integrity of my poor old Toyota. Lol.
I want to hit 200k before I buy another vehicle, just because. But I can afford one.
By the way, I once calculated that quitting smoking bought me that car. So earlier in life, I wasted money smoking what could have been better cars!
I'm that way with cars. It's just a car. I've had Toyotas and went through three Saturns. I loved all the Saturns--they never needed repair as long as you got the SL2 engine. Sometimes the exhaust system was a problem but otherwise I loved those cars and they were made in USA. Great gas mileage. I always had a standard transmission too, which I enjoyed.
My ex always had to have a show off car so he had a BMW that was usually in the shop for repairs. It was a terrible car for winter too.
I've probably wasted money on books. They were well worth it at the time--books on antiques, art, history, beautifully illustrated children's books, cookbooks, gardening. They're mostly worth nothing now but I enjoyed them at the time.
When I think of wasting money, I think of buying things just to show off, buying things that you end up never using, throwing money away by gambling, smoking. Maybe drinking isn't wasteful if you have a good time. Sometimes having fun costs money and it's not wasteful.
If you had to take a wild guess, how much money do you think you might have wasted over the course of your lifetime?
I'll go first: A LOT, such as:
* Stuff I bought by mistake
* Stuff I bought and didn't use
* Groceries thrown out after going bad
* Bad restaurant meals that you couldn't eat
* Dentist upcharges for work you really didn't want or need
* Books that haven't been read
* Pet supplies never used
* Essentials for relatives that went to waste or were not utilized properly
* Bad plays and live music venues that you didn't enjoy
* Paying "experts" for negligible or bad advice
* Not renewing CDs at best rates (letting them roll over into paltry rates)
* Gifts for people that weren't used (probably donated or sold)
* Tax write-offs that weren't taken out of ignorance of yourself or tax advisor
* Money lost on pyramid scheme (young and had no idea what they were - back in 1970's)
* Working for less than market value
* Buying crap of one kind or another
* Useless collections (dolls, whatever)
* Not shopping for best deals on just about anything (airline tickets, etc.)
* Paying for other people's living expenses (rental deposits, rent, clothes, toiletries, etc.)
* "Special" coffee drinks
* Beauty supplies, creams, lotions that are still in your medicine cabinets
* Supplements that you have to throw out because they've expired
* Canned and boxed foods that you have to recycle because they've expired
* Single use water bottles, half used
* Late fees accrued when you could have paid on time, but forgot
* Cable TV fee that is outrageous but you don't know how to get same services for less
etc., etc.
Everyone's list will be different. Some won't have much of a list, some will have more big ticket items that were not necessary and you have regrets about.
I always approached things in this way: If I felt I spent too much money on things, I found ways to earn more money. It always seemed to work better for me than budgeting or belt tightening. Of course, being self employed it was more of an option for me than for some.
If you had to take a wild guess, how much money do you think you might have wasted over the course of your lifetime?
I'll go first: A LOT, such as:
* Stuff I bought by mistake
* Stuff I bought and didn't use
* Groceries thrown out after going bad
* Bad restaurant meals that you couldn't eat
* Dentist upcharges for work you really didn't want or need
* Books that haven't been read
* Pet supplies never used
* Essentials for relatives that went to waste or were not utilized properly
* Bad plays and live music venues that you didn't enjoy
* Paying "experts" for negligible or bad advice
* Not renewing CDs at best rates (letting them roll over into paltry rates)
* Gifts for people that weren't used (probably donated or sold)
* Tax write-offs that weren't taken out of ignorance of yourself or tax advisor
* Money lost on pyramid scheme (young and had no idea what they were - back in 1970's)
* Working for less than market value
* Buying crap of one kind or another
* Useless collections (dolls, whatever)
* Not shopping for best deals on just about anything (airline tickets, etc.)
* Paying for other people's living expenses (rental deposits, rent, clothes, toiletries, etc.)
* "Special" coffee drinks
* Beauty supplies, creams, lotions that are still in your medicine cabinets
* Supplements that you have to throw out because they've expired
* Canned and boxed foods that you have to recycle because they've expired
* Single use water bottles, half used
* Late fees accrued when you could have paid on time, but forgot
* Cable TV fee that is outrageous but you don't know how to get same services for less
etc., etc.
Everyone's list will be different. Some won't have much of a list, some will have more big ticket items that were not necessary and you have regrets about.
That one line kind of sums it up ...
But you must be a guy, otherwise clothes with the tags still on them would be on that list...
I am the same with cars. They are transportation to me. I am driving a 2010 Corolla with 153K miles on it. ...
Complete opposite here! Generally I also drive economical cars, but that's from a fervent desire to save money, rather than because somehow cars are mere appliances. In contrast, I absolutely adore powerful and responsive cars. If there were a passion that I could genuinely indulge, it would be insanely powerful machines... dragsters spewing flames from open exhaust headers.
On the other hand, travel, commodious dwelling, even good healthcare,... [expletive] it!
I think cars have hidden "costs" that few take into consideration. I drove a diesel truck for 8 years, paid 42K for the truck and proceeded to put $37,000 in fuel in it to drive it those 8 years! So had I kept it just another year or two and I'd pay more for the fuel than I did for the whole truck! Add maintenance, tires, insurance and suddenly the car gets expensive!
It would all pale compared to the money I spent on drugs in the 70s and 80s.
good point.
or the staggering amount of money many (most?) people spend on alcohol
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