I wouldn't say it's stupid because it allows one transistor to do the job of two transistors, I'd say that's pretty clever.
I agree though that whilst it may have been useful back in the early 60s when transistors were expensive, it's not worth it today now transistors are cheap.
So it cose you £25 to build this circuit?
Where did you buy your components from?
What a rip-off! I couldn't imagine spending that much on such a simple circuit even if I bought the components from Maplin.