Money you may as well have set on fire?

[Spinneret]

For example spending $4500 on a vacation which you decided not to go on in the end

 

[StopPlayin]

My very informal justice of the piece wedding lol.

 

[Keladry84]

Buying food/groceries, forgetting you have it in the fridge, and by the time you remember and go to eat/use it, it's spoiled. Rinse, repeat - it adds up a lot in cost :/

 

[lovin'fl]

This is very perfect timing. My mom booked a cruise to go with friends on a new big ship and was having health issues so we decided I may as well join her since she had paid for the 2nd person anyway. So I then put in a bid to upgrade from inside cabin to balcony and we got it which I paid for that. We had done the smart thing and got the trip insurance when we added me to the booking (before the upgrade bid happened). We had to cancel the cruise when my mom was hospitalized right before the cruise. I filed a claim. It was accepted but the amount they are refunding isn't including the upgrade fee, which was over $1300. Apparently, we had to up our trip insurance once we upgraded our cabin but our TA did not tell us that. I want to throw up.

 

[ChrisFL]

the engagement ring I bought my ex

 

[neverlandsky]

$15K earnest money & deposits for new construction home. We walked last fall after the property failed 7 major building inspections with the city. Right decision, new construction homes are showing mold problems now due to being side swiped by a named storm last summer.

 

[ronandannette]

Deposit I put down on a trip in the early stages of Covid, expecting that to be a far, far shorter ordeal than it was. I still have a credit with the tour operator, but it expires next year and we don't plan to take that trip before then.

Also the countless cosmetic items I've bought since Covid made in-store testers a thing of the past. I get the product home, use it a time or two before I decide it's really the wrong shade/texture/scent or whatever. Often there's a no-return-after-opening policy.

 

[disneychrista]

The "dating dress" I bought last June. I've worn it once. But then a bad apple spoiled the barrel and I decided to put dating on hold and focus on other things.

 

[tvguy]

Extended warranties on cars.
I have purchased them on five cars including my two current cars.
I know the automakers set the premiums where they know the typical person is never going to get their money back, it is just extreme cases when you might have a claim that they will pay.
I also know the devil is in the details. And the only time I had a claim was for a heater core......which was very specifically excluded from coverage under the warranty.
I guess I am getting a little piece of mind with my current cars since I bought both while still working. But one is a Toyota, my first Toyota, and they are supposed to be very reliable. Never had a claim with three Fords. The heater core car was a Dodge.

 

[Donalddidwhat…?!]

Extended warranties on cars.
I have purchased them on five cars including my two current cars.
I know the automakers set the premiums where they know the typical person is never going to get their money back, it is just extreme cases when you might have a claim that they will pay.
I also know the devil is in the details. And the only time I had a claim was for a heater core......which was very specifically excluded from coverage under the warranty.
I guess I am getting a little piece of mind with my current cars since I bought both while still working. But one is a Toyota, my first Toyota, and they are supposed to be very reliable. Never had a claim with three Fords. The heater core car was a Dodge.

Back in 1990 we bought a new Jeep Cherokee Laredo. It came with a 3/60 (IIRC…?) “bumper to bumper” manufacturer warranty.
With a little over 25K miles on it, and just before Christmas one year, the clutch (it was a 5-speed manual) slave and master cylinders went out.
The dealership wanted a little over $500 to replace them.
I said to the guy on the phone “What happened to the ‘bumper to bumper’ manufacturer warranty…?!?!?!” He said there was nothin’ he could do about it, and I asked who could.
He gave me a phone number for Houston and one for Detroit. I called the one for Detroit. I made my case, and the lady asked me if I minded holding for a coupla’ minutes.
When she came back to me a few minutes later, she told me she had just authorized the dealership to do the replacements at no charge. I felt like I just got a win…!
But, as it turned out, that SUV was the biggest POS we ever owned, by far.
All the time, hassle and money we spent before we finally got rid of it, especially after the manufacturer warranty ran out, we may as well have just lit the money part on fire.
For what we got for it in trade (didn’t even want the hassle of tryin’ to sell it ourselves), we’d a’ probably got more satisfaction from just lightin’ it on fire and pushin’ it off a cliff…!!!!!

 

[MillauFr]

Spending it on DVC.

 

[tvguy]

Back in 1990 we bought a new Jeep Cherokee Laredo. It came with a 3/60 (IIRC…?) “bumper to bumper” manufacturer warranty.
With a little over 25K miles on it, and just before Christmas one year, the clutch (it was a 5-speed manual) slave and master cylinders went out.
The dealership wanted a little over $500 to replace them.
I said to the guy on the phone “What happened to the ‘bumper to bumper’ manufacturer warranty…?!?!?!” He said there was nothin’ he could do about it, and I asked who could.
He gave me a phone number for Houston and one for Detroit. I called the one for Detroit. I made my case, and the lady asked me if I minded holding for a coupla’ minutes.
When she came back to me a few minutes later, she told me she had just authorized the dealership to do the replacements at no charge. I felt like I just got a win…!
But, as it turned out, that SUV was the biggest POS we ever owned, by far.
All the time, hassle and money we spent before we finally got rid of it, especially after the manufacturer warranty ran out, we may as well have just lit the money part on fire.
For what we got for it in trade (didn’t even want the hassle of tryin’ to sell it ourselves), we’d a’ probably got more satisfaction from just lightin’ it on fire and pushin’ it off a cliff…!!!!!

I worked for two TV stations that used those Cherokees as news cars. But we had the automatic and 4.0 6 cylinder. The exhaust manifold tended to crack at about 150,000 miles, but other than that, with the automatic, they were bullet proof. We ran them 300,000 miles, and then employees would buy them and run them another 300,000 miles. I know one guy that still has his 89 and he has over 500,000 miles on it.

 

[Donalddidwhat…?!]

I worked for two TV stations that used those Cherokees as news cars. But we had the automatic and 4.0 6 cylinder. The exhaust manifold tended to crack at about 150,000 miles, but other than that, with the automatic, they were bullet proof. We ran them 300,000 miles, and then employees would buy them and run them another 300,000 miles. I know one guy that still has his 89 and he has over 500,000 miles on it.

Yea, it was the 4.0 liter straight-6, and I’ve heard those same stories.
One of the partners at the architectural firm I used to work for had an ‘89, with an automatic tranny, and said he never had any major issues with it either.
But, believe me, this thing was a complete and total POS.
Some of the other major issues it had…
The idle control motor went out.
The drivers bucket seat back broke.
And towards the end, the coup de gras was a leaking rear main seal.
There were so many other lesser issues that I can’t even remember ‘em all.
Crazy thing is, shortly after we had our 3rd child, we bought a slightly used Dodge Grand Caravan.
That damn thing turned out be only slightly less of a POS than the Cherokee…!!!!!
Heard the same stories about how people never had any major issues with their Caravans either.
But, we definitely did, and after that, we swore we’d never buy another Chrysler (now Stellantis) product again, and we haven’t.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

$15K earnest money & deposits for new construction home. We walked last fall after the property failed 7 major building inspections with the city.

I'm surprised that failing multiple inspections isn't grounds to get your money back.

 

[Captain UP]

I bought an outdoor TV for my 4th floor deck in my new condo. FIRST night- heard a crash.

TV was smashed into a million pieces on the ground.

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

The leather furniture I recently purchased. My cat has adopted it already as the new scratching post.
The litle beast has 2 real scratching posts in the living room!!

 

[PacificCoaster]

Deposit I put down on a trip in the early stages of Covid, expecting that to be a far, far shorter ordeal than it was. I still have a credit with the tour operator, but it expires next year and we don't plan to take that trip before then.

Also the countless cosmetic items I've bought since Covid made in-store testers a thing of the past. I get the product home, use it a time or two before I decide it's really the wrong shade/texture/scent or whatever. Often there's a no-return-after-opening policy.

Sephora is the best store for these types of purchases as there is a generous return policy.

Returns Policy​

If you are not completely satisfied with a Sephora purchase or gift for any reason, Sephora welcomes you to return new or gently used products for a full refund to your original method of payment if returned within 30 days of purchase, in most cases. Returns that are made from 31-60 days after purchase are eligible for online credit (if returned to us by mail) or store credit (if returned in-store). In order to complete the return, you must have a proof of purchase.

Please review our return, refund, and exchange policies below for Sephora.ca purchases and in-store purchases. Products must be returned in new or gently used condition. Sephora monitors return activity by customers for abuse, and if we detect what we consider to be excessive or potentially fraudulent return activity from a customer, that customer may be notified in writing that Sephora will no longer accept any returns from that customer, with or without a receipt.

All returns are subject to validation and approval at Sephora’s discretion. If a return is not approved by Sephora for any reason, the item may not be returned to you. Beauty Insider points associated with all refunds will be removed when the refund transaction is processed.

 

[ronandannette]

Sephora is the best store for these types of purchases as there is a generous return policy.

Returns Policy​

If you are not completely satisfied with a Sephora purchase or gift for any reason, Sephora welcomes you to return new or gently used products for a full refund to your original method of payment if returned within 30 days of purchase, in most cases. Returns that are made from 31-60 days after purchase are eligible for online credit (if returned to us by mail) or store credit (if returned in-store). In order to complete the return, you must have a proof of purchase.

Please review our return, refund, and exchange policies below for Sephora.ca purchases and in-store purchases. Products must be returned in new or gently used condition. Sephora monitors return activity by customers for abuse, and if we detect what we consider to be excessive or potentially fraudulent return activity from a customer, that customer may be notified in writing that Sephora will no longer accept any returns from that customer, with or without a receipt.

All returns are subject to validation and approval at Sephora’s discretion. If a return is not approved by Sephora for any reason, the item may not be returned to you. Beauty Insider points associated with all refunds will be removed when the refund transaction is processed.

I'm sure that's true but I'm a discount store/drug store/grocery store buyer; nothing fancy.

 

[sheilafri]

I ordered a TV on sale through mail order. It arrived cracked. I kept forgetting to return it until it was too late. My own darn fault.

 

[John VN]

The $1,000 wasted on a Penny Stock my multi-millionaire boss said to jump on. If I bought Microsoft it would be $4+ million now.