12 Things That We Actually Don’t Need but Keep Spending Money On

We all try to surround ourselves with things that bring us joy: good quality home appliances, good furniture, the latest gadgets. But oftentimes, in an effort to make our lives more pleasant and easier, we forget that we don’t need everything we see on TV or in Instagram ads. For example, before the appearance of an activity tracker, we didn’t even think that this device might be useful in everyday life.

After having consulted our editorial and having asked around elsewhere, we at Bright Side finally found out which things and services we’d better stop overpaying for.

Wedding and evening dresses

It’s well known that a posh wedding dress from a good brand costs an arm and a leg. It shines on the bride for one evening only and then, in most cases, is stored in a case and is never worn again. It does look spectacular, but still, the amount of money spent is not worth it. In these cases, a rented dress helps save hundreds or even thousands of dollars. It’s the same story with evening wear — after all, we don’t really wear the same dress twice, especially within a short period of time. Meanwhile, there are many wedding and evening dress salons that offer their clients the chance to rent a gorgeous dress.

Vanity plates

Around 10 years ago, cars with these numbers were looked at with awe and talked about, like, “Look, he has 3 nines on his plate number!” It does stand out even today, but has already stopped being something surprising. Meanwhile, the cost of this car “decoration” can reach up to $6,500-7,000 and even more in some countries.

Video cameras

Of course, you do need this thing if you are a professional videographer. But many people buy video cameras for recording family events and forget that the cameras on our smartphones can already compete with semi-professional gadgets.

Brand name clothes for kids

The wish to provide your offspring with the best things is natural and sweet. However, one should keep in mind that kids grow extremely fast and that a good-quality T-shirt bought in an expensive boutique several months ago will soon become small to the kid and will either be collecting dust on a shelf or will be passed on to some relative.

Various multifunctional kitchen appliances

If you’re not obsessed with cooking and don’t spend several hours a day and the whole weekend doing it, it’s likely that many of the kitchen appliances offered by home stores will be useless to you. Oftentimes, we get the urge to buy another appliance while strolling around malls, where we start to imagine how nice it might be to use a sandwich maker or a trendy coffee maker. However, in most cases, they end up gathering dust somewhere in the depths of your kitchen cabinets and we remember them only during big clean-ups at home.

Online training, marathons, and webinars

Of course, among the many offers, there are those that really contain useful information that you’ll be able to apply to your everyday life. However, before you find this perfect offer, you’ll have to spend several hundred or even several thousand dollars. Keep in mind that, first of all, these products are a method of earning money for those who sell them.

Smart watch

A watch that counts your steps, measures your blood pressure and pulse, recognizes your face, and forecasts weather could blow anyone’s mind. All because now you know that those cool watches shown in the movies of the past have already become a reality. However, in most cases, we don’t have any need to buy this expensive gadget (except for in rare cases). Buying it because “I don’t know why but I want it” is definitely not worth it.

New iPhone

Of course, each preceding model differs from the next one and that’s why we want it and end up buying it, even though our “old” one still works perfectly and could serve us for many more years. Marketing works and after another year we will likely want to trade ours in for the newer model. It’s true that devices like tablets, phones, and even laptops get outdated pretty fast, but we don’t need to ditch the “old” ones just because there is a new version coming out.

Gift editions of books

Presentable books with beautiful covers and golden designs definitely look impressive on a bookshelf. However, it’s actually not that comfortable to read them: they are heavy and we might be afraid to crease or stain the expensive paper. Moreover, these editions, as a rule, cost 3-4 times more than ordinary ones. So if you are buying a book just to read it, you should opt for a more comfortable option, like used books.

Brand-name clothes and footwear

It’s obvious that the difference between the quality of a pair of sneakers for $15 and $150 is huge. But the difference between sneakers for $150 and $700 is not that significant. In this case, we are paying more for the name of the brand. Is it worth paying such big money for only a word on the label? We don’t think so.

Flying first class

A seat in the first-class cabin on a plane offers a range of advantages. For example, a more comfortable seat, more leg space, and a special menu. But the difference in the cost of the tickets is huge: a seat in first class costs 5-7 times more than a seat in the economy section. It’s clear what option is more profitable, taking into account that extra space for luggage, as well as other necessary services, can be bought for an extra charge.

Clothes for cats and dogs

There is a necessary minimum that helps our pets not freeze outside in the winter. But our 4-legged friends don’t need those numerous T-shirts and sweaters, no matter how cute and nice they look. If earlier, seeing an animal in clothes made people smile, today it has already become an absolutely ordinary thing. Still, the cost of a small dog shirt might cost even more than a human’s t-shirt.

Perhaps you have a different opinion about some of the things mentioned in the article? What else would you add to our compilation?