Big Money Wasters
There are dozens and dozens of things that people waste money on. For the sake of brevity, here are the top 8 money wasters.
- Coffee
This is one of the biggest money wasters around because that little cup of coffee can add up to some big money. At around 4 dollars for a cup, if you have one on every work day, that his about 80 dollars a month or almost 1000 dollars a year. Imagine getting a 1000 dollar bonus at the end of every year for not buying gourmet coffee?
Of course, this is not to say that you can never drink coffee, you just need to switch to brewing it at home. Invest in a good thermos, a bean grinder and a french press and you are all set. With those three things and some good beans, you can make coffee that will rival any chain store. - Name Brands
Being a slave to the label can be very expensive. Just because it has a fancy name on the package does not mean that it is any better than the generic.
This goes for all kind of products from clothing to cereal. What you have to realize is that someone is making all of those store brands and more often than not, it is the same company making the premium product.
You can easily save 30 percent by avoiding the major labels and that can add up quickly. Save as much as 1000 dollars a year, just on groceries when you go generic. - Major Carrier Cell Phone Contracts
There is a bit of a stigma surrounding pre-paid wireless but there should not be. Most of these companies are owned by the major carriers and they come with only a few difference, most of which benefit you.
The main difference to pre-paid and a major carrier phone contract is that you pay at the beginning of the month instead of the end. - Soda
Soda is not only unhealthy, but it is also very expensive. Espeicially if you order a soda when you dine out.
The average fast food restaurant charges 2 dollars for a soda while a dine in establishment charges around 3 dollars. If you eat fast food 5 days a week, you would save 10 dollars a week or over 500 dollars in just a year.
Most soda drinkers also drink it at home as well. With an average 12 pack costing about 5 dollars these days, you could be spending an additional 10 dollars a week at home on soda. That is another 500 dollars a year, all for a drink that wrecks your health and your teeth. Even diet soda has been show to cause weight gain.
Make the switch to purely drinking water and save money while becoming healthier. - Bottled Water
If you have already made the switch from soda to water, or plan to do so, you have two choices. You can go with disposable bottled water or use a reusable water bottle.
If you go the reusable route, you will save a lot of money as well as help the environment.
Around here, a generic 24 pack of bottled water is around 5 dollars. One person will go through about one a week which is 250 dollars in a year. That means that a family of four could be spending as much as 1000 dollars a year on water in disposable bottles. Compare that to the cost of a nice reusable bottle or two and a water filter and you will see that the savings are huge. - Delivered Meals
With services like Grubhub and Uber Eats, meal delivery has become all the rage. Now you can order food from anywhere that you like and have it delivered right to your door. Convenient but very costly.
Order in food just twice a week and the average family could spend 100 dollars. Compare that to the 10 dollars that it might have cost to make each meal. That means you are wasting 80 dollars a week or over 4000 dollars a year and that is if you only do this twice a week.
Cut out the delivered meals by controlling what triggers them, being unprepared. Plan your meals out every week and make a weekly trip to the grocery store to buy what you need at the beginning of the week. You will then always be prepared to make a health and affordable meal every day. - Single Serve Snacks
You pay big money for convenience and those single serve snacks are no different. Things like chips, cookies and juice cost way more when they are packaged into single servings. You might be paying double the cost of a product or even more for convenience.
Instead of buying those individual servings, buy your snacks in bulk and then break them down into smaller servings as needed. Purchase some small re-usable containers and you can take your snacks with you without even wasting any money on packaging. Save money and cut down on trash waste. - Payday Loans
Millions of people take out payday loans every day to get cash till payday. The money can get you through a financial crunch, but it comes with a big cost, an APR over 400 percent. A huge waste of money.
Instead of wasting money on payday loans, why not start an emergency savings. Start small. Even 20 dollars a check will add up over time. Place the money in a savings account away from your regular bank so that it is accessible but not instantly accessible.
Wrapping Up
Americans waste so much money on things that we just do not need. Mostly to keep up appearances or just for the sake of convenience. Start making saving and being financially stable bigger priorities in your life and cut out as many of these big money wasters as you can.
