The credit card is a pretty handy invention. It speeds up transactions, reduces your need to constantly be on the hunt for an ATM, and is a hell of a lot easier to manage than a checkbook. Plus, if you follow our handy guide, using a credit card can actually make you money.
One unintended side effect, though? It can also act as a record of some of your more regrettable purchases. We polled the Refinery29 offices to see what bank charges our coworkers would rather forget. From pricey dimmer switches to a $1 "Woman Card," click through to see the charges we'd only admit anonymously.
"I took an Uber from a bar to my apartment — a whole two blocks. At 1:45 a.m."
Illustrated by Natalia Spotts.
"An 'extra batch of prospects' from the dating app The League. (You only get five matches a day for free. So I paid $4.99 to see five more guys. Then, I did it two more times in a row... Not worth it.)"
Illustrated by Natalia Spotts.
"I bought fudge from a chocolate store called All About The Chocolate the other weekend. Right before dinner, too."
Illustrated by Natalia Spotts.
"I swore I'd never ever support Chik-fil-A because of its anti-LGTBQ stance. But then, I got really drunk and felt like I needed it to survive. 'It' is just one chicken sandwich. Never again. Promise. "
Illustrated by Natalia Spotts.
"I donated $1 to the Hillary Clinton campaign so I could get a Woman Card. I really wanted to get one as an artifact of this crazy election cycle. I’m a man, and it never came. "
Illustrated by Natalia Spotts.
"We just bought a new home, and we have serious sticker shock — we're really hoping to limit unnecessary expenses and get on a good budget so we can handle the monthly payments. But this weekend we literally spent $300 on dimmer switches for our overhead lights. They're just too bright! It felt ridiculously indulgent, but hey, we own this place."
Illustrated by Natalia Spotts.
"I just bought VIP two-day pass for The Meadows music festival. I was drunk with friends and thought it was a GRAND idea...so now I'll be eating ramen until my next paycheck."
Illustrated by Natalia Spotts.
"I have two consecutive charges for lunch on the same day, and they are not an error. I bought a deli wrap I was really looking forward to scarfing down, but two bites in, I realized it wasn't fully edible. Being the big spender that I am, I tossed it, stopped by the nearest coffee shop, and bought a salad. That is how a random weekday lunch ended up costing me over $20."
Illustrated by Natalia Spotts.
"I was traveling in Canada and I didn't have any Canadian money on me, so I had to charge two bags of potato chips."
Illustrated by Natalia Spotts.
"I call it the 'Surprise, you have your period' kit. Duane Reade Emergency Panties (size XXL by accident, although they are so, so, so, comfortable), tampons, Tide To Go stick, pads."
Illustrated by Natalia Spotts.
"Every three days, there's a charge for the same amount of money from the same wine shop around the corner from my apartment. I'm a regular, and I apparently only drink one kind of wine."
Illustrated by Natalia Spotts.
"We were at a Connecticut rest stop, and I can't smell McDonald's without seriously craving fries and McNuggets. So I managed to order a Happy Meal, despite the fact that I was clearly not accompanying a child. It came with a toy from The Secret Life Of Pets."
Illustrated by Natalia Spotts.
"This is why I pay for everything in cash."
Illustrated by Natalia Spotts.Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?
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