The 12 Things People Regret Spending Money On

Summary

Speeed discusses the 12 spending categories that respondents to a NerdWallet survey of more than 2,000 Americans most regretted. The video does not provide the survey’s regret percentages; the hosts’ percentage guesses are informal speculation, not survey results.

Ranked list

1. Luxury items — Examples include handbags, watches, and expensive shoes. The hosts interpret this as discretionary spending on purchases whose price may exceed their practical value.
2. Gambling — One host recounts losing a $750 paycheck in under 30 minutes at a casino and deciding to stop going.
3. Vehicles — Regret may stem from overspending, unreliable cars, or unfavorable loans. The hosts describe a hypothetical truck with $70,000 owed but a $40,000 value to illustrate negative equity.
4. Vacations — High costs and inflated expectations can make a trip disappointing, particularly for family travel.
5. Homes — Buyers may underestimate repair needs or assume prices will keep rising. The hosts cite Austin buyers from 2023–2024 as an example of purchases that might not appreciate as expected. They also mention homes bought sight unseen without inspections.
6. Personal education — Student debt can feel burdensome when a degree does not lead to the expected employment or financial payoff. One example is $150,000 in debt without finding a job.
7. Child-related spending — Examples include lessons, instruments, sports camps, and other activities children may not continue.
8. Weddings — Costs can exceed the original budget, and wedding-related services may carry higher prices. The hosts cite a U.S. average wedding cost of about $34,200 in 2025.
9. Starting or investing in a business — Business ownership can bring ongoing stress and risk. Outside investors may regret losing money without feeling they gained useful experience.
10. Honeymoons — Some couples may regret overspending or putting too much pressure on an expensive trip.
11. Hiring a financial advisor — The hosts suggest disappointment can come from expecting unusually high returns or transformative wealth-building help and receiving what feels like a basic investment allocation instead. The discussion does not claim that advisors are universally unhelpful.
12. Boats — The purchase price is only part of the cost: fuel, slip or dock rent, mold remediation, and maintenance such as removing barnacles can add up.

Finance-related takeaways and cautions

• Consider total ownership costs, not just the purchase price—especially for boats, homes, vehicles, weddings, and vacations.
• Be realistic about expected returns and outcomes. A home, degree, business investment, or expensive trip may not deliver the appreciation, income, or experience anticipated.
• Assess financing risk: vehicle loans can leave borrowers underwater if the balance exceeds the car’s value.
• Research purchases carefully. The hosts argue that being better informed can reduce the chance of being surprised by a product’s real costs or limitations.
• The hosts distinguish regret from simple hindsight: regret involves wishing one had acted differently, while hindsight can reflect information that was unavailable at the time.

Promotional financial claims

A SoFi Checking and Savings advertisement in the video claims the account offers nine times the national-average savings rate, early direct deposit of up to two days, and access to up to $3 million in FDIC insurance through a network of participating banks. It also mentions no account or overdraft fees, savings “Vaults,” and a cash bonus for eligible direct-deposit customers. These are promotional claims; the video gives no specific APY or further terms.

Disclosure: No explicit “not financial advice” disclaimer appears in the subtitles.

Presenters and sources: James Pumphrey and an unnamed co-presenter; Jesse appears briefly. The ranked list is attributed to a NerdWallet survey of more than 2,000 Americans.