24 Dumb Wastes of Money

Tru-TV.com ^ | June 6th, 2011 | unknown

[Daffynition]

For most Americans, the recession hasn't ended. There are plenty of people out of work. The stock market is still a bipolar mess. Uncle Sam is up to his goatee in debt. The nation is pinching pennies to squeak by, and maybe that's a good thing?

Because last decade was a drunken orgy of a spending spree. We bought giant, expensive McMansions on credit in the suburbs because everyone in the family needed two toilets. We would eat out all the time at fancy restaurants that served "tapas," which is Spanish for "very expensive tiny plates of very little food." Americans took up golf by the millions, and that's a sport where you pay out the nose to walk around a park with a bag full of pricey toys.

Then that ended, and here we are. Hungrier, but leaner. Not completely broke, but certainly more frugal. Most Americans don't waste money the way they use to. But there are still some who insist on throwing their moolah at crapola that isn't worth the price tag. Check out our list of dumbest wastes of money! Let us know how you're saving a buck here and there.

[Daffynition]

2. Organic produce

Question: What's the difference between an "organic" head of lettuce and a "conventional" head of lettuce? Answer: About 3 bucks. Organic vegetables are basically vegetable fashion accessories that show you love to brag about how "environmentally-conscious" you are at cocktail parties.

3. The lottery

Stupid people say "you can't win it if you're not in it." Smart people say "you can't win it."

4. Tanning Booths

Wanna spend good money to risk getting skin cancer in a booth, when you can risk getting skin cancer outside for free? Awesome! You're stupid twice.

5. Mail-order meat

Impulse buys are always a waste of money. There is no greater example of this than when a person sees a picture of fancy meat in a catalog and then MUST have that meat. Because, man, that is one pretty photo of some succulent-looking meat. Where is the sense in paying alot of money for meat you get in the mail when you could get fresher, better cuts of meat by tipping your local butcher?

[Unless you're Anthony Weiner.]

Link to 6 - 10.

[BipolarBob]

The stock market is still a bipolar mess.

Somebody's been peeking at my portfolio.

[2banana]

"tapas," which is Spanish for "very expensive tiny plates of very little food."

LOL! So true!

[momtothree]

The only one I sort of disagree with is the expensive bathroom condom. Let’s be adult here: five bucks for a condom or 18 years of child support payments. I did the math... the condom is extremely economical. LOL!

[Vigilantcitizen]

Americans took up golf by the millions, and that's a sport where you pay out the nose to walk around a park with a bag full of pricey toys.

I started out with a $20 used bag of sticks and a $10 par 3 course. 10 years later, I got a nice, new, $250 set of sticks custom fitted and still play cheaper courses during the week after 3pm. $25 greens fees are rare for me.

Golf doesn't have to cost a lot. Now paintball, that is an expensive sport.

[July4]

I earned it honestly, and I'll spend it like I want to.

The government confiscates most of what I make to distribute among those who genuinely need help and to those who don't.

The church no longer wants me, since I have no use for lesbian/gay/cross-dresser priests. In addition, I flatly refuse to fund one more soup kitchen, thus enabling the destructive lifestyle of the homeless.

Don't bother approving or disapproving my purchases. I don't need a nanny.

[Echo4C]

The gym is only a waste of money if you’re rich enough to have your own well-equipped home gym. Sure, if all you do at the gym is jog, you’re wasting your money. But if you lift weights or take exercise classes, the gym is a great resource for getting in shape. And unless you’re physically disabled, you should be lifting weights.

[lysie]

We go to Minor league baseball games when there is a promo. The trick is to not buy any refreshments.

[Jagdgewehr]

Agreed.

[Blood of Tyrants]

Golf is a waste of a good shooting range. But I must admit that I bought (and sold) quite a few nice firearms in the last decade.

[Ellendra]

For those who, like me, drink those fancy coffee drinks because we honestly enjoy the taste:

Iced Almond Mocha:

1 Heaping teaspoon instant coffee
2-4 tablespoons instant chocolate milk mix
3-5 drops of almond extract
1.5-2 cups whole milk (yes, whole milk, it really does make a difference in the flavor)

Mix all ingredients in a glass, add ice, and enjoy.

[sportutegrl]

No. 20 SUVs. You don't need a car that big. You. Just. Don't. Why? Because if you really needed a car that big, you'd have a pickup truck. Once upon a time, it might have been the "cool" thing to drive around in a neutered tank, but is showing off how much credit you have really "cool" anymore?

I need a car that big. I have children and take kids to school, the pool, grocery shopping, shopping shopping, Goodwill, Home Depot, etc., etc., etc. Don't touch my SUV, it's my tool. SUVs do two things well: carry people and stuff. Cars carry people well, but suck at carrying stuff. Trucks carry stuff well, but suck at carrying people. My sportute does both well at the same time and it will be a cold day in he!! before I trade it in for a smartcar.

[Jagdgewehr]

Golf is a waste of a good shooting range.

...or a cow pasture.

[Desdemona]

Well, let's see:

Organic produce - get it from a local farmer and the price drops. Frankly, organic does not have GMOs or herbicides, that makes it a bargin because it doesn't screw around with DNA or effect the gut.

Dogs from a breeder - you know what you are getting, and when you get the runt of the litter or one that does not meet breed standards, but has all the personality, it's not so bad. If they don't meet breed standard they're not supposed to be bred anyway, so it's more or less a rescue. Have two of those.

Live sporting events - some of us go for the embiance. And if you live in a place where the ballpark is on a mass transit line, traffic and parking isn't that much of an issue. Eat before you go and take a water bottle and neither is food or drink.

First class plane tickets - ever take an 8-hour flight in coach?

High end cocktails - it beats the lighter fluid that passes for well drinks.

Amtrak - useful, actually, to avoid the crap at the airport if you're not going all that far.

Outdoor grill stations - does this include in-ground gas grills? Because, when you live someplace that's HOT in the summer, these pay for themselves in reduced energy costs by preventing ovens from heating up the kitchen. And in brick houses that are themselves ovens, it takes a lot of BTUs to cool off the house.

Otherwise, no real arguments.

[Desdemona]

But if you lift weights or take exercise classes, the gym is a great resource for getting in shape. <

Forgot about that. Also, cleaning your house is somewhat aerobic exercise.

[Logic n' Reason]

The trick is to not buy any refreshments.

A minor league ball game without a hot dog and a beer is like getting a text message from little willy weiner without a pic attached!!!

[Ditter]

I'll give up my Tahoe when they pry my......... you know the rest. The others I pretty much agree with especially the organic vegetables. I'll have mine fertilized with nice clean chemical fertilizer instead of poop!

[Blood of Tyrants]

Amtrak: 41 of 45 Amtrack lines LOST money and are supported by the taxpayer to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars per year. If the line cannot support itself, shut it down.

[Blood of Tyrants]

Let’s start a thread on the top ways that state governments are wasting money.

1. Pre-K. A few years ago Gov. Bredesen (D) in Tennessee crowed about his new Pre-K program and how it would improve test scores among poor children. A couple of years ago a study of Pre-K came out and determined that by the 3rd grade there was NO difference between children who went to Pre-K and those who didn’t. So pre-K is nothing more than government paid day care for 4 year olds but does the state legislature kill it? NO! They are too afraid of being called names!

[Blood of Tyrants]

Small to mid size SUV’s suck. They will barely carry two adults and 3 small children (two if you have to use car seats), they don’t get very good mileage, and don’t have enough internal room to carry a very big load.

A minivan will do all that a large SUV can (except pull like a Suburban) and get better fuel economy, too. My wife’s Toyota Sienna gets about 21 mpg around here and 26 on the highway.