Our adoption agencies (2), our adoption facilitator, several attorneys and co-op nursery school.

Having a 12k portrait commissioned. I love it though so does that count as a waste?

Anonymous wrote:The Lenox china we got for our wedding. We didn't pay for it but we also don't use it. In 14 years we have used it once. We have close to $1000 worth of that stuff taking up space in our house. I'm sure in 10 years I might have the chance to use it but it pains me to know how much was spent on it to sit unused.

Yup, wished i would have returned it for credit when I had the chance and gift receipts

Disney!

+1 on the expensive preschools. I also ended up sending my youngest to a church basement preschool. We aren't religious per se, but they taught all the basics, plus manners, treating your neighbor with respect, etc.

- any expensive sporting league for kids. 99.9% of our kids are not going to be super star athletes. The basic classes at the community center & city leagues are more than sufficient.

- cable. We have a box like Roku (don't know the name), takes care of all of our digital needs.

- work pants. I've recently lost 30 lbs. They have a ton of name brand work slacks in smaller sizes at the thrift store. Very good condition all for less than $5. Shirts and tops - poor selection & quality, so I stick to retail.

- school uniforms. I find all of the private school uniforms for my brother's kids at the thrift stores here. $2.99 for nearly new polos and khakis. Can't beat it.

I agree with the wedding China. But the bigger waste of money was the timeshare we bought in our young twenties.

The Lenox china we got for our wedding. We didn't pay for it but we also don't use it. In 14 years we have used it once. We have close to $1000 worth of that stuff taking up space in our house. I'm sure in 10 years I might have the chance to use it but it pains me to know how much was spent on it to sit unused.

I look at Gymboree as more of a "social" thing, too...

My Vitamix

30,000 dollars on a startup idea I had that turned out to be a dud and sucked up a lot of time.

Others are
- 1600 joining a high end dating agency that i never used
- lent my brother 20,000 that i never saw again

Do I win?

I am good with a lot of the day to day things - no wholefoods, cable, starbucks, designer stuff

Penny wise pound foolish.

Marrying my first wife (the divorce, on the other hand, was worth every penny).

Awesome huge long thread on this topic here:
http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/17636.page

DHs (pre-kid) car
My (pre-kid) shoe collection

Music classes for a child under 2.

Anonymous wrote:Home warranties
HVAC maintenance contract (kept patching problem adding freon rather than fix it)
Full service realtors

I've found that many realtors will provide at least the Redfin rebate (a little more than 1%) if asked. Of course, the Redfin rebate used to be 2% but the only realtor firm I know that gives 2% is iagent. There's also a handful that will work on an hourly fee so there's options out there for you.