Besides wasting money on high premium bullion, who else here wastes money on the lottery? I do. But what's $1 per week for 25 years? 0h....wait, I could have bought an ounce of gold with that money instead of wasting it.
If you consistently buy lotto tickets, you might have a slight chance of winning something. But, I haven't played the lotto at all in the past couple of months. Whenever I did purchase $1/$2 tickets, I instantly assumed I had lost that money. I did win a free ticket quite often, or twice the value of the ticket. I involuntarily waste money on high petrol prices of the Bay Area, and voluntarily... paper currency I pay a premium for on ebay from Series 1969A, B, C that I need to fill up my $20 currency album, because it's hard to find notes from the 60s circulating today.
It is not a waste of money if you enjoy it. Going to Vegas is not a waste if you enjoy it. If it were, then everything you spend for any enjoyment would be a waste.
Beer sounds good! I bought these spurs 15 years ago for $3.00 at a silent auction. The tag said silver plated spurs. .
I spend my hard earned money on everyday living expenses which I keep to a minimum. I do not consider anything else a waste. If I did I wouldn't spend it. I don't drink or smoke and I've never bought a lottery ticket. I just buy what you call overpriced bullion and coins. I buy the best condition I can at the lowest price I can. I make money. I don't throw my money away.
In my dumb, young, carefree days I'd waste money on credit card interest. I wised up decades ago. CC interest has got to be the pinnacle of wasting money.
Railroad items lanterns, keys, crossbucks, reverses and all Railroad signs waste ton of money on fishing, poles, lures, electric knife, nets, but most of the moolah comes from my part time water patrol at the lake I spend on these items..
I found that I needed a destructive hobby, so I started exploring gin. I've now finished around a dozen bottles in the past year or so, and have gotten a pretty good taste for what's "good" and what is "not good." My absolute favorite is Tanqueray Rangpur. $19-22/bottle, it has an amazing lime taste with extreme citrus notes. Delightful. One can drink a water glass of this stuff and love every drop. Best for mixing is, hilariously enough, New Amsterdam. $10/bottle, it's super smooth but with little complexity. Excellent for mixing in a drink where the idea is not to taste the gin so much as have the gin in there. Worst so far is Gray Whale. $52/bottle, this is the most expensive gin I've ever purchased. It's made of a blend of California botanicals, the worst offender being sea weed. If you ever wanted to take a shot of pure ocean water, this is the way to do it. Only palatable with tonic, and even then it's not good.