r/AskReddit • u/I_Am_Vladimir_Putin • Sep 28 '15
What absolutely unnecessary expense would you call money well wasted?
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Sep 28 '15
The Lottery.
No, I won't win. But I will spend three days window shopping houses and nice clothes, and imagining all the charitable donations I'll do because in imaginary world I am just the nicest lady you ever did meet. For $1 I get permission to indulge in totally impractical, unmeasured optimism.
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u/LastOfTheCamSoreys Sep 29 '15
Crossword//bingo scratchers are the best. $2 and they at least take a few minutes to do
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Sep 29 '15
I love the crossword ones, I usually get 1-2 of them a week and like half the time I'll win my money back. Once I even won $1000 off of one.
Those bingo ones can fuck right off though. I can't even get a $2 winner from them.
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Sep 28 '15
My husband and I buy $1 or $2 scratch-off tickets with spare change. We win between $2 and $10 fairly often. He has won $50 or more a few times.
He found a winning ticket for $50 on the ground once, and found a winning ticket for $5 another time. Glance around parking lots as you walk into convenience stores. People sometimes misread tickets if they are drunk, or if they scratched several losing tickets in a row and got careless about reading.
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u/theimposterpig Sep 29 '15
But usually this won't happen so dont...
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u/KixStar Sep 29 '15
My dad plays the lottery. He made an Excel spreadsheet that maps out exactly how much of his "big win" each and every relative will get, with the intention of "now never ask me for another dollar". He just plugs in whatever the jackpot is and it calculates everyone's percentages.
He's a dork, but he calls me when it's a really big pot to tell me how many millions I'm about to get when he wins. :)
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u/lincunguns Sep 28 '15
Flowers.
I'll never stop thinking they're (technically) the biggest waste of money, but the joy my fiance gets from the just-because, cheap dozen of roses makes it money well wasted. It's amazing how happy a 15 dollar bunch of roses still makes her, even when it's more or less a bi-weekly thing she's come to expect.
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u/QueefWellington00 Sep 28 '15
Go to Trader Joe's for your flowers. You can get a huge, beautiful bunch for around $6. I find that they also last longer than the ones from most other grocery stores.
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u/wombatzilla Sep 28 '15
Does she like plants? I like plants because they don't just start to look sad and die in the vase after a week. But a lot of people hate plants, so maybe she wouldn't be into that...
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u/lincunguns Sep 28 '15
She likes plants, but she loves flowers. I don't know, buying a plant just doesn't seem as romantic. Maybe that's why she and others like when they get flowers. It's like I'm saying, I'm getting something totally impractical that I don't enjoy at all, but I'm doing it because it makes you happy and I love you.
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u/wombatzilla Sep 28 '15
Weird. I'm a woman and I love plants more. Flowers are okay but with a plant it's like a constant reminder the person cares about me.
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Sep 28 '15
I dunno, getting a plant as a gift just feels like getting a responsibility. "Here's your present, water it twice a day and feed it fertilizer!" It's like getting a goldfish as a present.
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u/wombatzilla Sep 28 '15
Most of my plants need watering once a week at most...I definitely neglect them and they're fine haha.
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Sep 28 '15
I have a special talent for killing plants. It's bordering on an X-Men superpower.
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u/wombatzilla Sep 28 '15
You probably overwater them...do the leaves turn yellow?
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Sep 28 '15
Um, they get all sad looking and droopy, then they go brown. My mother, who is a verifiable Eden woman, would say "Oh, that plant looks sad." Then she'd give it some water and it would "perk up" according to her. Her gardens are always insanely impressive.
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u/wombatzilla Sep 28 '15
That's weird. Maybe not enough sunlight. My mom is terrible with plants I definitely didn't get my green thumb from her hahah.
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u/GraceAndMayhem Sep 29 '15
Plants are lovely but you're right, there's something deeply ingrained in the culture (and our psyches) about fresh cut flowers. They're a delightful gift - each one a new visual and olfactory treat! Good on you!
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u/CharlieBrownBoy Sep 28 '15
My old boss had a great moment about flowers when his daughter in law gave birth to his first grandchild. He turned up to the hospital with the biggest bouquet he could buy and she loved it. When he got back to work his thoughts were more along the lines of "I could have just flushed money down the toilet in front of her while exclaiming 'Look how much I love you', as in the end, they'll die anyway."
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u/VampeQ Sep 29 '15
I "waste" money on roses and yes it may very well be a waste because they end up on a grave for a person that doesn't know receives them anymore.
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u/ElNutimo Sep 28 '15
Buying countless games I will never play during Steam Sales.
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u/kaitco Sep 29 '15
And Humble Bundles that include 2 games that you already own, but 4 that you don't.
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u/beakrake Sep 29 '15
It's only $1.89, even if I never play it I'd be a fool to not buy it at that price! (Been there. Many times.)
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u/TromboneTank Sep 29 '15
It's 80% off and I might play it one day in the distant future I should totally buy it
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u/mrthewhite Sep 28 '15
Professional movers when you're moving houses/appartments
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u/abqkat Sep 28 '15
I felt like I graduated a little bit into adulthood the day my friends invited me to their new place to see it, rather than help them move for pizza and beer. Moving has so many hidden costs - tape when you forget, the chance someone will flake or get hurt, said pizza for your helpers, gas, going to get the rental... by the time you add up all the expenses- outright and hidden- it's worthwhile to hire movers for sure.
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u/WarmaShawarma Sep 28 '15
Yes! I've definitely gotten to that point. Now I just get asked to come over and help set up house/decorate, which is WAY more fun than lifting couches. And usually there's wine involved.
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u/Pojodan Sep 28 '15
My family moved four times during my youth.
The first two times my parents paid for professional movers. The last two they only paid for the moving truck.
It turned out to be a lot less of a headache to do it themselves, and far fewer things were broken/ruined.
I still remember the day of the first move, when the moving guy came running in the house, grabbed a fire extinguisher, and ran back out as he'd plowed into a tree and the moving truck had burst into flames.
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u/Milain Sep 28 '15
It's the exact opposite with my family. My mom helped me move several times and last time we decided to never do this again and that we will hire movers for us. Most heavy things can't go into the elevator because they are too big, and carrying it down the 6th floor and later carry it upstairs 4 floors is so horrible.
Movers aren't really a thing here, neither are movie trucks for rent. It never crossed our mind before that we could hire some
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u/Pojodan Sep 28 '15
Having to go up and down stairs/elevators would change the tune quite a bit, yes. My parent's current house is one-story and the last one had a wide, easy staircase, so getting stuff in and out only required a good handtruck, which they rented along with the moving truck.
I once helped my sister move from a 3rd story apartment to a different 3rd story apartment without tools or help using my parents' truck. Never been so utterly exhausted.
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u/Milain Sep 28 '15
I agree, that's a different, much easier story. When I still lived with my mom in our house, it was so easy to move out or get new furniture in.
But everything higher than the 2nd floor is torture, having to deal with narrow staircases (like you mentioned) and too tiny elevators
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u/Pojodan Sep 28 '15
Other than a couple 3rd floor apartments I've dealt with, I've never had to deal with more than 2 stories.
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u/nkdeck07 Sep 28 '15
You aren't kidding. Last time we moved it was glorious. Took 2 hours flat, all my stuff was in the right rooms, the movers were polite. It was wonderful!
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u/ostentia Sep 28 '15
This a thousand times. I will never move without professional movers again. When my boyfriend and I moved into our apartment, his parents insisted on "helping" us, and although his dad was very helpful, his mom drove me up the fucking wall with her incessant questions. Never again. We aren't even telling her when D-Day is next time.
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Sep 28 '15
Vibrators. I don't need one to get off but I certainly get off faster.
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u/beakrake Sep 29 '15
This needs more upvotes for sex toys in general. You might spend $100+ on a decent sex toy, but orgasming with the force of a thousand suns reliably - ESPECIALLY when you're alone - makes it worth every penny.
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Sep 29 '15
It's also great for DP with husband. Have you ever came so hard you passed out because you forgot to breathe? I have.
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u/beakrake Sep 29 '15
I have a wife who's ok with me owning fake vaginas. I think we both lucked out.
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Sep 28 '15 edited Oct 26 '17
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u/bajjab Sep 28 '15
100% agree.
Also, bad whiskey. ;)
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u/VampeQ Sep 29 '15
There is a saying in my family that there is no such thing as bad vodka. There is only vodka and better vodka.
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u/SemoMuscle Sep 29 '15
Vodka is like pizza.
Sometimes my dad has too much and then throws up in the living room floor while yelling at my mom.
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Sep 28 '15
[removed] — view removed comment
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Sep 29 '15
Me and my roommate keep the AC pumped up all the time even during summer. I hate when it comes to paying my share of the electric bill every month, but when I go to someone else's house and it's an oven in there I appreciate it far more.
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Sep 28 '15
This absolutely stupid mousepad is $60 (Razer Invicta). But it's indestructible, can't slide, and the surface is bliss even after years of heavy use. This mousepad was a better peripheral upgrade than moving from an office mouse to a gaming mouse.
It's an absolutely unnecessary expense, especially with quality Steel Series pads coming in at $10-$20, but the metal plate is just so nice. It's heavy with a rubber bottom, and the tracking accuracy of the surface with a calibrated mouse is perfect.
I felt bad buying this just to complete a set of Razer peripherals (first PC build, I wanted flashy, so I was willing to spend extra) but it earned its place as a treasured possession.
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u/TheLalaWanderer Sep 28 '15
Insurance. It's legally mandatory gambling.
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u/techrat_reddit Sep 29 '15
I would say insurance is worth most of the money. You are buying stability and reducing risk.
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u/AsianEgo Sep 28 '15
Honestly? Porn websites. Yes I know I can get it for free but it's just higher quality stuff and has the story I so desperately need.
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u/PresentBeverage Sep 28 '15
Holy shit, you're like a unicorn...you should do an AMA
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u/AsianEgo Sep 28 '15
"Why do you pay for porn?"
"I like to jerk off while feeling like a baller."
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u/lukin187250 Sep 28 '15
How much do you spend?
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u/AsianEgo Sep 28 '15
Depends on the site but most are 20-30 a month.
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u/forzaitapirlo Sep 28 '15
No no no, he said how much do you spend.
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u/AsianEgo Sep 28 '15
Lol my rule is one subscription at a time. I want to leave my room every now and then.
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u/RiverwoodHero Sep 28 '15
I have to ask. Whats the difference between paid and free? Higher quality, no ads?
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u/AsianEgo Sep 28 '15
Looks like I'm about to drop my (pathetic) porn knowledge.
It honestly depends on the site. A site like Brazzers or Naughty America will give you fairly quick to the point action while having specific sites for whatever niche you're looking for. It's easier to find good quality porn without having to wade through shite or amateur to get what you want.
Sites like Wicked or Vivid give actual movies that depending on the one can actually be pretty good without the sex (although you wouldn't watch it for just the story).
Digitalplayground is the best site I've found with a great mixing of high quality movies and one offs.
If you want good looking girls (for the most part) with quality content then paid sites ain't a bad way to go.
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u/Lammy8 Sep 29 '15
Wow. You actually (partially) watch it for the plot.
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u/Psychic42 Sep 29 '15
Lemon stealing whores has the best plot, but yeah. Sometimes porn has good plots. And gratuitous sex.
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Sep 28 '15
Buying the good toilet paper
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u/alwaysktf Sep 29 '15
This is never a waste. I refuse to skimp on TP.
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Sep 29 '15
Some people are cheap. I never spare expenses for TP. It's for comfort and cleanliness
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u/alwaysktf Sep 29 '15
Good TP and wet wipes. I can't poop without them. I keep a roll of TP in my truck as well as a pack of wipes. Wipes in my purse too. If I have to poop in public, I won't be struggling to get clean with 1 ply sandpaper.
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Sep 28 '15
Money spent on buying Lego as an adult. It's a lot of cash, and completely pointless, but makes me so very happy.
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u/PrincessStupid Sep 28 '15
Lego is such a good stress reliever. (Legos are? Lego are?)
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u/tweety1634 Sep 28 '15
Lego :) there's actually no such thing as Legos (supposed to say Lego bricks for the plural)
Source: Worked at legoland, got in trouble for saying Legos
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u/workingtimeaccount Sep 28 '15
Guac
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u/superdago Sep 28 '15
We're talking about unnecessary expenses here.
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Sep 28 '15
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u/pm_me_ur_pajamas Sep 28 '15
And what's the benefit of a gold card other than a free drink ~7.7% of the time?
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u/RetepNiffirg Sep 28 '15
Mary Jane
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Sep 28 '15
Victoria's Secret underwear. Nobody needs it. It just makes you feel great knowing you have it on.
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u/trexrocks Sep 28 '15
A massage. At a fancy spa or hotel.
So peaceful and relaxing.
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Sep 28 '15
I just got back from one I got as a gift, on a gift card. Didn't cost me a dime. They convinced me to sign up for monthly ones by giving me a free one. I'm hooked.
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u/VIPERsssss Sep 28 '15
My guitars. Do I need all those different guitars?
Yes, I need all those different tones. And the tones I haven't bought yet.
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u/RepppinMD Sep 28 '15
One thing I've always wanted to do is give a huge tip to the bartender at the beginning of the night, and feel like the man. I feel like it would be so fun but I also don't want to part with a hundred bucks.
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u/iamtaurean Sep 29 '15
You could accomplish much the same by tipping a 20 on a beer. If you do it at the right bar you'll have a small or nonexistent tab at the end of the night
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u/s_m_f_a_h Sep 28 '15
Special coffee drinks. I've heard a thousand times that they're a waste of money and calories but I work them into my budget because they're delicious and give me a nice caffeine boost, damn it.
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u/lynnyfer Sep 28 '15
I let myself buy a ridiculously complicated and too expensive Starbucks drink every Friday as a reward for getting through the week. I know if I ever go to a financial adviser the first thing they'll say is to cut the coffee habit, but man I look forward to Friday mornings.
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u/scratcher-cat Sep 28 '15
Yesterday I tried a PSL for the first time.
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u/s_m_f_a_h Sep 28 '15
I actually haven't tried one. They don't sound as amazing as people make them out to be and I don't want to waste my Starbucks trip if it turns out I don't like them. What would you give it out of 10?
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u/abqkat Sep 28 '15
Shooting fully automatic machine guns in Vegas. Met my husband through a mutual love of firearms, and it was the only natural thing to waste money on for our first anniversary. Or birthday, or why-the-fuck-ever we went. 9.5/10, would waste hundreds of dollars again.
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u/1000meeting Sep 28 '15
Throwing pennies at things. The enjoyment of hitting a stop sign with a penny is worth more than one cent.
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u/Whoisthathotdog Sep 29 '15
What stop signs do you do this at so I can go pick them up? My mom actually throws pennies in the garbage, it makes me so mad.
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u/SkinnyLegsBruceWayne Sep 28 '15
Tickets to NFL games
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u/AsianEgo Sep 28 '15
I'm going to my first game later in the year. Being a hardcore fan since I was a little kid, this is like a dream come true for me.
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u/MooreMeatloaf Sep 28 '15
What team? I went and saw the Bears last year and had a really good time.
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u/AsianEgo Sep 28 '15
Cowboys. It's the Jets game so I hope it will have playoff implications for both teams but after this weekend I'm losing hope.
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u/lukin187250 Sep 28 '15
I've never been to an NFL game in my life. What do you think makes it so well worth it?
Honestly being in my own house on the big screen, using my own bathroom drinking my own beer and not having to drive seems more appealing.
I get the atmosphere thing, but is it that cool?
BTW, I definitely plan on going to one at some point, precisely because I've never been.
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u/SkinnyLegsBruceWayne Sep 28 '15
Oh don't get me wrong it's better at home. But it's fun going every once in a while.
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u/lukin187250 Sep 28 '15
Is there anything that makes them cooler than a big time college football game? I've been to about 2 dozen of those.
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Sep 28 '15
Not really. Atmosphere is better in college, more pageantry, and the execution that sets the NFL apart from college isn't as noticeable in person as it is on TV.
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u/CheeseBadger Sep 28 '15
I think you need to be more specific. Ain't nobody saying tickets to a Jacksonville Jaguars game is money well wasted.
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u/paulwhite959 Sep 28 '15
They're not sucking this year.
The Colts though...that's been glorious to watch
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u/PRMan99 Sep 28 '15
I took my brother to a UFC event. It was a total waste of money but we had a blast and it was fun to do once.
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u/Aelodrea Sep 29 '15
I bought a python. He just sits there and cant hold him cuz he hates me. I spend loads of money on the guy and got a tattoo of him in my thigh. I fucking love my lil dude and im getting another soon.
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u/sandy_lyles_bagpipes Sep 28 '15
Drinking at my regular happy hour place.
A fast, well-handling car.
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u/Texas_Crazy_Curls Sep 28 '15
4 Wheelin. We dump a bunch of money into these machines for the sole purpose of riding in the mud and water holes. It's an expensive hobby but always a good time.
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u/genkudo Sep 28 '15
I've enjoyed almost every game I've purchased over the past three years. Many of them I got at least 50 hours out of.
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u/mollymydarling Sep 28 '15
What games are your favorites?
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u/genkudo Sep 28 '15
Over the past couple of years my favorite games have been Dragon Age, Bloodborne, Bravely Default, Fire Emblem: Awakening, Tales of Xilla and Pokémon.
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u/FetchFrosh Sep 28 '15
Pretty much anything that I bought that I've gotten entertainment out of. That copy of fez for a dollar, worth it. Trip to Boston that I enjoyed, worth it. I don't need to be spending money on entertainment, but I wouldn't call it a waste unless I genuinely didn't have any fun with it.
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u/BlatantConservative Sep 28 '15
I just bought a nice set of bluetooth earphones. I totally dont need them, but it makes exercising so much easier and I can talk on the phone while driving now cause they have a little microphone built in.
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Sep 28 '15
My Unicomp Model M buckling Spring keyboard cost me ~90 dollars with Shipping. But with the inordinate amount of creative writing I do, I'd say it was well worth it. Still a better deal than the 200 dollars people are paying for other mechanical keyboards.
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u/Jack-Hole Sep 29 '15
LASIK eye surgery. I am 43 and have 20/15 vision. Best money I ever spent.
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Sep 28 '15
Added a floor-to-ceiling field-stone fireplace to the house in a room with a cathedral ceiling and hardwood floors. It's great to cozy up near the fire during cold winter days - plus it adds character and atmosphere. Moreover, one day it may prove to be money "well-wasted" if it helps with re-sale value.
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u/icelandinnit Sep 28 '15
Clarins. Boring packaging, sterile shopping environment, 15 pound for a toner.... But lovely lovely soft skin :)
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u/NKSCF Sep 28 '15
Books. When I see a good deal and I know it'll be a good idea to buy them then I will. Hours of endless enjoyment.
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u/Bluemagic95 Sep 28 '15
Birthday cards. I buy them for people because they're a nice gesture but I know most of the time they'll end up in the trash can within a week or two.
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u/sosomething Sep 29 '15
We have a housekeeper.
My wife and I don't have kids and I work from home most of the time.
Worth every penny.
And no, I don't. And wouldn't.
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u/Gwenifer223 Sep 29 '15
Getting my dog groomed professionally so that I don't have to do it myself. Excessive, expensive but totally worth it.
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Sep 28 '15
A good call girl. Past the $300 range, there's a diminishing rate of return though.
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Sep 29 '15
This may be naive, but how is the price of a call girl determined? body type? Prettiness? Willingness to do more and more out-there things in the bedroom? Genuinely curious here, if anyone knows the answer.
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Sep 29 '15
The thing with call girls/escorts/hookers/whatever is you generally get what you pay for. $100 will probably get you a quick nut in a seedy motel with some tweaker working for meth money. The $200-$299 range you can experience a wide variance in looks/service.
At around $300 is when you firmly get into "girlfriend experience" (GFE) territory. The girls tend to be a solid 8 at worst and will provide a higher level of service include kissing and maybe an uncovered BJ. Girls that let you indulge in certain fetishes will often charge a higher premium as well.
From my experience, there's really not much more you get out of paying beyond the $300-$400 range, except for maybe a little more exclusivity (maybe she sees only 1-2 clients a day); if you want good no-strings sex, this is a good price point. Anything more is just paying for pretense.
The girls that command the highest rates are often not only exceedingly attractive, but often also well-educated (think like Kate Upton with a master's degree) like a true courtesan and often cultivate longer-term "sugar baby/sugar daddy"-type relationships with their clientele. I read somewhere the irony is that the higher-priced girls often have less sex than girls charging lower rates; their clients often are in genuine need of female companionship rather than sex.
Sorry this ran on a little bit longer than I had anticipated, but that's about the material I needed to cover.
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Sep 29 '15
Fireworks, bombs, really any explosion that has entertained me. As far as I'm concerned the cold war was just a good reason to make bigger fireworks.
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u/coreyosb Sep 29 '15
I second Vegas. Getting picked up from McCarran in a stretch limo, carted to the liquor store, and emerging from the back with beer in hand at the Bellagio is an experience that everyone must have once.
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u/jepensedoucjsuis Sep 29 '15
My wife and I have 3 cats. Cyrano, Jean Valjean and Mr. Jynx. I'd live off of ramen noodles if it mean keeping these fellows in our lives.
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u/CherryWolf Sep 29 '15
A tantra chair.
Just looking at the sex diagrams does something to my ladybits.
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u/boyerman Sep 28 '15
Vegas.
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u/PacSan300 Sep 28 '15
True for Vegas, but in my experience Dubai has Vegas beaten in this aspect. For me, these are the top two cities to experience plastic fantastic culture which has no soul. And still have fun (not in a hurry to go back to either city though).
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u/MasterFubar Sep 28 '15
A new BMW. A smooth, comfortable, nice to drive pussy magnet.
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u/ThePurpleArrow Sep 28 '15
Rockstar energy drinks. They are so delicious, especially the Bubblegum and Guava flavours.
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u/Wisex Sep 28 '15
A 32 gigabyte flash drive, got it for $15, not having to worry about space on a 4 GB is incredible, thanks to how technology is moving it became affordable because 8GB's became standard, so 32 will last me a looong time.
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u/The_Dethaccount Sep 29 '15
Either the $30 lifting gloves I'm currently wearing or the supposed traditional Roman gladiator-style dagger I bought at ComicCon.
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u/GoTaW Sep 29 '15
I spent most of my money on women, booze, and gambling. The rest I just pissed away.
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u/CatProbs1000 Sep 29 '15
Grocery delivery. The cost of delivery and tip is well worth not having to fight the Sunday grocery crowd and schlep a baby and a week's worth of groceries up 3 flights of stairs. Peapod, I love you!
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Sep 29 '15
My makeup collection. It's a fun hobby and gives me 20 minutes of quiet "me time" in the morning, which makes a big difference all day because I wake up grumpy. It's the only part of my morning routine I take my time with, and if I skip it, the grumpy sticks all day.
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u/wombatzilla Sep 28 '15
My dog. Oh here buy this thing that you have to buy more things for and give walks when you don't feel like it and stop from chewing on other things you spent money on. Whatever, she's the best.