Money to Burn

I spent the week in Las Vegas at a conference and as such I was inspired to write this post. Las Vegas--aka "Sin City"--is world-renowned for its gambling, a past-time whose charms elude me. In my opinion, if I'm going to be dropping a wad of cash I want to see something leather in my closet to show for it. Spending money on slot machines, roulette wheels and the like is the equivalent of taking a match to your bankroll and setting it on fire.

Except when you do that, at least you'd enjoy some warmth...

And so I started thinking of other extreme money wasters for those with money to burn:

Lottery: Akin to gambling is the practice of buying lottery tickets. Most who engage in this habit will argue that it's just a couple of bucks a week. Even so, a two dollar a week lottery ticket spend adds up to over hundred dollars at the end of a year. You could definitely get some nice leather item for that kind of cash!

Questionable Pharmaceuticals: I'm sure you've all seen ads touting the weight loss prowess of this or that pill. But let's face it--banishing the bulge is never as easy as popping a pill no matter what the photo-shopped before and after pictures depict. The Mayo Clinic ran down a list of popular weight loss supplement ingredients and the results were that none were likely to assist with weight loss--but some could potentially be harmful. The reality is if losing weight were that easy, obesity wouldn't be a national epidemic. There's no magic bullet for shrinking your body--or in the case of other questionable pharmaceuticals, enlarging (ahem!) certain other body parts. And the only thing that these miraculous fat burners accomplish is burning through your bank account.

Commemorative Memorabilia: Not all memorabilia is a complete money waster--although few will have the monetary return that more traditional investments have. I'm talking about cheesy commemorative items--like the Limited Edition Michael Jackson Lithographs that were being hawked mere moments after his death. The collection of four posters--each a bit creepier than the next--comes with a certificate of authenticity. Okay, so unlike gambling you actually have something tangible to show for your exchange of dollars. But the fact is, most of these "collectibles" are only good for collecting dust...

Phone Psychics: I have no doubt that there are people with clairvoyant abilities--I do doubt, however, that many of them are working for Dionne Warwick. Most phone psychics have very little ability to see into the future--what they are good at is stringing you along on the phone line racking up charges at $1.99 per minute. You'd get more value--and more accuracy--from purchasing a Magic 8-Ball and posing your questions to it.

Credit Card Protection Plans: There are a couple of versions of these: one "eliminates" your liability in the event of credit card fraud and acts as a monitor for identity theft. The other offers payment protection in the event that you lose your job--covering your minimum payments for an extended period of time. In the first case, Federal law limits liability for unauthorized use of your credit card to $50--and your out of pocket is NOTHING if you report your card missing or stolen before any charges are made. As for identity theft protection services, what they do is put fraud alerts on your accounts every 90 days--something you can do yourself for free. And over at Buzzle.com, they break down the cost benefit of payment protection and conclude that it's more cost efficient to just put the money you'd be spending on the monthly payment protection fee and use it to pay down your credit card balance.

What money wasters are the equivalent of lighting cash on fire for you? Let us know in the comments!