I sometimes use a VPN after TOR if I'm browsing the clearnet because all TOR IPs are tainted and hit captchas constantly. You are compromising the some of the benefits of TOR doing this but I pay for my VPN with Bitcoin washed through Monero so there is little chance of this being traced back to me.

Before TOR...

For browsing hidden services it's a waste of time. Your ISP might know you are using TOR but they don't know what you are looking at.

Not sure why this has been upvoted so much. There's absolutely no reason to use a VPN after Tor. All that does is prevent your VPN service provider from knowing your location, which it likely already does because you've already signed into their servers from your clearnet IP.

So this is completely useless. If you don't trust your VPN provider, then why did you pay for their service?

The only real use comes in using VPN before Tor, which you claim is a waste of time. It is not. Accessing Tor after your VPN prevents your ISP from knowing that you are using Tor. The fact that you are using Tor has been used as evidence to convict people. (Timing/Correlation)

So is is absolutely NOT a waste of time to use a VPN before Tor.

Ideally, you should have multiple VPN ProxyVMs in your Qubes install. You use one VPN exit point for one identity. (Clearnet/Real Name) and another VPN ProxyVM between your Whonix-Gateway and your NetVM.

This way your Tor traffic is coming out in let's say L.A., and your Clearnet traffic is coming out in NYC. While you actually reside in Kansas.