We have been analyzing many of our expenses over the past several months. We experienced a little bit (okay, a lot) of lifestyle inflation as our income has increased.
There were many things we were wasting money on that we realized we didn’t need. We were being lazy, not saving as much as we should, paying for items that were a waste of money, and so on.
I don’t think I’m alone either. There are probably things you’re wasting your money on too.
Instead of wasting money, you could be putting your hard earned dollars towards your next vacation, a retirement fund, a college fund, or something else.
With this post I hope to help you analyze your expenses and see where you may be possibly wasting your money. I understand that there are plenty of reasons for why a person may spend money on some of the things below, however, the point is to see if YOU should be. Everyone is different and there is no right or wrong answer. I am a firm believer that money should be enjoyed and everyone enjoys spending their money on different things. However, that doesn’t mean you may not be wasting your money.
Below are seven things you may be spending too much money on.
1. Bottled water.
There’s a lot of waste that comes with purchasing bottled water. You are wasting money by buying water and the plastic that the water is in is a huge waste as well.
Yes, I understand there are times that come up where you may want water when you’re on the go. I also understand that some areas do not provide the cleanest water either. However, buying huge cases of small bottles of water is most likely not needed.
What you can do: You could buy refillable water containers and fill them up if the water you have access to is not the cleanest. In towns where the city water is no good, I have seen water fill up stations so that no plastic is wasted. You could also buy a water filter (this is the one we have) and clean your own water that way.
Related articles:
- 75+ Ways To Make Extra Money
- 10 Ways To Make Money Online From The Comfort of Your Home
- 10 Things I’ve Done To Make Extra Money
- Ways To Make An Extra $1,000 A Month
2. Expensive cell phones.
The average person spends a few hundred dollars on their cell phone bill each month and that adds up to a few thousand dollars each year. Is your cell phone really worth that much extra money or is it just a waste of money?
What you can do: There are many cheaper cell phone options out there such as Republic Wireless (plans start at just $5 a month), Ting, and so on. You could also not upgrade to the latest cell phone every time one comes out, downgrade your current plan, and more.
3. Food.
Okay, so food is a need, but what I’m talking about here is that you are probably spending too much money on it.
I’ve talked about our food spending a lot here on Making Sense of Cents. It’s an area where we’ve had a lot of problems. However, since traveling in the RV we have noticed a dramatic change in our food spending. We are eating in more than ever, eating even healthier, and more.
This is something we will probably have to actively work on for decades and probably even the rest of our lives.
I know there are many others who are experiencing the same food spending problems as well. It can be so easy to let your food spending get out of control, but I recommend you look at your food spending and see if you can cut down even further.
What you can do: To lower your food spending you could meal plan, shop sales, use coupons, cook from scratch, eat out less, prep your meals, and more.
I recommend you check out Personal Capital (a free service) if you are interested in gaining control of your financial situation. Personal Capital is very similar to Mint.com, but 100 times better as it allows you to gain control of your investment and retirement accounts, whereas Mint.com does not. Personal Capital allows you to aggregate your financial accounts so that you can easily see your financial situation, your cash flow, detailed graphs, and more. You can connect accounts such as your mortgage, bank accounts, credit card accounts, investment accounts, retirement accounts, and more, plus it’s FREE.
4. Cable.
Several months ago, we made the decision to eliminate our cable bill. We weren’t spending an outrageous amount on cable, but it did add up to several hundred dollars a year that we did not need to be wasting money on.
Plus, we haven’t missed cable one bit. I wish we would have eliminated it sooner! We now have Netflix and a digital antenna, however, we are thinking about eliminating Netflix and just having the digital antenna for free TV.
Sadly, the average person who has cable spends a lot more money than what we used to. I know many who spend anywhere from $100 to $300 a month on their cable bill and that is a significant expense in a person’s budget!
Related: 16 Alternatives To Cable TV That WILL Save You Money
What you can do: There are two main things you could do – either eliminate your cable or satellite bill completely or downgrade your package. You most likely do not need all of those extra channels anyways.
Related article: How To Live On One (Or 50% Of Your) Income
5. Extra warranties.
Everyone has been hit with warranties when they purchase a particular item. Sometimes they are useful, but I have come to realize that for the most part they are not and they are just a waste of money.
Personally, I have bought numerous extra warranties that were not honored because of one ridiculous excuse after another.
What you can do: Before you purchase your next warranty, you should analyze the agreement and see if it is worthwhile. In many cases, a warranty is not worth it because of strict rules, expensive deductibles, and more. Also, check to see what kind of free warranty already comes with the product. In many cases, it is enough.
6. Bank accounts with fees.
Sadly, I know a few who still pay monthly fees for their bank accounts and this is what I believe to be a huge waste of money. This is something I’ll never understand though as there are plenty of free bank accounts out there. You should never have to pay for ATM fees either.
What you can do: Shop around and see what banks and/or credit unions can offer you and your situation free banking. Trust me, they are out there!
7. Debt.
You are wasting your money if you have high-interest rate debt. This is due to interest charges you are paying that will just keep building up until you are able to pay it off.
If you have never done so, I want you to add up how much in interest you are paying each day and each month towards all of your debt. I bet you will be shocked!
What you can do: Yes, there are strategic reasons to keep debt, but if you do not have a strategic reason, then paying it off is most likely your best bet as interest charges can be a waste of money.
Do you spend money on any of the above? Why or why not? What do you think people are wasting money on?
If you are looking for other ways to save and/or make money, below are some things I recommend:
- Start a blog. Blogging is how I make a living and just a few years ago I never thought it would be possible. I made over $150,000 last year by blogging and will make more than that in 2015. You can create your own blog here with my easy-to-use tutorial. You can start your blog for as low as $3.49 per month plus you get a free domain if you sign-up through my tutorial.
- Sign up for a website like Ebates where you can earn CASH BACK for just spending like how you normally would online. The service is free too! Plus, when you sign up through my link, you also receive a free $10 gift card bonus to Macys, Walmart, Target, or Kohls!
- Pay bills on time. This way you can avoid late fees.
- Shop around for insurance. This includes health insurance, car insurance, life insurance, home insurance and so on. Insurance pricing can vary significantly from one company to the next.
- Save money on food. I recently joined $5 Meal Plan in order to help me eat at home more and cut my food spending. It’s only $5 a month (the first four weeks are free too) and you get meal plans sent straight to you along with the exact shopping list you need in order to create the meals. This allows you to save time because you won’t have to meal plan anymore and it will save you money as well!
- Fuel savings. Combine your car trips, drive more efficiently, get a fuel efficient car, etc.
- Learn to have more frugal fun. We don’t spend anywhere near the same amount of money on entertainment as we used to. There are plenty of ways to have frugal fun.
- Rent an extra room in your home. If you have extra space in your home, then you may want to rent it out. Read A Complete Guide To Renting A Room For Extra Money.
- Answer surveys. One survey company I recommend is American Consumer Opinion. It’s free to join and free to use! You get paid to answer surveys and to test products. Pinecone Research is another company I use to complete surveys. They pay you for each survey you complete and they also occasionally send free products to review!
- Learn how to avoid a Craigslist rental scam.
- Use Swagbucks for your online searches. Swagbucks is something I don’t use as much, but I do occasionally earn Amazon gift cards with very little work. Swagbucks is just like using Google to do your online searches, except you get rewarded points called SB for the things you do through their website. Then, when you have enough points called SB, you can redeem them for cash, gift cards, and more. You’ll receive a free $5 bonus just for signing up today!
- InboxDollars is an online rewards website I recommend. You can earn cash by taking surveys, playing games, shopping online, searching the web, redeeming grocery coupons, and more. Also, by signing up through my link, you will receive $5 for free!
Leave a Reply
The only area we are somewhat restricted in when it comes to cheap options is mobile phones. Unfortunately we don’t get anywhere near the deals you guys can get in the US. Not enough competition, I guess. So, that means I’ll be paying $50 per month for the foreseeable future. It provides great value though so I’m not complaining, too much.
Got all the others sorted though! No cable. No bottled water. Never pay ATM fees. And, never buy extra warranties.
🙂
Good job Diane!
Bought an extended warranty once. For a turbo oven for my wife. Turbo oven worked fine. But… the printing on the top where the timer knob is came off. Which was a hassle. So took it to the shop and they uhmd and ahhhd, then called in a manager. He said, yeah, go ahead, make a claim. All they can do is either accept or decline. So went online, spent at least 45 minutes filling out the claims and this and that and the other. Clicked send and 90 minutes later got a declined response. Because it wasn’t physically not working. DUH! That was on a Saturday. Following Monday morning got an email telling me the claim had been accepted. Say what? OK, don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. So printed off the email, took the turbo oven with me to the store and said ok, new one please. Except, they didn’t stock them anymore. So offered me a sort of mini instant pot instead. Said ok, took that and said “here’s the turbo oven” and was told they didn’t want it. I thought they’d send it back to main distribution centre. He said no, it’ll just go in the rubbish. Then he said, look, it still goes right? Just the printed markings have vanished. So you can still use it. Wink wink. Took the hint and used it for another 4 years before the motor died. Cost of the extended warranty? $5 and valid for 2 years. Took it in about 1 week before the 2 years was up. Original cost of oven $129. I think that was definitely a Win/Win for me.
We have no debt and don’t pay for warranties. Our cable / internet / phone is bundled and actually pretty cheap, but we are guilty of the others though 🙂
Good job Ramona!
Great list! All 7 can easily creep up in cost without us realizing until well after the fact. This past year, we have been able to keep all 7 “ow”(food is always hard).
Another name for warranties is Stupid Tax. If you have the money, the best thing to do is put aside the $ deductibile/replacement/etc and mark it as, say, charity or shopping spree. But any expense related to that item comes out of that fund – but if you dont use it then it all goes to charity/shopping. (to ends of the spectrum lol)
That’s a great idea Luke!
Library fees are the one that gets us. We check out sooo many books and inevitably can’t fine “that one.”
🙁
I’m completely agree with your post, well I live well without cable, I would must to change mobile phone in the end of the month but I am not going to spend a fortune I found a good model under €100 and I’ve a good plan that cost €12 per month with phone calls, internet and sms(a good deal)…for water is a little bit complicated my borther and my father like sparkling water while I like tap water so I use to refill bottle but sometimes is necessary buy them…but is true sometimes it seems a real waste of money…for other areas I am still working on them:P
Thanks! 🙂
Get a carbon dioxide bottle. Instant sparkling water. Won’t take long before you’ve paid off that initial expense and are financially in the BLACK on that water budget.
I still don’t get bottled water! It does have the convenience factor in some situations but it is so much cheaper (and better for the environment) to purchase a reusable water bottle. If you have poor water, buy a Brita and filter it. You don’t need to rely on bottled water every day!
I agree!
My fiance is the type of guy that will continue to pay for something and not ask a single question. So when I found out on Friday he was paying $130 for his cell phone, I was pissed like nobody’s business. He is paying for data that he can’t use because his iPhone is so old and it doesn’t allow him to use it . So I looked online to see what plan would be more appropriate and told him to call on Monday. Did he call? No he didn’t. I mean the new plan is $66.35, a savings of $64 a month. What irritated me even more is he has been paying for a service he hasn’t used for 4 years. That’s $3072 wasted! I hate wasting money so my main mission today is to get him to call and change his plan.
Oh my! That’s good that you found out though so that it can stop!
His iPhone is so old it can’t use data? That is Baloney of the highest order. Might not be able to access some sites, and some apps. But can still use data. Know a woman who bought the very first iPhone model. Still keeps it as a backup. Like for when she’s forgotten to charge her current one. Pops out the SIM card and into the ancient model and works like a charm.
Personally, wouldn’t use an iPhone. Counter intuitive. And I say Apple is rotten to the core. YMMV.
This is a really great post, and since I was about to open a cellphone contract to get a new phone I appreciate it even more. I don’t see the point of putting myself in that kind of debt right now
Thanks! Good idea to skip it 🙂
I am happy to report that I don’t spend money on any of these things aside from servicing the debt on my mortgage. I avoid bottled water like the plague!
Good job Holly!
I have a stainless steel thermos that doesn’t leave my side (especially now that I’m pregnant!) I keep a full Brita water pitcher in the fridge and refill both multiple times a day. We don’t have cable (I haven’t had it in years) and are aggressively paying off our debts to be debt free by next year. Food is our ‘vice’ as well as we both LOVE to eat and love to eat well!
We sound like the same person Erica (except for the pregnant part)!
You got me on one item — DEBT! Wah!! 😉 Otherwise, I’m good to go. I don’t have cable, don’t eat out, don’t buy bottled water, etc. I do however have $129k left in student loan debt (down from $206k). I am getting anxious to get rid of it, that’s for sure.
Good job on eliminating a good chunk of it!
We canceled our cable awhile ago and just have Netflix now. But my expensive cell phone is one thing I find hard to part with! 🙂
Good job Connie!
Definitely the biggest thing costing me thousands of dollars is high interest rate on debt. I’m making a huge effort to pay it down, but even at the current rate I’m at, I’ll pay an extra $63,000 just in interest payments. Isn’t that insane?! Unless I get some raises and can pay it off faster, that is. And that’s my goal!
Wow that’s a lot. Good job on working towards it!
Thanks, Michelle! It’s certainly an uphill battle!
I think we’re done a pretty good job about cutting out these money wasters. The only one we still purchase is cable TV. My boyfriend just can’t get by without his sports. While I have lived without cable before, I do enjoy having HGTV in endless supply. I think that cable is one of the luxuries that we really get a benefit from, so I don’t see it going anywhere soon.
Yes, cable can many times be a way to have frugal entertainment.
We are thinking of eliminating cable and instead using Netflix ($7 per month), Hulu ($8 per month) and using an HDTV antenna for local cable. Do you know others that are doing that?
We have Netflix and a digital antenna. Love it!
Do you use an indoor or outdoor antenna? Do you get the 4 major stations (CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX)? Is it clear?
I used the Micron antenna here – https://fund-rise.live/AntennasDirect%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
It’s great and I get tons of channels. Very clear and I’m watching TV on it right now.