Our lives are moving so fast each day, with work, family, a social life, that maybe we don’t even know how many wasteful items we are spending our hard-earned money on each day. While that may be true for some, I think for most it is just the ease of the grab-and-go, being financially lazy if you will, throwing money away on impulse purchases and services that could easily be avoided with a little discipline. Here are five items that you might want to avoid to stop wasting money and start saving money towards a future goal:
Bank Charges
I have had accounts with several of the big banks until I made the switch to a credit union two years ago and I have not looked back ever since. I was tired of moving money around in accounts to avoid monthly service charge fees, which added up to $20-30 a month, not to mention fees at ATM’s that were not my bank. All of the credit unions in my area are networked together for fee-free ATM’s, so it’s rare I can’t find one, not to mention my accounts are free, no matter what the balance is. Credit Unions typically have lower fees and a personal loan might be right for you if you want to fund a big expense. I have since added a mortgage and insurance to their network.
Eating Out
It would be extremely difficult to avoid altogether, but there are ways to overcome the excessive amount that consumers spend on eating out starting with actually going grocery shopping. Having quick items on hand to take for breakfast on your way to work, plus packing your lunch the night before, will add savings immediately. Eating out for dinner is expensive, so limit during the week and eat at home, while if going out on a weekend night, have an early dinner at home and share an appetizer over a few drinks at your favorite restaurant.
Cable
such as cable, as much as my monthly bill is now. With the number of channels, most of which I don’t watch, plus premium channels, it adds up. With streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu for under $8 a month each, in fact I recently ditched cable, putting in an HD antenna for local channels, and went the streaming route with a ROKU and SlingTV.
Magazine Subscriptions
I used to have several magazine subscriptions that I received in the mail, of which I either flipped through a few pages or ignored altogether, other than being a staging piece on my coffee table. With online articles sourced from all locations, it is impossible to miss information that would have previously only been found in a magazine. FlipBoard is an excellent app that allows you to subscribe to your favorite topics and browse the latest article from top websites.
Coffee
$4 for a cup of coffee, each morning on the way to work, another in the afternoon, adds up to huge spending. Buy a programmable coffee pot, brew yourself a travel size mug to fill and grab when going out the door, and drink the office coffee during the day. It’s probably better than Starbuck’s anyway.
