"I Wish I had the Money I Spent on [BLANK]"

[catherine]

I found a little trick I'm using to try to minimize expenses that don't reflect my values or where I want my life energy to go. I'm at that stage where I've seen a number of foolish purchases go under the bridge and while I consider myself fairly frugal in that I have no interest in vanity purchases like designer bags, jewelry, expensive clothes, etc, I certainly can say I've wasted a LOT of money.

I'm also at that age at which, even though I still am earning well and hope to for the next few years, I can see over the mountaintop when I'll be forced to rely on whatever money I've saved or the government will give me.

So this is what I've been doing as a little test whenever I am tempted to buy something: Say I am tempted to buy a Kate Spade wallet on sale. (I'm not--this is just an example). I imagine myself retired. Then I imagine myself thinking "I wish I had the money I spent on that Kate Spade wallet." If I can imagine myself thinking that, while I'm standing in the store, or browsing on Amazon, I don't go any further with tinkering with the idea of that purchase. For some reason it really helps me clarify my values.

I would tell you what things I've bought over the years that I wish I had the money for today, but it would be a long boring list.

Are there any things that you once bought that you wish you had the money for today?

[ToomuchStuff]

Are there any things that you once bought that you wish you had the money for today?

Yes, I don't know anyone who really doesn't have those feelings. Often it is with "collectibles". (currently have a neighbor that was trying to sell some thinking he was going to get big money, only to find out probably less then he paid)

The rocking chair approach is an old idea to life, that one has to be mature enough to understand.

[Ultralight]

...on my second master's degree. haha

No, I am only half kidding.

[razz]

Definitely!!
Let me see - a piano course that did not meet my need, some picture frames that I was going to fill with my new paintings, a parcel of land later sold at cost rather than investing the money, an unforgettable knit pant suit in the colour pumpkin that fought with my rosy complexion but the price was so amazing ...
I don't think that one can pass through life without making poor choices at times as that is how one learns what not to do.
Cute thread!

[BikingLady]

About 29 of the 30 homes...............

[BikingLady]

But really not in the last many years (other than homes) we have followed the: will it make me happy, does it bring value to my life and do it need it approach and that has been the biggest factor.

[ApatheticNoMore]

Really big money wasters? Therapy. I think I wish I had that money back. Sometimes, I'm tempted to try it again, it makes lots of promises, but ugh, it's mostly actually been a waste of money.

Small money wasters, oh too many to name, some books that end up sucking, a shirt that shrinks in the first wash, plenty of food that doesn't get prepared and rots in the fridge, a product sold with a dishonest description that I didn't send back. I am sure there are others I have forgotten.

[Ultralight]

Really big money wasters? Therapy. I think I wish I had that money back. Sometimes, I'm tempted to try it again, it makes lots of promises, but ugh, it's mostly actually been a waste of money.

I try to think of it more like a "rent-a-friend" business than something that will actually solve any of my problems. For about $15 an hour, once a week (or less), I can rent a friend to talk to. That is all therapy is to me.

[Yppej]

Bad relationship costs including co-signing a loan for my husband at the time. It was such a bad vehicle that no bank would do the loan but dummy us went to a savings and loan. Bam! Next year the S&L crisis hit the country because they really would loan any amount to anyone for anything.

[rosarugosa]

Well 38 years worth of cigarettes would top the list without a doubt. But clothes might be second on the list because I've spent thousands and thousands of dollars over the years and most of them eventually made their way to the Salvation Army.
This thread did help keep me from buying a nice denim shirt at Talbot's today that I absolutely do not need. Future retired me gave the purchase a thumbs down. :)

[pinkytoe]

I wish I had the money I spent on my house before I sold it last fall. The couple who bought it apparently feigned a strong interest in loving it and now are selling it six months later to make a tidy profit. I fixed things thinking they would stay and love the house and now I wished I hadn't bothered - new hot water heater, new doors etc.

[Lainey]

A tree that cost about $400 to buy and have planted in my front yard last year. It died and now I'm left with a pile of dead branches. Oh well, I know landscaping is not guaranteed, but darn.
But typically I've been pretty common sense with my money over the long haul, so no big regrets.

[freshstart]

Now that I am disabled, I really think about past mistakes. Buying a Prius and then having it totaled after two years, that was initially a somewhat decent purchase as I got paid to drive all day, but after I totaled it, I realized how many cars got close to that MPG for much cheaper. With the insurance check, I bought an Accent with no bells and whistles and have been perfectly happy. I should've saved 10k and bought that in the first place. Now that I rarely drive, the Prius would've been an even more expensive mistake.

my worst financial mistake was marrying my husband. He has been happy to go to court over extremely minor, stupid things at least once a year since we divorced in '04. Because he has a balls to the wall lawyer, I need representation to respond. We're in the last stretch negotiating college and when we are done, I am going to ask my lawyer for the amount I spent on her since separating in '02. I want to know the amount even though it will make me ill. I shoulda married a decent guy, woulda, shoulda, coulda.

[catherine]

Now that I am disabled, I really think about past mistakes. Buying a Prius and then having it totaled after two years, that was initially a somewhat decent purchase as I got paid to drive all day, but after I totaled it, I realized how many cars got close to that MPG for much cheaper. With the insurance check, I bought an Accent with no bells and whistles and have been perfectly happy. I should've saved 10k and bought that in the first place. Now that I rarely drive, the Prius would've been an even more expensive mistake.

my worst financial mistake was marrying my husband. He has been happy to go to court over extremely minor, stupid things at least once a year since we divorced in '04. Because he has a balls to the wall lawyer, I need representation to respond. We're in the last stretch negotiating college and when we are done, I am going to ask my lawyer for the amount I spent on her since separating in '02. I want to know the amount even though it will make me ill. I shoulda married a decent guy, woulda, shoulda, coulda.

Hey, freshstart! I missed you!

Yeah, divorce is very expensive. I think one of the criteria in The Millionaire Next Door is to stay married if you want to be a millionaire.

[Yppej]

Freshstart this is why I will never get married again. Two men have asked me since I got divorced and I turned them both down.

[freshstart]

I don't think I will ever marry again, co-habitate-yes, but few financial entanglements

[rosarugosa]

Glad you are back, Freshstart!

[herbgeek]

Glad you are back, Freshstart!

I second that. I've missed your wry humor.

[Tybee]

Hey, Freshstart, so glad you are back!

[LDAHL]

There are many solid philosophical principles that accountants can use to inform and enlighten one's life. One is that sunk costs are irrelevant to present consideration.

You can read all about it in my upcoming book: The Unaudited Life is not Worth Living: Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and Man's Search for Meaning.

[Williamsmith]

There hasn't been one dime spent that I would want back. However, I do regret not buying a certain vintage blonde Fender Telecaster with hard shell case for sale in a local mall in Pittsburgh more than 30 years ago. She could have made me very happy and I think of her all the time. When I bring the subject up my wife reminds me that during that same period we used to go to a certain phone booth where the change return box often malfunctioned and spit out just enough dimes to buy a slice of pizza. What is more important though....eating or dreaming?

[razz]

I had to look up what a Fender Telecaster was. The prices are amazing - $10,000 to $40,000. What makes them so special?

[freshstart]

Thanks, happy to be back

[Williamsmith]

I had to look up what a Fender Telecaster was. The prices are amazing - $10,000 to $40,000. What makes them so special?

Please don't judge me after I say this. Guitars are like women. Not everybody has the same taste in them but a majority will tell you that a Fender Telecaster of say the '50s and 60s is better than most in the same way the majority of kids had a Farrah Faucett poster on their bedroom wall and not Ruth Buzzi.

They are valuable because there are so few of them to go around and everybody wants one. All the Bruce Springsteins, Keith Richards, Merle Haggards and Vince Gills have bought them up at outrageous prices. Actually, there are really good ones and real lousy ones in every era......just like ....well women. You have to hold them, spend time with them and see if you get along with them and see if they speak to you. Buying one online is sort of like mail ordering a bride. It insults the object of your affections and cheapens the whole relationship. Probably more than you wanted to know and plenty enough to get me in trouble with feminists.

[razz]

Please don't judge me after I say this. Guitars are like women. Not everybody has the same taste in them but a majority will tell you that a Fender Telecaster of say the '50s and 60s is better than most in the same way the majority of kids had a Farrah Faucett poster on their bedroom wall and not Ruth Buzzi.

They are valuable because there are so few of them to go around and everybody wants one. All the Bruce Springsteins, Keith Richards, Merle Haggards and Vince Gills have bought them up at outrageous prices. Actually, there are really good ones and real lousy ones in every era......just like ....well women. You have to hold them, spend time with them and see if you get along with them and see if they speak to you. Buying one online is sort of like mail ordering a bride. It insults the object of your affections and cheapens the whole relationship. Probably more than you wanted to know and plenty enough to get me in trouble with feminists.

:D Actually, I can relate to this quite well but using the guy scenario from the feminist perspective. I have some male friends who are an absolute delight and treasured for their warmth, understanding and affection while some guys seem brittle and know-it-all. It takes some time to sort out which is which. WS, you explained it well. When I listen to classical music, some clarinets and violins are so mellow and smooth, you truly treasure the sound.

[Gardenarian]

The money I've spent on physical therapists and chiropractors and other health professionals that did no good at all.
I kind of feel like - "you didn't help me, you didn't even figure out what the problem was, so what exactly am I paying you for?