In a recent post, I asked the BuzzFeed Community what they regretted buying during the pandemic and the range of answers definitely made me feel less alone with my purchase regrets.
That post had so many comments of people sharing what they bought and regretted during the pandemic years that I decided to ask the community what they bought during the lockdown that they actually didn't regret at all. Here is a mixture of both: pandemic buyer's remorse and items that seemed to be money well spent.
1. NO REGRETS: "A nugget couch. My kids love it and I had to buy another for Christmas. The physical benefits of having it for my kids were incredible. When things shut down we lost physical therapy for two months until they figured out a plan. We did an occasional zoom with his therapist when she was available and we used the nugget for different PT exercises such as crawling, climbing, and stepping up and down. My oldest used it as a crash pad and sensory thing. I'm now obsessed and am planning on buying one or two more eventually."
2. BUYER'S REMORSE: "I spent over $100 on fancy fabric masks. Fast forward to the discovery that fabric masks aren’t as effective as disposable masks. My fabric masks are now collecting dust in my sock drawer."
3. NO REGRETS: "My Nectar mattress and bedframe. My old mattress was on its last leg and I was using it to spread out and update construction plans so the old mattress was pretty much useless once I went back to the office. It's been two years and I still snuggle in with a smile on my face."
4. BUYER'S REMORSE: "I bought some art supplies that I haven't touched and a weighted hula hoop (thanks TikTok) that did literally nothing for me. Luckily, I was able to recoup my money by reselling it on eBay. I was super close to buying a guitar, but happy my sanity won that round."
5. NO REGRETS: "A house with a home gym. Best therapy I’ve ever been to."
—Anonymous
6. BUYER'S REMORSE: "I always spend money on hobby supplies to pick up a new hobby like crochet, cross stitch, painting, etc, and then I do it for a month and then everything just goes into a closet. I really have to force myself to not try everything that looks fun."
7. NO REGRETS: "My Nintendo Switch! Got it just to play animal crossing in summer 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic, and have not regretted it for a moment since!"
8. NO REGRETS: "A house. I know many people were struggling to pay rent and that we are very lucky. We’d been saving for years, but kept putting it off because it would add an hour to my husband’s commute every day. When his company announced that remote work would become the norm and interest rates were very low we decided to bite the bullet. Moving from 900 square feet in a major metro area to a rural (and cheaper) home is the best decision ever, and one we might have put off for years if it weren’t for the pandemic.
—Anonymous
9. BUYER'S REMORSE: "I bought a lot of jewelry — nothing expensive — just cheap costume jewelry from, like, Wish. But now I work from home permanently in my pajamas and never wear any of it."
10. NO REGRETS: "I bought myself a little woodburning iron in the early days of the pandemic with a gift card I had received from my sister that holiday season, thinking I’d at least have a little fun trying it while I was stuck at home even if I wasn’t very good. Turns out I LOVE woodburning, and last Christmas I made all my family members' gifts with the iron. I’ll take it out when I’m bored and burn designs into pieces of scrap wood and hang them up on my wall, and the pieces have slowly been growing to cover the largest wall in my apartment. I’m even thinking of opening up a little online store to sell pieces, all thanks to a boredom purchase during COVID."
11. BUYER'S REMORSE: "The only truly stupid thing I bought was a $70 UV cleaner for my phone. Back when we thought we were bringing COVID home on our groceries and cell phones."
12. NO REGRETS: "A project boat. I spent a year working on refurbing the hull and having the interior done. I actually enjoyed all the garage time building the motor. And now I have a bad-ass jet boat to run the Parker Strip!"
—Anonymous
13. BUYER'S REMORSE: "I had extra money during the pandemic, we could just work tons of extra hours but couldn’t go out to eat or do anything fun so we ended up with a nest egg (a substantial sum of money) for the first time ever so I ended up buying tons and tons of clothes and totally replacing my wardrobe. Now we moved and I do house cleaning and painting and can’t wear any of my pretty dresses to work anymore."
14. NO REGRETS: "Before the pandemic, my bedroom was nothing more than furniture and knick-knacks in awful yellowy-beige colored walls. Short before COVID hit the US, I splurged on a new bedroom set. When we finally got around to setting things up, we also painted, hung pictures, and just decorated in general. It kind of shocked me how much easier it was to quarantine in a room that I actually LOVE and that completely reflects my personality. I felt so much more relaxed and comfortable. It played a huge role in keeping my mental state (which I already struggle with) in check given all the chaos going on in the world! We also got two puppies, which my mom has been wanting for YEARS. Having to train and take care of animals was a much-needed distraction from quarantine boredom and also provided plenty of fun and laughs that were desperately needed. Absolutely no shame being part of the 'pandemic pet' crowd!
15. NO REGRETS: "I bought guitars and a lot of them. I grew up playing guitar and first started learning in junior high. Over the years, I went through phases where I played guitar every day, to times when I stopped playing completely and sold everything. During the pandemic, I started playing again out of boredom and went on a guitar-buying spree. Right now, my guitar collection stands at 13 guitars, and I don’t regret buying any of them. I still play guitar nearly every day, and even learned some basic guitar repair/maintenance during the pandemic, since so many shops were closed during the pandemic."
16. BUYER'S REMORSE: "I bought a drawing tablet (not the too expensive kind though, thank goodness I had that much sense left in me) because with being home all the time during the lockdown, I thought I'd finally switch from pencil to digital. Needless to say, I've used it about four times before letting it collect dust tucked away in my closet."
17. NO REGRETS: "A heated blanket. Are you lonely like me? Do you crave the sensation of being wrapped in another human's body heat, but are unable to acquire such intimacy? Get a heated blanket and change your life! I honestly feel so much better using it."
18. NO REGRETS: "A cast iron skillet. I spent a pretty penny on that thing and I have zero regrets. I taught myself how to cook during the lockdown, and not be dependent on takeout. The money I put into getting that skillet has actually saved me money in the long run."
—Anonymous