How I wasted money today

[Lizard Queen]

I just ordered a used book from Amazon with Prime delivery.  I could have gotten it from the library via inter-library loan, but I didn't want to mess with all that and wait.  The library is closed tomorrow for Veteran's Day. I could have gotten a free Audible version, but I don't know my sign in.  My Audible was on my Google tablet, which is dead.

Anyway, I wasted $9.
How have you wasted money today? Was it worth it?

[Deleted]

I spent $11 on a new door threshold for my double garage door.  It isn't the "right" kind because my door is screwed up on the bottom and I can't use the kind that slides in the track.  So, I bought the kind you nail to a wooden door...to nail to my aluminum door.  I froze my ass out there in the wind and smashed my thumb with the hammer and took a big chunk of flesh off.  But, I got it on reasonably well.  Closed the door and it still has a lot of gaps, so long story short...no...it was not worth it.  I'm seriously considering just double back taping a piece of rubber to the floor!

I also spent 97 cents on Peanut Butter M&Ms.  They were worth it.  

[steph08]

I went to Kohls and bought a bunch of stuff. Cute baby clothes for my new nephew, shirt for my niece, new pillows for my kids, and a basket and christmas towels for my bathroom. But I had tons of coupons and kohls cash and only spent $33. 😆

Then I went to Hallmark and bought a "first christmas" ornament for my nephew (can you tell he is only 4 days old!). $13.

Then I just spent $35 signing myself and my five-year-old up for a painting and pottery class. It's going to be an early Christmas gift.

So....it was an expensive day!

[pooks]

I bought my dog a new dog bed, $20.  She is getting old, can't jump on the couch anymore, and the floor hurts her.  She is a happy dog and has been on her bed since we got home.  So totally worth it.  

[giramomma]

I spent $4.00 on knitting needles, when I could have borrowed MILs. 

I spent $14.00 on treats for the peanut (Harry potter figurine) and Miss M. (Beanie Baby)

We spent $5.00 on a pretzel snack at the mall.

And depending on how one feels about whether donating is a "need" or "wasting" money:

We spent $10 on paint brushes to donate to the VA tomorrow, as a service project for cubs

We spent $14 on two fleece blanket kits (normally $50) to make/donate over the holidays.

I'm thinking it was worth it.

[Cookies Galore]

I haven't wasted money since Saturday (yesterday was only grocery shopping) but it was delicious. Hubs and I met friends for lunch. I didn't drink anything (held onto my calories for cocktails later) and hubsie only had one beer, so $43 with tip. We did go out to a local distillery for cocktails later but hubs bought those. Delicious wasteful spending.

[raeoflyte]

I'm thinking of buying an electric cello on craigslist for $200. I've wanted one forever (the electric part just makes it cheaper and easier to store). Still an impulse purchase that I so don't need right now, and yet...

[Anne_in_VA]

Nothing!  I haven’t been out of the house since last Friday due to an ear infection.

[Deleted]

I'm visiting DS and DDIL over Thanksgiving.  Her parents will be there, too, and I asked if maybe I should get a hotel room.  There's room for them in the house but I thought it might be crowded with me.  DDIL's parents don't have my extravagant travel budget.  The reply came back- oh, yes, could I, please?

I was afraid the rates Thanksgiving weekend might be sky-high but they weren't.  Got a good rate at the Hilton in downtown Des Moines.  I have an ulterior motive.  I'm going to "steal" the granddaughters for one night.  The younger is just 3 and not really potty-trained but I've dealt with her poopy diapers before.  She's been too young to take to Chicago with her older sister (and older sister is just FINE with that  ) so this will be a good introduction to travel with Grandma. 

[Lizard Queen]

Nov 12, 2019 12:29:54 GMT -5 Anne_in_VA said:

Nothing!  I haven’t been out of the house since last Friday due to an ear infection.

There's all kinds of shopping you can do from a laptop right in bed...just saying... 😉

[Lizard Queen]

Nov 13, 2019 10:10:29 GMT -5 @athena53 said:

I'm visiting DS and DDIL over Thanksgiving.  Her parents will be there, too, and I asked if maybe I should get a hotel room.  There's room for them in the house but I thought it might be crowded with me.  DDIL's parents don't have my extravagant travel budget.  The reply came back- oh, yes, could I, please?

I was afraid the rates Thanksgiving weekend might be sky-high but they weren't.  Got a good rate at the Hilton in downtown Des Moines.  I have an ulterior motive.  I'm going to "steal" the granddaughters for one night.  The younger is just 3 and not really potty-trained but I've dealt with her poopy diapers before.  She's been too young to take to Chicago with her older sister (and older sister is just FINE with that  ) so this will be a good introduction to travel with Grandma. 

Do you have a Hilton honors CC? My bil got one, and has been doing all kinds of short trips and whatnot using the points ever since. We got one a few months ago because of that.

[Deleted]

Nov 13, 2019 10:15:44 GMT -5 Lizard Queen said:

Do you have a Hilton honors CC? My bil got one, and has been doing all kinds of short trips and whatnot using the points ever since. We got one a few months ago because of that.

I've had them before- they were especially nice when I traveled on business. Now I just go for cash back- no points to devalue and no annual fees. Not all businesses accept Amex, either- especially the smaller ones. I had to laugh when thy used to have their "Small Business Sunday" promotion- you got statement credits for shopping at small businesses listed on the Amex site but you'd go there and they'd tell you they no longer accepted Amex! Apparently they rake off pretty high fees.

I do get surveys on e-Rewards and get Hilton points that way. You're limited to a redemption for 7,000 points every 2 months but they add up.

[Lizard Queen]

Nov 13, 2019 10:52:34 GMT -5 @athena53 said:

Nov 13, 2019 10:15:44 GMT -5 Lizard Queen said:

Do you have a Hilton honors CC? My bil got one, and has been doing all kinds of short trips and whatnot using the points ever since. We got one a few months ago because of that.

I've had them before- they were especially nice when I traveled on business. Now I just go for cash back- no points to devalue and no annual fees. Not all businesses accept Amex, either- especially the smaller ones. I had to laugh when thy used to have their "Small Business Sunday" promotion- you got statement credits for shopping at small businesses listed on the Amex site but you'd go there and they'd tell you they no longer accepted Amex! Apparently they rake off pretty high fees.

I do get surveys on e-Rewards and get Hilton points that way. You're limited to a redemption for 7,000 points every 2 months but they add up.

I use the other CC's for smaller establishments, but the Amex at the grocery store.  We used to have the store's CC, but they weren't giving any more bonus points or discounts than the other CC's, so their loss!

[countrygirl2]

There are not to many days the UPS or Fedex trucks miss our driveway. Hubs says I'm spending all my money, I sad 90% of it is stuff I would have bought in town or the city if the stores were still there.

I did waste almost $300 on a pair of earrings about 3 weeks ago, they are opals and small diamonds, but I really like them and have worn them a lot already. That and a pair I bought from Macys when they were closing are some of my favorites. But yes we could like without a lot of junk. I also bought a 3 foot tall witch for DD and a nutcracker for DIL and me a Santa. So spent close to $150 on those, total junk.

I order books all the time from Amazon, haven't the last few days, I did buy some 2 or 3 days ago, have read one and working on the second one, its a series I likely will buy more of. But I could cut expenses a lot if I would.  I allow so much money to spend monthly for "things" and sometimes when I overdo it one month, I cut the next.

[Lizard Queen]

Nov 13, 2019 12:01:39 GMT -5 countrygirl2 said:

There are not to many days the UPS or Fedex trucks miss our driveway. Hubs says I'm spending all my money, I sad 90% of it is stuff I would have bought in town or the city if the stores were still there.

I did waste almost $300 on a pair of earrings about 3 weeks ago, they are opals and small diamonds, but I really like them and have worn them a lot already. That and a pair I bought from Macys when they were closing are some of my favorites. But yes we could like without a lot of junk. I also bought a 3 foot tall witch for DD and a nutcracker for DIL and me a Santa. So spent close to $150 on those, total junk.

I order books all the time from Amazon, haven't the last few days, I did buy some 2 or 3 days ago, have read one and working on the second one, its a series I likely will buy more of. But I could cut expenses a lot if I would.  I allow so much money to spend monthly for "things" and sometimes when I overdo it one month, I cut the next.

Well, for the books, if you are able to use the local library, I know ours has tons of books you can read online right on your computer/laptop/tablet or phone. They subscribe to 2 or 3 big databases with digital books and magazines. You don't need any special equipment. I have a small tablet computer I sometimes use for that.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Nov 13, 2019 10:10:29 GMT -5 @athena53 said:

I'm visiting DS and DDIL over Thanksgiving.  Her parents will be there, too, and I asked if maybe I should get a hotel room.  There's room for them in the house but I thought it might be crowded with me.  DDIL's parents don't have my extravagant travel budget.  The reply came back- oh, yes, could I, please?

I was afraid the rates Thanksgiving weekend might be sky-high but they weren't.  Got a good rate at the Hilton in downtown Des Moines.  I have an ulterior motive.  I'm going to "steal" the granddaughters for one night.  The younger is just 3 and not really potty-trained but I've dealt with her poopy diapers before.  She's been too young to take to Chicago with her older sister (and older sister is just FINE with that  ) so this will be a good introduction to travel with Grandma. 

I don’t see something like this as a waste, but more of self preservation!

When TD and I went to my sister’s for Christmas, she wouldn’t let us stay together.  So we decided that we would just get a hotel room.  It turned out to be the best idea ever.  It gave us a break from people overload.  

[wvugurl26]

I'm technically wasting money on a hotel room for the next two nights. I have training this week and it's two hours one way. I drove it this morning but I'm checking into a hotel tonight. I was dragging in class today.

Work will not pay due to their 50 mile rule. The temporary site must be 50 miles or more from your home or regular office. Because my office is 48 miles away, they won't pay. It doesn't matter that I live a good 20 miles from the office because that's my choice.

Going to see if I can knock out shopping for work pants tonight since I'm by decent shopping.

We used to stay with friends during football season. We've gotten hotel rooms for the last 3-4 years and it's been great. It's nice to have that break. I like my space and I have allergies. Hotels are just better.

[Chocolate Lover]

Nov 10, 2019 18:15:30 GMT -5 Lizard Queen said:

I just ordered a used book from Amazon with Prime delivery.  I could have gotten it from the library via inter-library loan, but I didn't want to mess with all that and wait.  The library is closed tomorrow for Veteran's Day. I could have gotten a free Audible version, but I don't know my sign in.  My Audible was on my Google tablet, which is dead.

Anyway, I wasted $9.
How have you wasted money today? Was it worth it?

You still need a separate Audible log in now that Amazon owns it? I get offered the Audible version all the time looking at books. I haven't actually purchased one through Amazon yet, so I don't know if you still need to know your sign in or not. 

[Lizard Queen]

Nov 13, 2019 16:54:39 GMT -5 Chocolate Lover said:

Nov 10, 2019 18:15:30 GMT -5 Lizard Queen said:

I just ordered a used book from Amazon with Prime delivery.  I could have gotten it from the library via inter-library loan, but I didn't want to mess with all that and wait.  The library is closed tomorrow for Veteran's Day. I could have gotten a free Audible version, but I don't know my sign in.  My Audible was on my Google tablet, which is dead.

Anyway, I wasted $9.
How have you wasted money today? Was it worth it?

You still need a separate Audible log in now that Amazon owns it? I get offered the Audible version all the time looking at books. I haven't actually purchased one through Amazon yet, so I don't know if you still need to know your sign in or not. 

I don't know. I had a couple old books on the app on my tablet. I think I may have used my own Amazon account, while we always use my DHs account now with the prime on it.

[haapai]

I bought the warranty.  In my defense, I had tried to knock the warranty off the quote that I was given but when push came to shove, I was dealing with the owner of the company and he was a really good salesman. 

The guy sitting beside me when I said "Yes, because you are a good salesman" chuckled audibly and mentioned that he had known "Bob" since he was selling cars.  I really can't beat myself up too much about this.  I was outmatched. 

[countrygirl2]

Heck we have a small library, one of the smallest Carnegie Libraries in the US just down the street from us.  A lot of the local kids use their computers for homework too I think.  I have a membership and need to use it so they will keep it.  Our tiny towns around here almost all have a library, something they work hard on to keep going. I will be at home a lot this winter, so order stuff in.  I could probably even get the local restaurant in our town to deliver or we could pick it up if we would. We seldom go there and again need to. It's only about a 1/2 mile away.

[Lizard Queen]

What I was trying to say is you can probably read books by accessing their website, and never leave home to do it. The non-fiction books I read aren't usually available that way, but I bet they have the most recent and popular books on there.

[giramomma]

I played Bingo for Bucks with the kids.

The peanut has timed math facts this year. 100 addition/subtraction problems in 3 minutes.

I'm now out 4.00.  However, it was worth it for DS to actually join us. 

[raeoflyte]

I'm getting a hotel room for 2 nights for holiday stuff at my office. Its a good 1.5 - 2 hour 1 way trip and I don't want to drive home that late. This way I xan drink at the xmas party too.

[countrygirl2]

I took a Leg A Trim to see if I can calm my legs down, the backs of my thighs are trying to cramp or something.  I am sorry I ever touched statins.  I never had anything like this till I did.  Also I read there is some research on them causing neuropathy. That figures as all my blood work came back fine.

I was having troubles before I took them, but nothing like this. Very minor compared to now.


I am going to see what it costs to go to the shooting range in the city.  I want to try my various guns, get some ammo, and make sure I know how to fire them and be able to hit something if needed.  Need to check on how much.

[NastyWoman]

Eating lunch at my desk is an expensive habit. Going to a restaurant every day would be much cheaper, especially in this time of the year. Just sayin'

[lynnerself]

I spent $175 to have an old book rebound and repaired.

It has only sentimental value. A copy of Little Women from the 1930s that has my mothers name signed inside.

I actually had 4 books of hers, but the price is too steep to repair more than one.

[Deleted]

Nov 13, 2019 15:56:59 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

I don’t see something like this as a waste, but more of self preservation!

When TD and I went to my sister’s for Christmas, she wouldn’t let us stay together. So we decided that we would just get a hotel room. It turned out to be the best idea ever. It gave us a break from people overload.

I have to admit that DS and DDIL's place is a bit chaotic. They try to keep it picked up and organized but it's a challenge.

When my parents lived in Myrtle Beach, DH and I would visit them. In the 6 years we dated, DH got a room in a hotel on the beach- dirt-cheap in the off-season. It was a nice place for afternoon trysts! I finally started spending the night with DH instead of my parents after we married. They knew darn well what was going on but I didn't want to flaunt our behavior- my parents are very traditional.

And- back to wasting money- I;m in Travel Mode where you suspend all notions of reasonable prices. I'm in Honolulu and heading to Kona for a cruise this afternoon. The silly $30 "resort fee" for the room, the cost of food here and in the airports, the shuttle to and from the airport, even $25 to check my bag on the puddle-jumper to Kona. Glad I squeezed all my stuff into one bag. Yeah, I can afford all these dings but they're still really annoying,

And flying here in Business Class, with a whole "pod" to myself, lie-flat seats, endless movies, decent food and plentiful wine? Priceless.

[moon/Laura]

I wasted money taking my niece out for late lunch/early dinner after we went to shoot her HS senior photos. And, while preparing for that, I noticed that my camera's battery compartment won't stay fully closed. And given the lens errors on me fairly often, I've decided I need a new camera. Haven't purchased that yet though, and I'd consider used from a reputable dealer, if it had the features I want.

I wasted more money buying dinner for the guys on my way back from taking my niece home.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Nov 14, 2019 10:54:16 GMT -5 @athena53 said:

Nov 13, 2019 15:56:59 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

I don’t see something like this as a waste, but more of self preservation!

When TD and I went to my sister’s for Christmas, she wouldn’t let us stay together. So we decided that we would just get a hotel room. It turned out to be the best idea ever. It gave us a break from people overload.

I have to admit that DS and DDIL's place is a bit chaotic. They try to keep it picked up and organized but it's a challenge.

When my parents lived in Myrtle Beach, DH and I would visit them. In the 6 years we dated, DH got a room in a hotel on the beach- dirt-cheap in the off-season. It was a nice place for afternoon trysts! I finally started spending the night with DH instead of my parents after we married. They knew darn well what was going on but I didn't want to flaunt our behavior- my parents are very traditional.

And- back to wasting money- I;m in Travel Mode where you suspend all notions of reasonable prices. I'm in Honolulu and heading to Kona for a cruise this afternoon. The silly $30 "resort fee" for the room, the cost of food here and in the airports, the shuttle to and from the airport, even $25 to check my bag on the puddle-jumper to Kona. Glad I squeezed all my stuff into one bag. Yeah, I can afford all these dings but they're still really annoying,

And flying here in Business Class, with a whole "pod" to myself, lie-flat seats, endless movies, decent food and plentiful wine? Priceless.

I think Hawaii was when I got first taste of this too.  My research meeting was in Honolulu, and while my per diem paid for my expensive hotel room, it did not come close to covering food.  $35 for a continental breakfast, when my food had to be under $55?  Hell, the hotel wanted $10 to use the coffee pot they left in the room with coffee!  I don’t think prices were as ridiculous even in Paris.

OTOH, we ate out of the minibar regularly in South Africa.  0.50 for soda or water?  $1 for a decent sized bag of nuts?