17 Everyday Habits We Do That Are a Huge Waste Of Money
A question that many people ask themselves each day is, “How can I save money?” Luckily, we’ll reveal many of the most common ways people throw away money daily. The best part? You can turn these spending habits into money-saving techniques. Let’s save some extra cash!
1. Buying Coffee
Purchasing coffee at a local coffee shop or a chain like Dunkin’ Donuts costs half as much as eating a meal. Instead of wasting money on a store-bought coffee, opt for a homemade cup of Joe. You will need to purchase a coffee machine, which, although costly, saves a ton of money in the long run. Save the store-bought coffee for special occasions. Here’s an example for perspective. A colleague of mine purchases $7 coffee twice a day, sometimes three. That’s $14 a day minimum, times seven days a week. He’s spending around $100 a week, which he could be saving with homemade coffee. He does own a coffee maker, too.
2. Buying Sale Items
I am not telling you to avoid buying an item you need that has an attached sale price. I’m saying you should avoid buying sale items for the sole purpose of purchasing sale items. Imagine you’re browsing the aisles of Target, and you notice a cute blouse on sale. You went to Target for office supplies yet spotted this adorable blouse. Since it’s on sale, you throw it in the cart, telling yourself it’s on sale. With that kind of thinking, one can experience the snowball effect of spending way more money than one should.
3. Ignoring Subscriptions
If you let subscriptions pile up without monitoring them, you will pay a lot for things you don’t use. Need help? Use an app that cleans up subscriptions, like RocketMoney and PocketGuard. There are free and paid versions of these apps, so use the free one, of course! Without an app, you can visit general settings on your phone and toggle over to subscriptions or pore over bank statements for recurring charges.
4. Delivery Apps
I’ll admit using a delivery app beats the hassle of cooking on long work days. However, does the price really outweigh the convenience? Delivery services and restaurants work together to raise the cost of food. This method assures both companies receive adequate pay. Therefore, the customer pays extra for a delivery fee, a service fee, sometimes a driver fee, taxes, and tips.
5. App Upgrades
Have you ever downloaded a free game, played it for a few days, and fell victim to the affordable upgrades? For instance, you may have purchased extra lives to avoid starting a game over. These extra lives allowed you to play the game for longer, but you spent $3 each time you wanted to continue to play. At the time, it seemed like a simple decision, not one that would affect your fiscal responsibility, though over time, you throw $3 toward the game, and after a few months pass, you wonder where $60 went. This kind of purchase is called a microtransaction, and it sneaks up on customers.
6. Grocery Shopping While Hungry
The worst time to grocery shop is before eating a meal. Hunger pangs make everything look appetizing, so you purchase extra food that eventually goes to waste. To combat this money-draining tactic, do the groceries after eating and stick to your grocery list.
7. Emotional Spending
We’ve all had bad days. We’ve let our emotions take over our financial responsibilities. We’ve made an impulse purchase for something we didn’t need, like a Coach Bag, a new pair of jeans, some sunglasses, food. During these heightened emotions, one feels satisfied during their shopping session. They view emotional spending as a therapeutic activity. When one returns to their usual self, they realize they’ve added to their debt, which causes further negative feelings.
8. Bank Fees
Before opening a credit or debit card, familiarize yourself with the bank’s rules. Does the bank take out overdraft fees? How much is the overdraft fee? Are there maintenance fees? Are there monthly fees? Understand how much money you need in your accounts to avoid these extra fees.
9. Not Getting Change
Did you receive the change the last time you purchased with cash, or did you round up? Leaving the change for the next person is a charitable effort, although taking change can add hundreds, maybe thousands, to your bank account each year. Collect and deposit the change into a change jar whenever you buy something with cash. Count the money, money roll it, and take it to the bank every month or year.
10. Not Saving Receipts
Saving receipts provides a plethora of benefits. For instance, keeping a clean copy of all receipts makes tax season easier. With definitive proof, a CPA sees precisely what you spend and how much money you owe or are owed. A few apps, such as Fetch, ReceiptHog, and Pogo, allow users to take pictures of receipts in exchange for points. These points convert to cashback or rewards.
11. Bottled Water
Why spend money on a free resource? Most public places offer free filtered water. In some locations, tap water is safe to drink or safe to drink with an attachable filter. Stop wasting thousands on bottled water when you can filter your own drinkable H20.
12. Not Using Coupons
You don’t have to coupon like Extreme Couponers. However, department stores and grocery stores publish regular catalogs with discounts on certain items. I suggest reading the catalog before shopping (refer to point 6), marking what applies to you, and going from there.
13. Brand New Clothes
Thrift stores are in. Head to your local thrift store to find the coolest clothes compared to brand-new items in popular retailers. Several thrift stores sell high-quality, well-made clothing worn a few times compared to overpriced, cheaper items. Quit spending hard-earned cash on clothes that deteriorate in a few months.
14. Not Cooking
Dining out at restaurants provides a nice escape from home cooking and preparing your own food. Once in a while, it’s a nice treat to get out of the house to splurge on delicious food. It is yet that dining out multiple times a week costs way more than staying in and resorting to homemade food.
15. Food Waste
Use expiration dates as a reference. Of course, if the lettuce in the fridge turns black, throw it away, but if applesauce breaches its expiration date and doesn’t smell rotten, you’re probably okay to consume it. If you’ve purchased too many groceries for the week, freeze produce, meat, and other fresh ingredients that go bad in the refrigerator.
16. Cable
Stop paying for channels you don’t watch. With endless subscription options and free streaming services, lots of people have cut the cord on cable services. Live TV lets customers choose and pay for the channels they watch without a committed subscription.
17. Cleaners
Numerous household products, such as vinegar, lemon juice, rubbing alcohol, essential oils, and baking soda, can be transformed into effective cleaning supplies. Rather than spending money on commercial cleaning products, make your own!
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