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Regrets happen in people’s lives. You feel bad because of a decision that you made. Things didn’t work out as you planned or went wrong, but the result is the same. You feel that nagging sense of self-blame.
One way to deal with regrets is to realize that many others have them. In that spirit, look at some choices that fill commenters on an influential Internet forum with remorse.
1. Just Say No
If anything can warn people about the dangers of illicit substances, the testimony of a former addict is up there with the most influential. Drugs are expensive, dangerous, and take years of your life that you won’t get back.
This individual told of the damage they felt their addiction did to their life, “Drugs! I spent thousands of dollars over the ten years of active addiction. I paid with cash and with my life, health, relationships, and more. I am about to celebrate three years clean and sober! Not worth it at all.”
2. You Could Always Elope
Weddings are mainly social events that cost a lot of money. Your family might expect you to get married in a glitzy ceremony, but is that really what you want? The next question is, who’s paying for it?
A bride said she regretted having “the wedding of her dreams” and said, “I’m not very social, so it was a $20k silent panic attack surrounded by 120 people, half of whom I don’t know. If I could turn back time with this knowledge, I’d do a $20k elopement and travel together for a few months.”
A wedding professional also mentioned the pressure involved in a wedding and how much it affects people, wishing they could warn brides and grooms of the stress such an event can put on you as wedding photographers witnessed many people suffering from extreme anxiety during their weddings.
One stated that having that many eyes upon you and such expectations sometimes made the day more miserable than happy.
3. No Bad Health Habits
The times have changed, and smoking is no longer as cool as in the past. Since former cigarette executive Jeffrey Wigand blew the whistle and told of how addictive and dangerous smoking was, people have realized that smoking doesn’t help you. A former smoker detailed how quitting made him think about how much smoking hurt him.
He said he didn’t realize how awful smoking made me feel until I stopped and mentioned the benefits of saving money and your health, which could add years to your life rather than subtracting them.
Furthermore, they spent 24 years as a smoker, and it blows his mind how much money he spent, but it makes him very happy to have been able to give the habit up.
4. Honey, I Bought A Camel
In a more humorous vein, this person admitted the buyer’s remorse after purchasing a camel. Yes, you heard that right. They bought a camel and didn’t even have a zoo. The camel was expensive to keep and did a lot of damage to the man’s farm. It was also a “stinky creature.” Impulsively, the man bought a camel during an auction and lived to regret the decision very much. He expressed that spending the same amount of money on anything else would have been a better decision.
5. Playing Dress Up
Buying clothes specifically for a special event is sometimes fun, but several people who answered this question resented buying new clothes just for one night. A choice observation is that the event itself is the big star, and it seems like hardly anyone notices what we wear anyway, so what is the purpose of buying unique clothes for such events?
The cost was also an issue for users, one of whom observed that she spent quite a lot of money on a new outfit for her daughter’s recital, but her daughter is in fifth grade and probably didn’t understand that it was a sacrifice made on her mother’s part.
6. The Collector
Each new collecting craze seems hotter than the next, but former fans had lots to say about how collecting pricey pop culture collectibles.
Several expressed extreme regrets about spending hundreds of dollars on trendy fan items that they thought would always be a part of their lives, and then they suddenly lose interest when the trends change. Such collectors can get stuck with memorabilia that they don’t even like and were purchased because it was part of a set.
Completists mentioned Funko Pops and Harry Potter as trophies they had collected and regretted. One said that they sold their entire Funko Pop at break even, and they feel fortunate for having done so.
Another bought a Harry Potter wand for $50 at Disney World and didn’t understand why they did because they aren’t even a Harry Potter fan. Users demanded humorously to know if the wand could be used to cast spells, at least.
7. At The Bar
Buying a drink at a bar is always more expensive, but generally, the trade-off is the atmosphere, fancy cocktails, and top-flight beer or wine. However, many forum users feel it is a considerable expense and aren’t worth it.
This frequent tippler noted that after he and his girlfriend bought drinks at dinner, it cost them $20 with tip and that for the same amount of money, they could have bought an entire bottle of liquor of their choice for the same price.
An additional drinker added that they frequently regretted the hangovers that they got after spending the night at the bar and that it never gave them the feeling that it was money well spent. Usually, again with humor, they said they typically wonder, “when did we get a pet tiger?”
8. Renter’s Blues
It is an expenditure that is hard to avoid, but rent is something that a significant amount of people resent. Think about it for a minute. You have to pay to live in what is ostensibly your home.
One way to get around that is to invest in real estate and buy your own home, but there’s always a catch. This commenter details why paying the landlord is one of their biggest dissatisfactions.
They said they couldn’t get approved for a loan to buy a house and got stuck paying rent. Meanwhile, their parents had equity and security because they could buy their homes, which was unfair.
9. Hobbies Are Supposed To Be Relaxing
When stressed out, friends might advise you to get a relaxing hobby. Unfortunately, collecting and playing video games was more stressful than comforting for this forum member.
He explained that they estimated that they had spent between ten to 20 thousand dollars on their hobby of playing video games which consisted of buying expensive games, equipment, and subscriptions, which even raised the power bill.
Looking at their gaming collection makes them angry now after losing interest. While the person does have some fond memories of their time as a gamer, they have realized that they could have spent the same amount of money on an investment in their future.
10. Electric Vehicles Are The Future
Electric cars are trendy and could be part of the solution to global warming. Conversely, this commenter lamented the decision to buy a highly praised EV. She said, “I regret buying Tesla Model S. It was by far the worst car I’ve ever driven, with the worst quality I’ve ever seen and the worst trade-in value.”
She talked about how the car’s doors didn’t line up after she drove it for several thousand miles and other problems with the doors, including how snowfall affected how the doors opened entirely because of the door handles’ design flush to the doors themselves.
Ice got into the door’s inner workings and caused additional problems. Her point was that since the sticker price of the Model S is over $96,000 and Tesla’s reputation, you would think the car would have been designed and built much better. She was very disappointed.
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This article originally appeared on Financially Well Off.
