The Brits have somehow garnered a reputation over the centuries as being a nation of sensible, parsimonious folk who look after the pennies so that the pounds look after themselves. But how true is that? Well, as anyone who lives in a landlocked place yet still spontaneously purchased an inflatable canoe from Lidl’s middle aisle will tell you: not very.
They’ve been talking about the things we uselessly spaff our money on on the AskUK subreddit after user DunyaPhobic76 asked this:
What’s something people spend money on thinking it’s useful, but is actually a total waste?
And skinflints the nation over chipped in with their carefully considered pennyworth:
1.
‘Name brand paracetamol.’
–zxvzxvz
2.
‘Electric/electronic product insurance. Unbelievably expensive for what it is. If you have home contents insurance it’ll be covered.’
–Fwoggie2
3.
‘When I was a naive 16-year-old and first got my own income, I spent hundreds, maybe even over a thousand, of pounds on mobile games. Gems packs, ‘exclusive items’, etc. Worst part of it is that the game I spent the most on ended up getting ‘sunsetted’ and nobody could access the game anymore. It was the impulsivity and impatience. So fucking stupid but it was just so easy to do.
I’m still impulsive now but I never spend money on mobile games anymore. Fucking hated myself every time I looked at my bank account and saw a column of ‘-£5.00’s, not realising at the time how much it was adding up to.’
–cherryandfizz
4.
‘Fabric conditioner. Possibly the biggest marketing con ever.’
–PerceptionGreat2439
5.
‘Whatever expensive supplements a proper, clearly on steroids, jacked up Gymfluencer recommends, so you can become like him. Absolute madness how the Liver King became so popular.’
–-TheHumorousOne-
6.
‘Hate to say it because I do enjoy them but, fancy candles. Pretty much just burning money if you think about it.’
–GnextD2020
7.
‘Ordering takeaway food from an app, its never great by the time it gets to you and is now very expensive for what it is.’
–allabouttheplants
8.
‘Priority boarding fee.’
–MercatorLondon
9.
‘Expensive HDMI leads. Gold-plated indeed.’
–KentuckyCandy
10.
‘Fireworks – watch your hard earned money burst in the sky within a split second, 10 extra points if you do it during daytime!’
–Antibiotics121
11.
‘Branded formula. All baby formula must be nutritionally identical unless for a specific dietary need such as allergies or digestive issues.’
–Fwoggie2
