Saving money is constantly on the minds of most people, and it’s no surprise that this is a topic of discussion whenever frugality arises. There are two kinds of advice in the world: good advice and advice that is just oh-so-wrong. Today, we’re focusing on the latter. Trust us when we say that you won’t believe some of the bad advice that people have been given.
1. Rent Your Furniture
One person kicked off this list of bad advice with some particularly awful guidance she once received: “My parents recommended Rent-A-Center for my furniture because the payments would ‘be cheaper.'” Paying a weekly fee for furniture seems like a disaster in the making to us, and the rest of Reddit agreed.
One of the highest-upvoted comments simply stated, “This is some of the worst financial advice I have ever heard.”
2. Don’t Work Overtime
This piece of advice shocked us to our core. An individual revealed that she was advised to avoid working overtime at her job because she was told, “You make less working overtime if it ‘puts you into the next tax bracket.'” Users across Reddit were shocked by this advice, with one person, in particular, noting that “It’s amazing how many grown, tax-paying people don’t understand how tax brackets work.”
3. Don’t Use Credit Cards
We’ll be honest: credit cards are very easy to abuse. If you’re responsible and are currently enjoying good financial health, however, credit card use can be invaluable. “This year alone, my cc points have paid for two vacations (minus food and fun money).
Airplane tickets, hotel, and rental car all paid for by points,” someone noted proudly. Another particularly insightful individual chimed in with additional advice that came with a caveat: “When you have a big project or buy, utilizing cards with points or cards with no interest for x months is a game changer…as long as you can pay off without accruing interest,” they revealed.
4. Don’t Get Rid of Anything You May Use in the Future
Many frugal people chimed in to comment with this particularly bad piece of advice. One particular person lamented a truly sad story: “Now my parent’s house is filled to the brim with things they don’t use,” he confessed. “Quite often, one of my parents has needed a particular item they knew they had, but were unable to find the item, so they bought a new one. Now they have two of the exact same item lost somewhere in their house.
Hoarding is one hell of a drug.” Indeed, there’s a thin line between keeping things of value you may need later and simply being a hoarder!
5. Always Buy in Bulk
A blanket statement like “always buy in bulk” works well – in theory. After all, the more quantity you buy, the price per item will decrease. In practice, however, it’s a mixed bag – especially for perishables. “Except it’s gone bad already, and I never used that much hand soap in a decade,” one person sadly commented.
6. Don’t Buy a House
For most people, buying a house will be the largest purchase in their entire life – but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a bad decision! Check out these words of warning by one prophetic person: “My parents will die poor because my dad was scared of the mortgage. Everybody their age who did buy a house, in the same income bracket, is now sitting on €400,000+.”
Others responded, also offering their own advice. One woman laid it out plainly: “Buy a house, if you can, she said. “Rent is still paying for the mortgage; it’s just not one with your name on it.”
7. Buy a Nicer Car if You Can Afford it
This advice made us squirm in our seats because it came from a place of arrogance. Many people were angered by this advice – one person specifically. “My friends are always telling me to buy a new car because mine is old,” he stated. “They drive new luxury cars, and they’re always having to take them in for service while I just have to do basic maintenance. They don’t understand why I would keep driving an old car when I could afford to buy a new one.” If you ask us, he’s in a much better financial situation than his friends are!
8. Cheap Mattresses Are Fine
A mattress is something you’ll spend a third of your life on – and we advise not to cheap out on that purchase! As it turns out, we’re not alone in this sentiment. Many agree: “My partner hurt his back a few years ago,” someone revealed. “Went thru doctor, acupuncture, inversion tables, etc. Went to Las Vegas with some friends. Woke up without pain for the first time in years. I called the hotel to get the bed specifics and bought one for 3k. Not cheap but cheaper than back surgery.”
9. Second-Hand Items Are for Poor People
Talk about a fallacy! The belief that second-hand stores are meant for “poor” people is simply not true. Just ask this person: “There is so much clean, barely used stuff available at thrift stores and second-hand shops at a fraction of the price of new,” they boasted.
10. Grow Your Own Food in a Garden
Although it may sound like a good idea, in many cases starting a garden to grow your own food may end up being more expensive than just buying produce yourself. “This cost me more money than actually buying the product and resulted in unwanted things like bug bites that required going to the doctor and expensive treatment and a lot of pain,” an ex-gardener revealed. “Not to mention a time sink that I didn’t need. Never again.”
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