‘What is the biggest waste of money that people still defend?’ – 17 expenses people somehow stand by

In this cost of living crisis, every penny matters. But that doesn’t stop people from justifying their frivolous financial choices.

From extortionate coffees to eye-watering tech upgrades, there are plenty of pricey expenses that people try to rationalise. Reddit user lowkeydopey wanted to hear about the worst offenders, so they turned to r/AskReddit in order to find out the biggest wastes of money that people still defend. And they even got the ball rolling with their own suggestion:

‘College textbooks that get a ‘new edition’ every year just to shuffle the page numbers’

According to penny-pinching Redditors, these are the things you shouldn’t splash out on…

1.
‘Extended warranties. Companies push them so hard because they’re basically free money. Most people never use them, and the rare times they do, the claim process is a nightmare.’
-MidniteGamer1

2.
‘Natural diamonds, lab grown diamonds are for all intents and purposes the same, have become insanely affordable in comparison and look identical, if not better to the naked eye, without all of the slave labor. If you’re looking for something to “hold its value,” (the argument I see most in favor of mined diamonds) there are far better investments.’
-Ryanthecat

3.
‘Buying flagship phones every year or 2’
-NarrowEye9390

4.
‘Playing the damn lottery. And please if you do, grab your scratch off and get out of line. Jeez.’
-prezvegeta

5.
‘Wedding dresses. My wife worked in a bridal shop and the markups are astounding. $2500 dress? Yeah, that was maybe $85 at the loading dock. For that kind of money you should hunt up an actual dressmaker and go custom – the result would be better and it might be cheaper.’
-LateralThinkerer

6.
‘Has to be those Labubus’
-DesignerCustomer3129

7.
‘Insurance. Not because it isn’t useful, or even essential, but because it’s a predatory industry that extorts money from everyone. You chuck tons of money into a black hole, which magically appears in some rich person’s pocket with a promise of support if something bad happens… then when something bad happens they try to get out of it. It’s basically a legal protection racket.’
-lyidaValkris

8.
‘Food delivery services like Grub Hub and Uber Eats.

‘Do people realize just how much more they’re paying for food vs picking it up themselves (which is still stupidly more expensive than cooking at home)?’
-Chaos-1313

9.
‘Alcohol! It’s poison and we still drink it.’
-AmILukeQuestionMark