Psst, I make money on some of the links in this post at no cost to you. It keeps the lights on around here. Amazon links are affiliate. 

If you’ve watched an infomercial in your life, you’ve probably said, “Why would someone buy that?”

I have moments like this all the time. But, thanks to good marketing, items like the Shake Weight and Uggs became crazy-popular, if only for a hot minute.

It’s really easy to judge what other people buy, especially luxury items that are a ‘stupid’ use of Money. I’m guilty of feeling all high ‘n’ mighty about my purchasing decisions.

But wait! I’ve purchased plenty of stuff that people would say is stupid. The blogisphere is rife with people saying certain purchases are stupid.

In the spirit of raising a middle-finger to judgment, here are the best ‘stupid’ things we’ve spent money on. Add yours in the comments!

My favorite ‘stupid’ purchases

The Roomba

The $200+ I spent on a Roomba was one of my best purchases of 2017. However, I’m sure some people would think it’s a useless addition to the mountain of crap in our house. But to me, it’s been VERY worth the money. The Roomba is probably the one object in our house that continues to earn its keep.

I used to spend hours each week sweeping our house. I had just about given up on clean floors.

But then our Christmas bonuses came in and I splurged on this little robot slave.

Best. Idea. Ever. The house gets cleaned automatically and I can focus my energy on other stuff, like playing with Zap.

Zap

Zap is not a “thing,” but I wanted to mention him here. Some frugality sites, like Mr. Money Mustache, claim that pet ownership can dig you into a financial hole.

Friends, he isn’t wrong. We spend hundreds of dollars every year ensuring Zap is healthy and happy. And spoiled rotten.

If we didn’t have a cat, that would mean more money in our pockets. But Zap provides so much love and companionship that his antics outweigh vet bills, Soft Paws, and litter costs.

A new car

This is controversial in the money blogging space. Several years ago, we got a brand-new Corolla and haven’t regretted it.

Not one bit.

You see, before that, we’d had used vehicles. And every single one was a freakin’ lemon. We realized we spent more repairing these POS cars than if we had just bought a new car.

I know the math does work out in favor of buying used, and I do think buying used cars is a good idea. You just have to hope that there’s nothing wrong with it. I’ve found that new cars tend to be a safer bet as far as pricey repairs or catastrophic problems.

Anyway, buying our Corolla has given us peace of mind. I know we’re pretty likely to make it to our destination without breaking down.

We did finance this car since it was before our frugal overhaul.

However! The interest rate is crazy-low and we plan on paying it off early, anyway. If I had to do it over again, I would probably put a minimum 50% down payment on a new car and pay it off in a year or two, depending on interest.

A Vitamix

“You paid $600 for a blender?”

Yes, yes we did.

We used to have a Ninja blender. We thought it was splurging to buy this $99 beauty, but after a few years, it was clear the Ninja couldn’t keep up with our regular cooking.

After the Ninja went to the Great Appliance Dump In The Sky, we upgraded to a Vitamix. And lemme tell ya, that price tag hurt. But you know what else? I didn’t care, because I had never had such a nice piece of equipment before.

With our Vitamix, we blend smoothies, soups, and sauces with ease. The Ninja couldn’t touch on the perfection of this Vitamix.

Since we cook at home so often and are 100% Picky eaters, the Vitamix has made home cooking tastier and more enjoyable. That’s worth $600 to me. Here’s a similar Vitamix to the one that we bought. 

A double oven

Number-one on my wish list for our custom kitchen was a double oven. Y’all know how much I love to cook and bake. I despise using one oven while cooking both sweet and savory dishes.

That’s how you get cupcakes that taste suspiciously like meatloaf.

I don’t use the double oven often, but it’s saved my tail more times than I can count. And it makes it SO much easier to host holidays, since the bottom oven has a warmer. I also use the warmer to proof bread more quickly.

It seems like a stupid luxury, but a double oven was worth paying more to me.

Our house

Personal finance peeps across the internet are torn on the subject of home ownership. Some people, like Dave Ramsey, think that you HAVE to own a home to be financially independent. Others think that home ownership is like getting into the biggest money pit of your life.

I don’t really care either way what people decide to do. For us, the numbers worked out in favor of buying a house. We’re also independent, quiet, and enjoy more privacy, which are hard to find in a rental.

Buying a house was one of the toughest things Mr. Picky Pincher and I have ever done. But it’s been a really rewarding and educational experience.

People can judge me for taking out a $145k mortgage, but I don’t care. It was worth every penny to have a home of our own.

Vacuum sealer

Back in 2014, when we were still dating, I bought Mr. Picky Pincher a $60 Vacuum Sealer for his birthday. Many items were sealed with said vacuum sealer!

Unfortunately, over time the machine didn’t give a great seal. We decided to upgrade to a BAMF of a vacuum sealer from Cabela’s.

Again, a vacuum sealer might seem like a nice-to-have kitchen appliance that isn’t worth the $200. But for us, it helps avoid food waste by preserving our food better.

100 mason jars

I did think this was stupid at first, if I’m honest.

I remember Mr. Picky Pincher loading up crate after crate of buy-one-get-one Mason jars at HEB. I wasn’t so sure about the whole Mason jar extravaganza, but I was curious to see how it played out.

I’m so glad we got these!

These Mason jars come in hand for everything from canning to shelf storage. At any given time maybe half of the Mason jars are being used. And if I have a big canning project, most of them are taken up.

It’s nice knowing that we can do preserving and canning without worrying about vessels.

Beer kit

Mr. Picky Pincher adores beer. Not only drinking it, but also the science and art behind crafting good beer.

Last year he snagged this beer-making kit on Amazon. It’s grown into a full-blown mini-mini-micro brewery in our home, complete with a kegerator and beer on draught.

Maybe it doesn’t seem crazy-frugal to spend moolah on this equipment, but it helps us save money in the long run. It’s also something Mr. Picky Pincher finds tasty and fulfilling.

Worth it.

Good clothes

I can’t tell y’all how often people say, “Oh, I could never spend $X on shoes/clothes/pants/whatever.”

I absolutely love shopping for my clothes at thrift stores, but there’s a problem. The majority of the clothes I buy there fall apart within months. Although I bought yoga pants for .50, it’s still wasteful to buy clothes that deteriorate in six weeks that I have to throw away.

I’ve started opting for well-made, high-end clothing pieces. My goal is to have less clothing that’s made with quality. So sure, I might spend $80 on yoga pants, but they’ll last me five years. I’ve found this approach saves more of my money and my sanity.

While I’m tempted by the $5 flats at the thrift store, I know I get what I pay for when it comes to good clothes.

The bottom line

Money judgment is like an Olympic sport for some people. But, in reality, we don’t know what’s best for other people. An expense might be worth it to someone else, and seem like a total waste of money to me. It’s important to let people spend money on what they see fit, even if we think it’s ‘stupid.’

We want to know: What are some ‘stupid’ ways you’ve spent your money?

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