What people wish they hadn’t spent so much money on in their 20s
Some expenses felt justified in the moment but hard to defend years later.
A recent AskReddit thread posed a simple question: “What is something you spent a lot of money on in your 20s that you now realize was a complete waste?” and thousands of replies poured in. The specifics ranged from car mods to luxury skincare to supporting family members who never paid it back. Here are 10 of the most revealing responses.
Family “loans” that never came back
One commenter admitted to spending close to six figures helping family members under the promise of repayment, but the money never came back. Family-related spending is uniquely hard to deal with because it bypasses rational cost-benefit thinking and taps into guilt and loyalty instead. Supporting loved ones can be meaningful, but repeated bailouts often hurt your own personal milestones, financial or otherwise.
Flashy car modifications
There were tons of comments that said they wished they hadn’t blown so much money on car mods in their 20s. Expensive rims, after-market systems, engines, and cosmetic upgrades don’t age well financially, as cars are depreciating assets. One user calculated that the $20,000 they spent on mods could be worth over $160,000 today if invested in the stock market instead. Car culture can be fulfilling, but expecting returns from it is where regret creeps in.
Alcohol
One simple word, “alcohol”, was one of the most repeated answers in the thread. Frequent drinking can be a huge budget killer, especially when tied to nightlife, rideshares, late-night food, etc.; it all adds up over the years. A lot of users reflected on how little value remained once the hangovers stopped, and how it would have been wiser for their health and their wallet to pay more attention to exactly how much money they were blowing on partying every weekend.
Playing it safe
One of the more introspective responses in the comments wasn’t about a product; it was about “doubting myself.” This person spoke of missed opportunities, business ideas never pursued, risks avoided, unopened doors, and the hidden financial cost these decisions carry. This inaction is sort of like a personal bias, where your fear of loss outweighs potential gain. People later recognize that underestimating themselves was more expensive than any bad purchase.
Education without clear ROI
Several commenters pointed to their time spent in college, their master’s degrees, useless classes, or the extra money they added to student loans just to have cash on hand. Education still correlates with higher lifetime earnings on average, but outcomes vary dramatically by field and cost, and many Redditors in the thread said they realized this far too late.
Dating the wrong person
Multiple commenters summed up their past regrets in one word: “women,” “men,” and “dating.” What they meant was spending money and time trying to make incompatible relationships work for an extended period of time. In hindsight, many of them realized they were funding relationships that delayed clarity instead of building toward commitment.
Bailing out friends
“Bailing out friends from situations that they caused.” Many people said they don’t regret helping friends in real ways, but they do regret repeatedly giving them money as a quick fix. What often felt like kindness at the time ended up enabling the same problems to return a few weeks later. Several pointed out that financial help only works when it supports real change, not when it delays it. As some put it, sometimes letting people face the consequences of their choices is the only help that actually lasts.
Lifestyle
We’re all aware of the tendency to increase spending as income rises, it’s one of the biggest obstacles to long-term wealth building. You start to upgrade phones upgraded annually and start buy name-brand clothes, appliances, and luxury accessories. One commenter admitted they were “chasing a version of adulthood they weren’t financially ready for yet.” They didn’t regret buying nice things for themselves, just doing it before it was sustainable.
Trying to impress people
One Reddit user put it bluntly by saying, “Expensive nights out trying to impress people I don’t even talk to anymore.” Another mentioned spending money on senseless things hoping it would attract women, only to realize the “return on investment” was zero, and was simply money wasted. It’s easy to get caught up in social validation or the idea that your lifestyle needs to “look” a certain way, but the financial consequences are real.
Dining out
Eating take-out, making reservations every week, ordering delivery, and treating convenience as a necessity showed up repeatedly in the comments. It might feel like a small, insignificant daily indulgence, but it can quietly become thousands per year. Many commenters only recognized the cost was both financial and physical once health or weight consequences forced a lifestyle change.
