What is the WORST purchase you've made in the last 5 years?

[commoncentsmike]

I'm looking up at a road bike that I purchased a few years ago and I think it ranks as one of the worst purchases I've made in a looong time. I hardly ever use it, I spent money getting a mount for it on the wall, and I might get 60% of my money back if I sold it.

While not a terrible waste of money, I try to run a tight ship. What are your latest/biggest spending regrets?

[Fishindude77]

A Mercury outboard on my fishing boat. That thing has been troublesome since day one. At the marina now getting replaced with a Yamaha.

[TexasHusker]

Not quite within the last 5 years, but I traded for a Mercedes GL450. Pretty much the worst car I ever owned and depreciated like a rock.

[msomnipotent]

Right off the top of my head, probably an espresso machine. I paid almost $300 and it was refurbished. Then I had to buy the cute little espresso cups and demitasse spoons, and the cleaning kit, and the special grinder, and the special coffee. My grinder didn't grind finely enough and the coffee I liked was too oily for the prima donna. It made truly awful "Americano", but I liked the espresso enough to find myself drinking 12 cups of it a day and then wondered why I was sick. Now it sits in the basement because it is so loud that it scares my pets, and I'm not into going through all the motions to keep it maintained.

I should put it on bookoo now that I think about it. I forgot it was down there.

[Milly]

A man came by with a Kirby 3 years ago... I was hungry, tired, swamped in kids, and vunerable. I love my vacuum, but could have gotten it online for half the price.

[commoncentsmike]

A Mercury outboard on my fishing boat. That thing has been troublesome since day one. At the marina now getting replaced with a Yamaha.

I can't quite remember what my dad had on his Champion, but the boat in general was probably one of the worst ones he ever made. Just not enough time to get out there fishing!

[commoncentsmike]

Right off the top of my head, probably an espresso machine. I paid almost $300 and it was refurbished. Then I had to buy the cute little espresso cups and demitasse spoons, and the cleaning kit, and the special grinder, and the special coffee. My grinder didn't grind finely enough and the coffee I liked was too oily for the prima donna. It made truly awful "Americano", but I liked the espresso enough to find myself drinking 12 cups of it a day and then wondered why I was sick. Now it sits in the basement because it is so loud that it scares my pets, and I'm not into going through all the motions to keep it maintained.

I should put it on bookoo now that I think about it. I forgot it was down there.

I had a Keurig for a long time, but I felt guilty for all the trash from the pods. Now that we use our french press every morning, I drink better coffee and have plenty of composting material. It's the small things, right?

[97guns]

Not too much really, I buy and collect things that retain value, the only thing would be a $140 metal detector that I never used

[msomnipotent]

I had a Keurig for a long time, but I felt guilty for all the trash from the pods. Now that we use our french press every morning, I drink better coffee and have plenty of composting material. It's the small things, right?

I have a french press in the basement, too! I got it as a gift and never got around to using it. I really prefer a moka pot, but I can't stand waiting 8.5 minutes for one cup of coffee.

Not too much really, I buy and collect things that retain value, the only thing would be a $140 metal detector that I never used

I have a $300 detector (take a guess at where that is sitting right now, too!) that I have used once, and that was to find roofing nails some jerk scattered all over our driveway and grass. I didn't even use it to find treasure.

[disneysteve]

This is an interesting question.

I've been thinking about it since it was first posted and so far, I haven't come up with anything. I can't think of any recent purchases or expenditures that I've regretted. I guess that's a good thing.

I'll keep thinking, though.

[commoncentsmike]

This is an interesting question.

I've been thinking about it since it was first posted and so far, I haven't come up with anything. I can't think of any recent purchases or expenditures that I've regretted. I guess that's a good thing.

I'll keep thinking, though.

I'm jealous then, haha. But that probably means you spend conservatively and utilize what you purchase which is something most cannot say.

[AJ444]

$300 in hockey tickets we couldn't use at the last minute, my wife's gma died the day of the game.

[scfr]

Inexpensive dog toy that my dog shredded in 8 seconds.

[FLA]

a 2011 Prius with more features than I needed. I justified it that it was an ok purchase because I drove all day and would make money on getting reimbursed for mileage and I justified the extras because I was in my car all day and deserved creature comforts. Then it got totaled. I bought a stripped down Hyundai Accent and get almost the same mileage. I had planned to keep the Prius til it died to maximize my gas savings but that still didn't justify the price. Then I got sick and can no longer work so my Accent gets about 20 miles a week on it. I would've been heartsick watching the Prius just sit in my driveway when I became ill. But boy did I love that car! However, in the future I will drive the Accent til it dies and then buy an inexpensive stripped down decent little car again.

[PeggyHefferon]

This is an interesting question.

I've been thinking about it since it was first posted and so far, I haven't come up with anything. I can't think of any recent purchases or expenditures that I've regretted. I guess that's a good thing.

I'll keep thinking, though.

I can't think of a single item that falls into this category but I can think of some services I paid for that do. Not sure if that falls into the OP or not though.

Just last month I got ripped off by Firestone overcharging me for brake service. They charged for parts over 3x what the parts actually cost. Labor wasn't cheap of course, but the mark up on the parts really ticked me off.

Of course the person who told me I got ripped off said "you should have just asked me." The type of person that likes to make these statements after the fact, but near impossible to get a hold of when you are asking a favor.