The 6 Dumbest Purchases I Made In My 20s | The Financial Diet 

Chelsea talks about more of her worst financial decisions here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-O5tFEUwon18.html

Sell that stupid coat. I bet it conjures up negative thoughts just looking at it sitting in your closet. It has served its purpose Chelsea, let it go.

1. novelty fashion (robin's egg blue coat) 2. a car when public transit is available (2004 Hyundai Accent) 3. college classes you don't intend to give your all to (Incomplete grade on transcript) 4. an apartment without serious research (first apartment in NYC) 5. cheap kitchen tools 6. buying items online without due diligence (new couch)

Take out food. During the semester when I am stressed I can spend like $300 in one month on delivery food. Separate from regular groceries. I’ve been getting better since I started watching your channel tho.... the last time I splurged on food due to anxiety I spent $100.

My dumbest purchases in my 20's: 1.fast fashion... I spent so much money on disposable clothing that was cheap and didn't last. 2. I bought expensive furniture pieces that were too large for my living space. They were quality pieces I told myself I'd keep forever but it was too much for a small apartment. I'm such a minimalist now that the thought of having all that stuff triggers my anxiety. 3. College books.... though they were considered a "requirement", none of my professors actually used them!

That's sweet that you guys are still together even after the princess coat debacle... He must be a sweet guy.

A friend bought a 5 pound bag of cornmeal online to make his own Soylent. Turns out it was 50 pounds. He was left with a lot of cornmeal

My most terrible financial mistakes in my 20s have been needlessly wasted money: not returning something on time that didn't fit or I didn't like or paying any kind of a late fee is such a waste of money! I also think about expensive things that I didn't care for as much as I should have and either lost or ruined.

I love your honesty about the financial mistakes. Thank you for being so open with us!!

Let's add makeup to my list. Every foundation I ever purchased, eyeshadows, powders..I don't EVER wear any makeup except some lipstick every full moon, so I don't know why, every period I get, I feel the urge of buying makeup.

When I was 18, I bought a tiny "haunted" vase on ebay for 200$ back when the "metaphysical and magic items" section still existed. I've never told anyone this, the shame is strong.

When I was 23 I found a Kate Spade pink trench coat at Marshalls for $300 and I had to have it! I didn't really like it but I wanted something designer and I had just discovered the magic of credit cards. Also the coat made me feel like Charlotte from Sex and The City. I used it maybe 2 times and it just sat in my closet for the next 5 years. It wasn't until last year when I was moving out and had to go through all of my things that I saw the jacket again. This time I noticed something a little strange... why did the buttons say "Anne Klein?" I looked at the tag again and noticed the edges were a little frayed and with a quick tug the tag came right off to reveal an Anne Klein label!! So not only did I purchase a jacket I didn't really like JUST for the label, THE LABEL WASN'T EVEN REAL!! I still feel a pain in my heart when i think about those $300

I had the opposite experience with a coat. At 23 I bought a rainbow knitted alpaca wool fair trade arctic fleece lined jacket for a lot of money, because I really really wanted it. I am almost 36 and I still wear it. It has lasted this long and is still going, and its good any time during winter, late fall and early spring, with or without layers. Sometimes when you fall in love with something, it works out well.

I'm only just in my twenties (turned 21 in May this year) but I moved out of home at 17 so I've had a few years to make stupid purchases and learn from them! My biggest issue was that I would get sucked in by sales - clothing under $5, five notebooks for $10, half-off duvet covers, I needed it ALL. I very quickly ran out of space and ended up giving heaps of the items to thrift shops which was a huge waste of money. Now I am on a really strict student budget with no disposable income and I really wish I had that money (especially on weeks that I struggle to pay rent). Don't get fooled by sale signs people, you probably don't need 5 duvet covers and the same crappy shirt in four colours...

Brilliant! Something stupid I bought was a $100 gas mask, for a dress up party! Have not used it since, party was in 2013.

Let me tell you, it doesn't get any better! My husband and I are both 62 and he just bought a new couch that wouldn't fit in through either the storm door on the enclosed front porch or the main door to the house. He had to remove the feet from the couch and he had to remove the storm door and the trim around the storm door and then also take out the living room window and trim to get it into the house. It would have been even harder to take the front door and trim off, so he opted to remove the window and trim. Good thing he has worked both as a carpenter and installed windows and doors so that he could put everything back together. Probably the only way that couch is coming out of the house is to be cut into pieces!!!! And hopefully, he'll take measurements next time.

Well, actually, I think the #1 mistake is hanging onto stuff rather than selling it (thus getting it out of your life and simultaneously recouping some of the $$).

Maybe a follow up video but how do you know you're buying quality kitchen supplies?? I feel like I spend so much money trying to buy things that will last longer (glass Tupperware, stainless steel stuff, reusable silicone ziploc style baggies) and sometimes it ends up just being crap and a total waste of money. Maybe you guys could make a video of how to do better at buying quality cookware and utensils and even kitchen gadgets! For someone who likes to cook and meal prep?? One success I've had is springing for a nice frother and I literally use it every day and it makes my coffee exponentially better lol

how can you talk about a coat that much and not show it!?

You are like a breath of fresh air Chelsea, being honest and open about one's financial or other type of mistakes is never easy but you have grown so much and learned from those mistakes! Great video, great tips and advice as usual! Keep up the good work and please share some info about the upcoming TFD book :)

I tend to be wasteful in 3 areas: fast food, cheap kitchen stuff, and fast fashion. I’m just now breaking out of the clothes one and buying better quality clothes but I still have to work on the food one. The kitchen part was so relatable.

In my experience, you only grow up smart with your money if you've seen your patents struggle. The more privileges you've had as a child, the more you don't know how things are acquired. You just know you always get nice things.

University was my worst mistake. Fell into depression from it, my anxiety went thru the roof, i flunked out and now i'm 25,000 in the hole

If you still have the coat, maybe you can tailor it so that you can wear it? Maybe take the fur off and/or take some of the length off.. It's a sunk cost at this point so maybe you can make it more wearable and usable!

sell the coat :)

I bought myself a pony. The wonderful thing about a buying a pony is that it not only cost me 800$ to buy her but about 350 dollars a month there after to keep her where she was.

Omg the dog what a wonderful surprise that was 😍

I seriously have just been BINGEING on your videos the last hour. Thank you so much for not only putting out so much helpful information, but doing it with such a non judgmental and fun attitude. I've gotten much more confident and responsible with money the last year, but something I was very fearful, yet careless about all the years before. I will be watching much more from you guys and really want to develop myself as someone empowered about money. Thanks again!

Hahaha so fun, so sweet. How about a Smartest purchases list?

I’m 23 and my dumbest purchase so far is a wireless earphones that cost me 500sr (~= 120$) and 1) I did not need them 2) they were uncomfortable af and won’t stick to my ears :( also every cheap pair of shoes I have purchased (which is a lot!!) because they are ruined literally in 2 months

Can you please explain why you purchased the 10 pillows behind you in the video?

Im so happy I came across your channel! I’m having a hard time navigating finances and trying to finish school, but hearing your tips and sharing your stories is making me realize that things like this happen to everyone!

Thank you for sharing these. It makes me feel a little better - although I made bad financial decisions into my 30's. Love your blog and now your channel.

I'm currently 22 and I'd love to avoid dumb purchases 😂 I've been into minimalism for most of my 20s now and still live at my parents house, so there aren't many dumb things. It's just lots of tiny knickknacks that I've already forgotten about :D but I've currently stopped buying those kinds of things.

This is hilarious! I think we've all made some horrible money decisions.

All my purchases are dumb purchases.

I love and appreciate your transparency Chelsea!

Hands down my dumbest purchase of my 20's was my bachelor's degree.

I have bought a lot of pc games on steam because they were super cheap, but I never played them. Once I realized that my collection of never played games kept growing, it stopped my urge to buy them.

Thank you for being so open and vulnerable about spending mistakes! I know it is a difficult subject, but this video really helped me to get to terms with my spending mistakes

This is such a good video!!! I love this channel but this video I found super relatable and appreciated your honesty and story telling! Love this style.

My husband acsidently brought an actual fire engine while drunk once....

I visited Iceland (VERY expensive) for like 4 days for spring break on short notice and I think it was dumb how we planned it. We booked 1 expensive Airbnb for every night and then rented a car to drive across the country and back, twice. Why didn’t I just look it up better and book an Airbnb in the middle of the southwest Iceland and southeast so we wouldn’t have to drive 5 hours every day and pay crazy expensive gas prices. That said, amazing trip lol

I love this! Thanks for being so honest about your dumb purchases. Makes me feel so much better about my own! I guess I would say my worst purchases from my 20s were a nice pair of binoculars bought and then promptly lost while on our honeymoon... and all the spontaneous clothes that I bought for special occasions but never wore again.

Thanks for your honesty! It feels good to know that I’m not the only one who regrets financial decisions from my 20s!

I love these videos so much! And that puppy is the cutest.

I'm 24 now. Haven't made that many money mistakes thankfully. But there are still 6 years left lol

I just love your pure honesty!!! It’s the best-it reminds me of how my best friend & I talk :)

Thank you for your honesty and openness!

My dumbest purchase to date has to be a series of Coach items. They partnered with NASA (I’m a sucker for space things.) I was waiting for the bus to get home and it was going to take a while, and I was right in front of the coach store. Not only did I buy $800(!!!) worth of Coach items, but I paid full price. They weren’t on sale, but Ebates was doing a 15% cash back on Coach and I am still kicking myself. I love this purse and use it a lot, but I wish I just didn’t know it existed in the first place. I don’t keep my credit cards in my wallet anymore because of this.

I'm the exact opposite when it comes to cars Vs PT. I have my own car but only because I don't like in a city and while there is public transport to get to most of the places I need to be: the services are minimal and leave mostly hourly so I would end up adding around 1 hour+ for every trip to work that takes me 25 minutes to drive. But I wish wish wish I could take public transport everywhere. I hate driving. Driving sucks. You have to pay attention. On a bus you can relax and do nothing or watch a video or get something done. Driving is so much effort.

Awesome video as always Chelsea!

Thank you thank you thank you for this channel!

The worst purchase I made was leasing a car when I was 24. After 4 years i could either return the car and pay penalties (over the mileage limit, not considered wear and tear damage etc) or just "buy" the same car I've already been driving with yet another 4 years of car payments for which I opted. Advice; DO NOT LEASE!! This was a time of my life where I was broke and needed to be in a car to drive cross country when I moved to Chicago. If I know now what I knew then, I would've bought a modest clunker that would have taken me from point A to B.

When I was 12 I took my brand new laptop to my grandparents house in a backpack. When we packed everything back in the car to go home my backpack fell out of the trunk and settled right underneath the tire. There goes my $400.

I listen to you every morning, your channel is super!

Hahaha favourite TFD video yet! Thank you for sharing

You know you're on the road to wealth when you start dropping this old people knowledge. gj Chelsea

The dumbest things I used to buy in my 20s were items of clothing that looked amazing and I absolutely loved but had nothing at home to match them with. I never thought about the utilitary aspect and how the piece could be repurposed into several outfits, so I ended up with a super cute blouse that I could never wear because I had no pants or skirts to match it with. Then, I had to shop for clothes again because I had to find something to match up with that blouse, and I could've saved that trip and that money if only I had bought a blouse that made sense with the rest of my closet. That was a cycle it took me a while to get out of. Those were more my 19s but still...

I'm 19 and watching so I can learn from others mistakes. Thank you!

I subscribed to this channel thinking it may leave me feeling behind financial and my 20's were full of financial mistakes but I'm left feeling confident! I think I'm okay! Your 20's is such an opportunity for mistakes and growth :)

At 24 I feel like I've done none of these.... I could MAYBE say I've done 1 and 6, but not because I actually remember doing It, just because they sound like if I was to do any of these those two would be the most likely. Especially given I'm blind, so won't be buying a car anytime soon, and I didn't go to college! haha I also slowly collected home/kitchen decor over about 5-7 years - such a win!

Chelsea, you are so awesome! Also, I had NO idea you didn't have your degree, that's pretty cool that you paved your own way, through mistakes and all. I've made really dumb purchases throughout my twenties but for me the worst ones have been one time things like overpriced Halloween costumes or bad drugstore makeup that didn't work. Or every dress that I've only worn once. It adds up and doesn't add anything to my life.

This channel gives great advice for people of all ages. I went on a dumb binge buying tons of clothes online because I thought the fit was all the same and i ended up throwing away half of the stuff, most of it unworn. Now I take the time to go to stores to try them on first and buy 1. Then I order the same stuff online later if I want more.

I wasted so much money on art supplies i don't have time to use and they are still sitting in my desk cupboard right now :(

Oh i've been there. In my first Apartment i had to have EVERYTHING for the kitchen. I bought the cheapest stuff. Nearly everything is broken today or i threw it out. Because nobody needs every tool that is on the market 🙄 There is a Quote in Germany: "Wer billig kauft, kauft zweimal". What litterly meens that wen you buy cheap stuff you always buy it double.

I put $500 down and plan to pay in full by January when my certification class starts. I'm sick of my job, have been saving so much (better btw thanks to your tips,) and now have enough for my future car and these classes :) Thank-you so much, guys!

Thanks .. I really like your videos ...very helpful and eye-opening

1. Including Mona in more videos is the best idea you guys have ever had. 2. In case anyone is wondering - if you live in or are moving to New York and plan to live with roommates, but you're searching by yourself, it's pretty easy to avoid a broker fee. I found my room on Facebook. People kept warning me about putting money aside for a broker fee; turns out they assumed I could somehow afford to live alone. Lol.

Haa haa haa.. Totally relate to the kitchen stuff. I bought good stuff but there are so many plates and serving spoons.. Steel spoons with non-stick pans, that's a disastrous combination

I love how the tiny pupper just blends into the couch. Also, really good advice. I've definitely spent too much money on clothing that just didn't get worn. It was an impulse purchase and it wasn't a smart move. Thankfully, there's Poshmark so I can at least recoup *some* of those losses. I'm also gutting my board game collection for things that don't get played. I may have a rare one on my hands that might get me a decent price online.

😂🤣 this was such an amazing and funny video keep up the great work 👌🏾

I grew up on public transport, but the bad thing is I'm 25 and still without a full driving licence. I think I bought lots of stupid things like anime merchandise from Japan, a LV handbag which i seldom use and cosplay outfits which i only wore about once or twice each.

Omg IKEA furniture is so deceiving online. I always write down what i like online, then go look at it in store. Half the time it's kid size. I could measure, but I'm not paying for shipping and usually need it ASAP.

Every year in Sweden we have a thing called "bokrea" which roughly translates to book sale. Each year I would find an inspirational book that I just needed to have! None of which I actually read. As late as yesterday night I made the final decision to get rid of my last book that I just bought on impulse. I learned my lesson and impulse purchases is now a thing of the past :) Thankyou for sharing your story.

Thanks for the advice! Thankfully I’ve only done one of these (wasting money on clothes)

My dumbest purchase was moving out at 21 😂 I was sooooo not ready for all the expenses i incurred not to mention walking off my call center job few months later .... How can I forget taking a student loan for university n picked a major I ended up hating ... Long story short I'm back with my parents, I quit university I'm now at beauty college (a fraction of the cost for university) , have a part time job n I'm 3 times as wise .... Yeah I'm now 22 ... My mistakes were lessons hence assets

My dumbest purchase is probably my macbook. Not that I not love it, but i just spent too much for the prestige of an apple product yet totally aware therr are plethora of other options with fractions of the cost. But I have it now and imma use the shit out of it. Great video TFD!

LOL dude that's happened to me where an item looked way way bigger on amazon than it actually was! luckily the reviews/description saved me

love your videos!

Tje 4 major dumb purchases made during my 20's have all been cars. 1) Purchasing a non-running vehicle in the dead of winter because my non-mechanic boyfriend said he would repair it when the weather broke. Yeah, sold that to the junk man in the Spring; 2) I financed a car before I was certain that I would be able to afford all my other bills on my first "real" salary from my first job. (Lost the job due to illness at 9 months and lost the car a few months later.); 3) My fiancé convinced me to buy a 1965 station wagon for $50 because it was built the year I was born and still used regular gasoline. (It lasted about 5 months and died a horrible death.); and finally, just before separating from my 1st husband (the boyfriend and fiancé in the previous stories), 4) I purchases a Chevy Chevette that had a thin piece of metal and a wooden board as the driver's side flooring. It lasted about 8 months and conked out at 1am outside a movie theater.

Thanks for this! I'm 23 and still making dumb purchases lol. I ordered this skater skirt that looked beautiful in pictures and had A LOT of great reviews, but I should have read the negative reviews instead. It's been a year and I've washed it probably twice and ironed it multiple times (it wrinkles so easily) but still haven't worn it because the material looks so bad when I put it on. I think my life would be better if I was in the US and could return shit but unfortunately shipping is a hassle where I am so I continue to take giant risks. At least it's not a coat 😂

Loved this video and love the hair cut/do!

Useful video, thanks!

I have so many Withdrawals on my transcript. What a waste of time and money

Ironically, my 2004 Hyundai accent was one of the best financial decisions of my 20s- the car has been easy to repair myself, cheap to operate and long lived

Is it just me or is anyone else also finding themselves chuckle all throughout watching this !!! I mean funny on point as it applies to my 20s as well ...

Your dog surprised me :) I will be graduated after a few months, I really worry about my financial after that. Thanks for your advice

IKEA’s $1 garlic press is 🔥🔥🔥 tho, seriously just as good if not better than some $40 ones I’ve used at other people’s houses

Buying a textbook after renting it because it was my major at the time(psychology) and thought it can be useful for the future. Yea...i Google now and i have opened to look at it twice i believe. And we all know how pricey textbooks can be esp the latest edition which is what i bought. I also asked my father and brothers to buy me a custom made skateboard (brand name too) when i was younger...nope. Barely touched.

Great video...I made many dumb purchases myself in my 20's

This gives me hope that maybe one day I’ll figure out how to not be so financially reckless lol. One of your best videos, I think!

Don't know if this counts as a "purchase" per say, but my roommate is 20 and this past summer found an abandoned puppy in a park by her house. Without having a steady job during the school year, she decided to keep the dog because it was cute- not taking into consideration at ALL the costs of vaccinating/training/raising a puppy. It shit on my carpet yesterday. Not. Happy.

Where is the top that you're wearing from? It's lovely!

I reallllly love this video, thank you so much xoxo new sub

on the last one, i have measured a bunch of spaces in my room and lounge with ideas for what i would like (drawers, boxes, coffee table...) and have all the measurements in my phone, along with a couple tiny tape measures in my handbags so if i see something, i can do a full check and get it, no regrets. I can be an impulse shopper, so specifications on hand can help make them informed and useful purchases.

$40 winter boots. Just not worth it. I've had them fall apart while walking in them and then had a wet foot and once a bleeding one too. Since those experiences I've bought myself a great pair of Sorrels for $150 and they have been sooooo worth it!

I bought two pairs of high price headphones because I wanted both and thought I would use both, but I really don't. One was ridiculously pricier which was supposed to be my first go-to item yet it just sits there being a waste of $500. Haha I guess that was my 500 stupid ticket item. Regret having spent it!

Dude you are so funny. Thanks for being so honest

+The financial diet I like this channel cuz you guys are relatable.. It shows that progress doesn't have to be Orthodox the way society deems it to be.. so I dont beat myself up feeling like am the only one going through a tough time figuring out adulthood.. So thank you guys for sharing your personal experiences.