21 People On The One Thoughtless Purchase They Made Last Week And Already Regret

Last week, Chelsea wrote a piece about thoughtless purchases she already regretted a week after making them. It got the TFD team talking about the trap of thoughtless purchases and why they play a role in each of our lives (and budgets). Often it’s not until we’re meticulously going through our bank statements that we realize the amount of times we swipe our cards without even thinking about it. Even when I think I’m strictly adhering to a budget, there are some times when I almost unconsciously give myself a free pass, either because it’s been a long day, or I’m in a hurry. Looking back on my last few weeks, here’s a quick laundry list of the thoughtless purchases I made: $8 on tea because in 12 hours of travel, I stopped to grab tea three times (lol), $15 for valet parking because I was too stressed out by traffic to find a spot on the street, and $4 on a Thai iced tea that I didn’t really want but insisted on ordering on principle to accompany my yellow curry.

A little while after Chelsea’s piece went up, comments started flooding in from TFD readers sharing their thoughtless purchases from the week before that they already regret. The dialogue was honestly amazing to see, and the atmosphere of the comments section on Chelsea’s piece, in my opinion, is what makes the TFD community such an important space on the internet. So, I pulled together all those small spending confessions below. Hopefully reading through them will inspire you to cut back on thoughtless purchases this week, but also remind you that we’re all working on tightening our spending together.

1.“$7 for another top that i just do. not. need.” — Victoria G

2. “$4 for the pre-sliced fruit at the grocery store. I felt dirty, but at least the mango slices were delicious.” — Kristen

3. “I’m an idiot too. I forget to log into free WiFi a lot. It. Is. FREE. and I still can’t remember to do it. Ugh!” — Tania Patino MacDonald

4. “$15 for depressingly bland Mexican food delivery on Friday night. :(“ — CeeEm

5. “$8.95 for a Lush Green Bubbleroon that I didn’t want but the sales clerk was so nice and helpful, so I bought it anyway.” — Becker

6. “$30 at Urban Outfitters on those cheap flat Mary Janes and cheap earrings that ended up most likely breaking during sex because cuddling with BAE was more important than having dry feet in the rain- apparently.” — D. Broussard

7. “$9 for a noodle bowl that was more food than I needed and wasn’t even that good! I asked for a half order – but when they said no, I just ordered it anyway. 🙁 $12 for a book I read about online and got really excited for. Now it’s just sitting on the shelf.” — Dance The Sky

8. “Nearly $50 in fancy organic teas and oils from the Thrive Marketplace because they sent me a 15% off coupon. I’m going to use it all, but did I really /need/ it? Eeeeh. Could I have shopped around and found everything for significantly cheaper? Probably. And it will probably cause me to exceed my grocery budget for the month. But hey, I got a free jar of coconut oil. Doh.” — AN

9. “3 nights (in one week!!) of dining out because I was lazy and didn’t grocery shop or meal plan over the weekend.” — Kallieanne

10. “An $18 airport burger because I didn’t pack snacks. then a $30 checked-bag fee because i packed everything else.” — Meep

11. “$22 for pad thai delivery because I was too lazy to cook and nothing in my fridge caught my attention. the noodles were cold and congealed by the time it was dropped off. :(“ — Blanca

12. “$20 for a lonely sit-down sushi dinner where I was very obviously rushed out of the place by the staff. A dollar slice would’ve been fine.” — Charlotte Dow

13. “$50 at Old Navy (yeah I know) for 6 pairs of flip flops for my bridesmaids, as well as sweatpants, a tank top, and a pair of flats. I didn’t need any of it, and my bridesmaids are old enough to know to bring more comfortable shoes to change into at my reception. Ugh.” — egust01

14. “$10 for a burger from a restaurant that is super mediocre, but also super close to my apartment. Ugh, why?” — Erin