We've all heard the old saying "spending money like it's going out of style." Many of today's celebrities do just that with millions of dollars in their bank accounts and the lavish lifestyles money like that affords.
But then there are the people with normal jobs who try to emulate that kind of lifestyle. In their mind, they're living their best life like they're Cardi B. Unfortunately for them, spending more than you actually earn never works out in the end. With credit card debt driving through the roof, all of that jewelry will have to put on eBay at some point. There's no way they're keeping those rare $5,000 Funko pops, either.
Our community share some hilarious and jaw-dropping stories about the most outrageous purchases they've ever witnessed. Most of these confessions are good for a laugh, but some will make you straight up cringe.
Either way, nothing will prepare you for the madness you're about to read.
Don't forget to check the comment section below the article for more interesting stories!
#25 Chalk This Way
The head of the math department at my high school bought about ten pallets of chalk and retired the next year. The new head of the math department decided to switch out all the chalkboards for dry erase boards. They aren't allowed to throw out the chalk and aren't allowed to share with other departments who still use chalkboards. They had a room full of chalk for at least 7 or 8 years that no one was allowed to use.
#24 Save Water, Drink Beer
I work in a nightclub in Las Vegas. Table/bottle service on an average night starts at around $2,000. You get your own table in the club. Bottles and mixers. Security. Your own waitress. It’s already rather silly to spend $2,000 to drink at a club for a couple hours. However, on big holiday weekends, those prices rise. I’ve seen people drop $100,000 for a night out. One person in particular who works in finance in Dubai. He and his wife, along with 6 security guards (who weren’t drinking by the way) order 40 bottles of champagne at $800 a piece, 4 magnums, at $2,000 each, and several large format bottles of champagne at $5,000+ each. I think they only finished 10-15 of the normal-sized bottles. A few sips out of the bigger ones, mostly just pouring glasses and handing them to people.
Yeah, you wanna see people throw money away? Go to a Las Vegas nightclub on Memorial Day weekend. It’s kinda gross.
#23 When The Chips Are Down
In Las Vegas in 2000 at the Bellagio, I watched a guy walk up to a high roller blackjack table. He was being followed by a security guard and some guy in a suit carrying what we guesstimated was about $300,000 in chips. He sat and played blackjack by himself. We watched for about 45 minutes and he had already lost over $150,000 and never once showed any emotion.
I have no clue who the guy was/ He was dressed like a stereotypical white grandpa in jean shorts, a polo shirt, and white tennis shoes.
#22 Ain't Nothing Going On But The Rent
#21 Roll For Initiative
I had a guy come to me and buy EVERY figurine I was able to make (I had 72 different molds) for a cost of $900.
He said he was going to get deep into tabletop gaming. A week later, he gave up on the game because he couldn't figure out the battle system.
#20 Life Is A Highway
I thought this dude must be insanely rich until I found out later in the news that he'd defrauded banks for money. His debts amounted to 15 times the amount of his value and his businesses. He was thrown in jail. He's out now I think.
#19 Producing Little Results
I was so glad when this place went out of business.
#18 An $800 Shrug
I worked at a phone store and this guy just lost his iPhone in a river. The guy had insurance on the phone and had a $250 option to use it and get a phone the next day. He said he needed a phone now and ended up paying the $850 he still owed on his phone plus signing a new agreement to get another iPhone. We make commission off the phones, but I was looking out for his best interest that doing the insurance would make the most sense but then he scoffed and said it's only $800.
He was the epitome of "I live off daddy's money" and him acting like $800 is nothing is the most pretentious thing I've ever seen.
#17 Rage Against The Casino Machine
#16 A High Price For Freshness
He'd call himself "elite" because he bought these $75 pieces of scented cardboard. I don't know what went through his mind every time he'd buy one of them.
#15 A $5 Million Disaster
#14 The Carnival Is Over
I think I had something to do with it because I won the game (free throw) moments before and he was watching. For some reason, in middle-to-high school, I would win that game every single time I saw it (can't for the life of me anymore...).
He got a consolation doll, though.
#13 The Sound Of Failure
A company won a contract in an area of the world they never operated in but thought they could do it purely because they had the hubris of working in other tough areas of the world. In fact, they were so confident they quickly scaled up to several contracts in this new area.
Turns out the equipment couldn’t hack the new environment. The company proceeds to blow well over $100,000,000 in a year repairing prematurely failing equipment (surprise surprise).
There was no Christmas party that year, but I’m sure the management team enjoyed their bonuses.
#12 Mr. Nice Watch
#11 The Most Expensive Place On Earth
#10 I Wanna Rock... Literally
#9 Made In The Shade
#8 Back To The Whiteboard
My company didn't want to bother the new employees in France with menial tasks but they had no office manager.
So my company wanted us to buy a rolling whiteboard in the U.S. and have it shipped to us, then ship it to the office across the Atlantic.
Rather than, you know, sending them an Amazon France link and giving them a credit card to buy a rolling whiteboard for, say, $150, they wanted us to get it in the U.S. and add an extra $200 in shipping.
#7 Sneaker Game Strong
The dude worked a part-time job and said he was saving money for something big. We all assumed he meant like moving out or a trip out of the country or something.
No.
This guy bought a $750 pair of SNEAKERS and then put them in a display case.
I haven’t spoken to him in about a year.
#6 Look, But Don't Touch
A friend bought a new fully-stocked car he couldn’t afford on his salary. He said it’s okay because he’s getting another job that pays better wages. Only thing is, he hasn’t taken the exam to get his license for the job yet.
#5 From Point A To Point B
I work for Amazon's logistical team. They're currently spending thousands of dollars sending people to CDL school so we can move freight between sites. However, they're not giving out bonuses, raises, or any kind of incentives.
So everyone's just leaving immediately after to better-paying jobs. It's hilariously stupid.
#4 A Case Of Mistaken Identity
Definitely not the biggest sum of money, but spent for a really stupid reason. I bought a $300 bottle of scotch when I meant to buy the $60 version from the same distillery (the boxes looked nearly identical). When the cashier told me the price, I realized my mistake, but she and everyone behind me in line seemed really impressed that I was buying something so expensive. So now I own an unopened, very expensive bottle of single malt because of my social anxiety.
#3 Coast To Coast
Not the biggest waste, but the weirdest one.
Around 2001, my wife worked for a national company and her team was split between East and West Coast.
No working from home or laptops and desktops were standard for them.
If someone needed to work from home, they had a single laptop they could use for the whole team. So, if that laptop was in North Carolina, and someone in California needed to work from home, they had to box it up, ship it (with full insurance, rush shipping, and a few days notice) to the other coast.
#2 We Didn't Start The Fire
I knew a guy that bought a device from a magic website that made it look like you shot fireballs out of your hand. The thing cost $200 and everyone around him said it was stupid. This may be autobiographical.
