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What was your dumbest purchase ever?

Posted Mar 10 2008, 08:55 PM by Karen Datko
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"DebtKid," feeling buyer's remorse about his 1 a.m. purchase of a Nintendo DS Lite that has since been gathering dust, is holding a contest for the stupidest purchase ever. He's gotten quite a response from readers and other bloggers. The winner will get his DS Lite.

We'll give you a few of the highlights. "Krninco" at Compulsive Debtor's Finance Blog has several doozies: a $400-plus bowling party for her daughter, "Mini Me," (and to prove that she wasn't too extreme, krninco provides a link to a St. Petersburg Times story about parents who threw a $3,000 birthday party for their 1-year-old, complete with a publicist).

There's also the $5,000 piano "purchased in hopes that one day Mini Me would become Mini Mozart," and Beauty, a hugely expensive bichon frisé that bites and leaves little presents on the floor "to show you she can." Oops, we almost forgot to mention that krninco bought a $200 car seat for the little dog.

"Seasicksquid" at Seasicksquid's Cookie Dough recounts a tale of youthful misspending. She and three friends were supposed to go to a Coldplay concert in Detroit, but she forgot to buy the $50 tickets before they sold out. So she ordered four nonrefundable tickets online for $600 each. Only one of her friends repaid her. "We had a fabulous time in the end, but I don't think it was worth the 1,500 odd dollars that it cost me, plus all the interest," she writes.

Amanda at Me vs. Debt got sucked in by a phony debt-counseling service that took her $400 fee and disappeared. "Singlemomindebt" spent nearly $1,000 for a treadmill that soon became "the most expensive coat rack that I'll ever own." She and her boyfriend split up and she let him keep it so he could sell it and give her half the proceeds. A fire in his apartment destroyed it. It felt "the burn it never got to experience through use," she writes.

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Comments

 

My boyfriend bought me a DS Lite and it has been one of the best gifts I've ever received!

Toby (Posted 03.10.08 11:31 PM ) Report Abuse

I bought a Flat Hose after seeing it on TV.  With all the addons, it ended up costing me $49, did NOT come with the reel they showed in the commercial, and continually tied itself in knots and snaked itself around my plants, and very quickly it sprung leaks.  

Momma Snider (Posted 03.11.08 11:45 AM ) Report Abuse

I'm sure I've made some really stupid purchases over the years, but my most recent one was a new coffee maker even though my Braun was just fine, except for the occasional under-brew.  The new one is pretty and shiny (stainless steel), but the water reservour was too narrow, when I pour coffee in my mug, a lot of it ended on up the counter and there is always this sludge at the bottom of the pot that I didn't have with my old coffee maker.  Fortunately it was on sale at Home Depot for $15.00 so I won't feel so bad when I get a new one.

dm (Posted 03.11.08 12:07 PM ) Report Abuse

I've made many stupid purchases over the years. I am not ashamed to admit that I bought a set of Cutco Knives at an alarming price, I've purchased Amway products that never seemed to work as good as the every day products we normally buy, I've bought a memory training package at an internet business seminar that I forgot all about. But the one that I am most ashamed of is buying new surround sound speakers from some guys ouf of the back of a van. They told me that they ended up not neediing them after the client paid in full for them. They showed me a fake receipt that showed them being worth several thousands of dollars, so I was comfortable paying almost 1000.00 for speakers that were of lesser quality than anything that Radio Shack would sell. I still cringe at that one, but you live and you learn. A

AN (Posted 03.11.08 10:18 PM ) Report Abuse

This surely was a stupid purchase. I bought a corner computer desk unit for $800.00, since it didn't come with a chair there was no way to try it out first. The desk was so big it came in three sections that filled half a room. The store manager knocked off $200.00 three months later just to get it out of layaway and, out the door.  Finally the desk was ours I ran to get a kitchen chair, because I wanted to be the first to use the desk. To both of our horror it was a childrens desk, and neither my husband nor I could fit our legs in the leg opening. I later sold the desk in a yard sale for $60.00 dollars.

Big Sister (Posted 03.11.08 10:34 PM ) Report Abuse

Traded in a 2006 Honda Accord that I paid $26k for a year earlier (and had the title for) for a Nissan Armada gas guzzler. Got only $18k for the trade in and now have $400/month payments on the Armada + $80 per tank for gas which only goes ~275 miles. Now I'm going to have to trade in the Armada (at another loss) at the end of the year to get another Accord or Camry. What the ????

STUPORMAN (Posted 03.11.08 11:23 PM ) Report Abuse

The dumbest purchase ever happened when my wife and I purchase a time share in mexico for $8000.  We were so excited that we were saving so much from the original $40k price that we got carried away.  We were about to pre-purchase 2 weeks a years in mexico, with many restrictions plus additional fees when comparables lodging can be found for much cheaper.  Fortunately we came to our sense the next day and request to cancel our contract as the law alows.  After much arguments and threats from both sides, they agree to cancel the contract and not charge our credit card.  Stay away from timeshares.

Underkover (Posted 03.12.08 12:44 AM ) Report Abuse

The dumbest purchase I've made was real estate in Dubuque, Iowa during a down market in the early 80's.  I lost $ 20,000 twice.  Luckily I kept investing in more property and more than recovered my loses.

arnie the farmer (Posted 03.12.08 4:27 AM ) Report Abuse

A marriage license.

Maddog (Posted 03.12.08 6:13 AM ) Report Abuse

Sad to say, but as of right now, it looks as if the dumbest purchase my husband and I ever made is our current home. We sold our acreage country home in May 2006 and, failing to heed the warning signs of the housing market here in Florida AND being preprogrammed to "avoid renting at all costs", we purchased another home in a gated community with a HOA with rules and restrictions out the yazoo! We now have two choices: 1) stay here for years waiting for the market to recover (we longingly miss the freedom of no HOA and wide open country spaces), or 2) sell quickly at auction and take about a $100k hit. We kick ourselves daily for this one. Hindsight is 20/20!

COUNTRYLOVER (Posted 03.12.08 7:08 AM ) Report Abuse

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