If you had money to burn, you wouldn't hesitate to purchase a variety of goods and services you don't need but you want, just because you can.
For those who don't have that luxury, they are cautious with their spending habits.
However, what you can buy under $100 can surprise you, even half the amount can nab you something so good, that you can't put a price on it.
Redditor Every-Technology-747 asked:
"What was the best fifty dollars you ever 'wasted'?"
Sometimes, you get lucky.
Defunct Wheels
"Bought a 1974 Honda XR 200 motorcycle from an old guy... He said it didn't run... Took it home, cleaned the carb, and put a new spark plug in it . That was twenty years ago . Still ride it every summer."
– Altruistic-Captain45
"In my experience, at least 80% of the time, a motorcycle that 'ran when parked' needs a carb clean, a new battery, and a spark plug. If you have like 4 tools and a few hours it's almost a money glitch lmao."
– wRIPPERw_
Hitting The Jackpot
"I bought a Pepsi machine for $50. Got it home and had to crack it open and inside was $261.37 in change box."
"Here's the pic: https://flic.kr/p/2qs29d1"
– AppleJacks70
They're Made For Walking Fabulously
"Ridiculous pink suede ankle boots. I've had them for 24 years and counting 🤣"
– Softbombsalad
"I live in sneakers, and I love anything iridescent. So, I spent about $50 on iridescent sneakers. I pretty much never wear them."
"But, then I learned that my (then fiance's) favourite shoes ever were converse hitops. So, I got him a pair, and we both wore our favourite sneakers to get married in. Even if I never wear them again (because I don't want to mess them up) my favourite wedding pics show the shoes off nicely. Money well spent."
– xenchik
It's not always about the material things.
Affording Peace And Quiet
"Lent some money to an annoying cousin. Dude went out of his way to avoid me as much as possible afterwards. Money well spent."
– btstfn
Friend For Life
"One day I was sitting on my stoop outside of my house in Philadelphia when this guy approached pulling this scrawny dog behind him by a large rope and chain, reeking of gasoline and garbage."
"When he got closer, without even thinking, I blurted out 'Can I buy that dog from you?' "
“ 'How much you got?' he replied and knowing I maybe had ten dollars to my name, I told him to give me a minute and ran into my house as quickly as possible."
"After ransacking my room and borrowing whatever I could from my roommates I ran back outside and handed him about $48 in mostly singles. He handed me the rope and just walked away."
"Diesel was one of the best damn dogs I have ever known and he had a great 7 years with us. Wish I could come home from work to find him waiting at the window for me one more time."
"EDIT: Since everyone wanted to see the good boy, here he is. https://imgur.com/a/dOnqqT9"
– shrimpdetective
"My dog was a rescue with a $50 rehoming fee. She's been my absolutely best friend for the past 7 years and I often call her the best $50 ever spent."
– Virtual-Nobody-6630
Hygienic Happiness
"Spent 50 dollars to access a lounge with a shower during a layover before a 12h flight. It literally changed my day and my mood for the rest of the flight."
– thebluedeepheart
"Spent under $50 for a business lounge at the Cancun airport. Free food and drinks. Always pay for the lounges. It’s always worth it!"
"Edit: Food included pork, chicken, beef, veggie dishes buffet style. Pastries and desserts. Some sort of sandwich. Canned sodas and beers, open bar of 20 different liquors, Lemonade and some other non-alcoholic beverage. The place was immaculate with employees roaming to keep it clean."
"In my honest opinion, $50 was an absolute bargain for the amount of food/drinks I consumed (username checks out). Also got to charge my phone and watch some sports."
– sadthick
Unexpected Returns
"I bought $50 worth of Bitcoin back in 2014 to buy something off the darknet but never actually spent it. Ended up cashing it out a couple of years ago for $6400."
– eggzima
"Had about $50 worth of bitcoin back in 2010. It was on my hard drive in my old computer. I had mined it as a novelty to test out my processing power and how much I could make. Forgot all about bitcoin and later sold that PC. It’d be worth about half a mil these days."
– Pliskin01
The Gambler
"$50 happens to be the amount I bet on my first spin at roulette on my 21st birthday (that's the age for being able to visit the casino in my home country)."
"I bet on black, came up red 🤷♂️ that $50 was worth a bit to me back then as a student and totally put me off gambling - none of us won anything that night and a couple do still gamble frequently but not me, I've never gambled since 😊"
– ravensierra
Worthy Detour
"I accidentally got on the toll road out of Houston once. Avoided miles and miles of congestion. charged $50, got it down to $35. worth it!"
– Diligent_Writing_820
"Most toll roads in the Us nowadays use automatic billing systems either scanning the car's license plate or using an RFID tag to detect cars. So you use it and get a bill afterwards (or it just charges your credit card if you've registered one with the service provider). Presumably he called up customer support and haggled with them afterwards."
– adeon
"I bribed the hostess at a very busy restaurant in Hawaii. The wait was supposed to be more than an hour, but I offered her $50 and she took me and our party straight to a table in front of the band."
"When I thought about it, if we had to wait for an hour at the bar and had at least two rounds (4 people) it would cost us close to $200. It seemed like a reasonable amount in comparison!"
– mmaine9339
Feel-good stories were shared.
Jacket Required
"Was leaving Walmart once about 7-8 years ago and some young man, looked early 20s, was going around asking for money because he needed to buy a jacket, it was early winter in NE Florida so not very cold, but getting colder at night. I had a $50 Walmart gift card that I was holding onto for a rainy day."
"I give it to him and tell him how much was on it and he almost broke down crying, tears were welling up, as he said that he'd be able to eat that day too."
"He told me he had just gotten out of rehab, was homeless, and had nothing to his name. He clearly wasn't making it up and I hope his jacket kept him warm and the food kept his stomach full for a few days at least."
– humancanvas79
Best Date Ever
"First date with my husband was at waffle house, romantic I know but it was honestly the best date I've ever been on. He was so much fun to talk to and be around that I didn't want it to stop so I just kept ordering food so the wait staff wouldn't be mad at me while we sat there and talked for ages, looking back we probably could have gone somewhere else but it was already late and pouring down rain."
"I think the final bill after 4ish hours was around 50 I don't remember the actual number but I do remember eating waffle house for the next few days."
– littleinasl666
Helping A Young Runaway
"Walking to the bus from work about ten years ago, I spotted a girl crying sitting on the sidewalk. She could not have been older than 14 or 15, a little older than my son at the time, and was completely distraught. I asked her if she needed help and she sobbed that she wanted to go home."
"Apparently she had run away from home after a fight with her mom, and she ended up hundreds of miles away, alone, with no money, no food, no help. I got her something to eat and got her to the Amtrak station where the first train home would leave in an hour. I made sure she would call her mom and tell her that she was coming home."
"Her mom was beyond distraught, and I had never heard anyone with a huge weight lifted from their shoulder as that woman. They both called the day after, in tears, this time of joy. Her dinner and the ticket were less than 50$. I cannot think of any money better spent."
– Old_fart5070
Some of these examples served as a reminder that there are many more less fortunate than us who don't have the luxury of being in a pickle of what to do with spare cash.
It also puts things into perspective about the things and experiences we place value on.
