People Share The Most Ridiculous Things They've Done To Not Waste Something

Ashley Hunte
A jar full of various coins, as well as a sprouted plant.
Unsplash | micheile dot com

In a perfect world, money would be no object, and "waste" would be inconsequential. We wouldn't have to worry about the some 1700 pounds of waste we produce each year. But sadly, not only are things expensive, but they also aren't always worth the price.

Some people, though, will use things because they've already been paid for. Even if that thing they bought kind of sucked. I mean, with the cost of living constantly going up and up, I don't blame them.

Unsurprisingly, Redditors had a lot of hilariously unfortunate stories to share.

If only marathons could be free...

Several people running in a marathon.
Unsplash | Miguel A. Amutio

"Ran a marathon where I hit the wall at 25k. The remaining 17k I was just repeating to myself that I had paid for this and I was going to get my finisher T-shirt no matter what. Absolutely miserable 2 hours."

I guess there's a good reason why there's a legal drinking age.

A shelf full of bottles of Bacardi.
Unsplash | Anders Nord

"Friend of mine’s parents were gone for the weekend. Oh boy, underage nerd male drinking party! One guy had a connection for alcohol, so we pooled all our money for a bottle of Bacardi and some frozen strawberries."

"Friend put the first batch in the blender and hit the button."

Clip from SNL's Bass-o-Matic sketch with a bass in a blender
Giphy | Saturday Night Live

"He also forgot to see if the blender was clean. Turns out the Mom used it for grinding coffee beans. We all sat around drinking these terrible strawberry daiquiri’s with a lot of ground up coffee bean chunks in them. Ah, the memories."

Hello maybe-not-s0-Fresh.

Leslie Knope of Parks and Recreation painfully chewing on a leaf.
Giphy | HULU

"I started a meal box plan and the food was AWFUL but expensive so I made up different recipes to add each meal to until they were gone. It wasn't the best but I was not going to be out $80 for this food that was actually pretty healthy, just gross."

To be fair, turkeys ain't cheap.

Scene from Christmas Vacation in which Clark Griswold cuts into a cooked turkey, only for it to open and look unappetizing and dry
Giphy

"My dad burnt the Thanksgiving turkey to the point were if he had left it 5 more minutes he would’ve burnt the whole house down… still forced us to eat it though… worst Thanksgiving to this day…"

Not every place gives free refills, it seems.

A glass full of dark cola with ice and a lime wedge.
Unsplash | Food Photographer phototastyfood.ru

"When I was a kid my family, 4 kids ages 12-6, were at a restaurant. My parents had ordered pizzas and a pitcher of Coke. At some point near the end of the meal the server came by and, seeing it was empty, asked if we wanted another pitcher of soda."

"We kids said sure. We were used to getting free refills at fast food places."

A woman chugging from a large wine glass.
Giphy | NailedIt

"We did not realize a refill of the pitcher would not be free. Somehow my parents didn't notice this exchange until the server brought out the full pitcher. My dad was pissed and made us sit there and drink the entire pitcher of soda before we could leave."

Still a better love story than... oh wait.

The theatrical logo for The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.
Giphy

"When I was younger not only would I compulsively finish any book I started, but I would also finish any series it was a part of.

"I read Twilight to see what the fuss was about, and got a third of the way into whatever the hell the third book is before I looked at myself in the mirror and said 'You do not have to finish books you don't like.'"

Little did they know, this was going to be their last date.

A carousel ride where the seats fly above the ground.
Unsplash | Oneisha Lee

"Planned a weekend away with the guy I was dating, it was for his birthday. We would go to a theme park and stay in a hotel. But in the meantime we decided to breakup."

"We still got on that trip, cause we already booked."

A metal "hotel" sign against a tree.
Unsplash | Belinda Fewings

"At first I thought it was going to be a bit awkward, but it turned out to be really fun and a nice way to close things off."

I mean, you can't let a keg go to waste!

A pile of metal beer kegs.
Unsplash | JT

"We had a lunch picnic at work and they got a keg of Stella Artois, we all had a few but it wasn't a huge crowd so there was like half a keg left."

"After the party I went back in to work for a while..."

A glass pitcher full of beer.
Unsplash | engin akyurt

"...and when I was leaving for home at like 6 PM the boss was out there with a folding chair and a plastic cup just diligently ensuring not a drop was wasted. In retrospect, I don't know why I didn't join him."

There are some things in this world that you should never put together.

A glass of milk where the milk is splashing out of the top.
Unsplash | Thais Do Rio

"I mixed vodka with low fat milk because I forgot to buy something to mix it with before the party I was going to. And it was the only thing in the fridge."

I'm not gonna lie, this one sounds worth it.

A pack of Reese's Pieces.
Giphy

"I got a giant bag of Reese's Pieces at the movies once, when I got to the cashier it was something around $30. I was in too deep at that point so I just paid for it.

"Must have been a couple pounds of Reese's Pieces, I don't know what I was thinking."

Eddie Murphey sadly downing a jar of candy.
Giphy

"Anyway I ended up slowly eating that bag over the course of a month or two."

Another commenter replied with, "I admire your restraint to make that last a month or two."

Can you even function on that much caffeine?

Fry from Futurama drinking too much coffee and jittering.
Giphy

"Generally bottomless refills of coffee with breakfast etc. it’s god awful coffee, I only drink black - but god damned it if I don’t get value for money from my £3 bottomless coffee!"

"I think my record is… 14 cups of very strong, very bad, black coffee. I felt like Fry in that episode of Futurama."

Baking is kind of an exact science, you know.

A person pulling 2 dozen muffins out of an oven.
Unsplash | Taylor Grote

"Adventurous recipe-less cooking. I don’t care if the muffins came out like hockey pucks or the cake deflated after it came out of the oven. I made it- delishhhh."

"But the overly salty peanut butter chocolate cake…"

A frosted chocolate cake with a knife next to it.
Unsplash | Food Photographer | Jennifer Pallian

"I can still feel the salt burns on my tongue after just the first slice. No amount of milk, whipped cream or fruit helped but that salt.

"Ate every last crumb of that cake. Took me only two weeks. It was a 6” cake."

You better use all those strings!

A person strumming a bass guitar.
Unsplash | Dorien Monnens

"I bought a six string bass in high school. Mind you, I was in a pop punk band, so I could get by with 2 of those if I wanted to.

"Anyway, I wrote a bassline that forced the use of all six strings and if I could remember what the hell I played I'm sure it would be hot garbage."

Sometimes, it's okay to throw something out...

A pile of pumpkins that are covered in mould.
Unsplash | sydney Rae

"I used to eat mouldy food due to this logic. I couldn't afford fresher stuff, so I'd force myself to eat mouldy fruits, veg, cheese and breads. 'I bought it, so I have to eat it so it's not wasted, and no one else will eat it...'"

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