5 Money Wasters you Can Cut Out From Life

July 3, 2013 19 Comments

Previously I posted 80 Ways to Lose Money, that article talked about 80 different ways you can waste your hard earned money. This article talks about 5 of them in depth, that you can cut from your life. Caution, this is not to tell you to absolutely cut these out. I know for some of you having text messaging plans or unlimited data plan on your cell phone is important. In that case you may find some alternative that you can get rid of

Money wasters in life are great threats to your savings. They could even risk your riches and set you on a downward decline. You need to identify them and cut them completely from your life. Here are the five money wasters you can cut from you’re your life.

i) Using convenience stores

Convenience stores do not purchase items in high quantities like the groceries stores do. However, when you go to purchase from them, you pay some amount of premium for convenience.

The fact is the additional amount is not worth the stated convenience that you receive from them. For example, you will pay several dollars higher than what a coke costs in the grocery. Unless it is in an emergency, just go to a grocery or a hyper for your purchases.

ii) Plans offered on cell phones

Make sure to frequently check the amount you pay for your monthly phone bill, it might be higher than you need. If you find out that the numbers of minutes you use in the phone to be higher or lower than the plan you subscribe to, shift to the right plan.

Many mobile phones charges additional 30-50 cents for every minute exceeded beyond the plan you have bought. This could result to a lot of money if you use many additional minutes. This is a money waster you can avoid.

Remember to also do away with other mobile features that are charged nut you do not use. For example, many phones charge mobile internet, messaging and even tunes on a daily or monthly basis. Make sure to deactivate the features to avoid the additional costs.

iii) Soft drinks

Soft drinks are sneaky, money wasters. Ordering them raises the total amounts of expenses and give sellers very high markups. They therefore degenerate the overall value to your money.

If you save about 1.5$ by avoiding a soft drink, this could accumulate to hundreds and thousands of money in months and years respectively. This money can be put in a better plan such as retirement of even housing. When you go dining out, go for water and not soft drinks.

With all due respect to your choice, I often find soft drink is a life saver. Specially after a long and hectic excursion activity out door or after a round of tennis practice I do find drinks are very refreshing.

All I want to convey is too frequent soft drink consumption is a money waster. Same goes with smoking, which is almost always bad for your money and health.

iv) Unnecessary bank fees

Many are the people who are charged hidden fees by their banks. For example, some banks will charge you more if you use other banks ATMs or withdrawing from the counter. If you are unsure of the fees that you are subjected to, talk to your bank for full details.

You can avoid the additional withdrawal cost by adopting a 25% one time withdrawal plan for every $20. If you maintain an account that has fixed withdrawal times for every month, you may adopt a $10 monthly maintenance fee. Avoid the additional costing to get higher value for your money.

v) Annual credit card charges

If you have good credit history, you do not have to meet annual fees for your credit cards. There are many cards such as Visa, MasterCard and others that do not have the yearly fees. However, others continue paying as high as $ 100 because of associated privileges of using the card.

Talk to your credit card company to understand all the charges and shift to a better type of card with lower or no charges.

Be proactive and seek to understand where every single dollar goes to. This will help you to cut short most of the money wasters in your life.

Readers, I listed the 5 main items, according to me, where you can cut out to save money. Many of you may not agree to these list. But I am sure there are many items where you can cut back.

Do let us know where you observed maximum impact in terms of amount of money you saved by changing a few habits.

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Comments

Carole says
July 4, 2013 at 10:28 AM

Another expensive habit is doing a lot of unnecessary driving. One sees people who apparently don’t like to stay home, driving hither and yon for no good reason. Besides the gas and wear and tear on the car, there are productive things to be done at home that won’t get done.

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Joe @ Midlife Finance says
July 4, 2013 at 3:16 PM

Soft drinks are completely worthless to me. It’s full of sugar and it’s a money waster. Why not get juice or ice tea instead if you really need to drink something. I usually just go with water though. That’s the best way to stay hydrated.

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Martin says
July 4, 2013 at 7:22 PM

I somewhat do not understand your post on soft drinks. Do you mean ordering them in a restaurant or buy in a grocery store to take home?

We purchased a soda maker and make our own sodas at home. It is a real deal saving money and still have soda at home, although we do not drink it that often.

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John says
July 5, 2013 at 7:31 AM

Soft drinks can cost as much as or even more than alcohol in a Bar. Stick to tap water if you’re the designated driver. In home, only buy soda if it’s on offer, and always in litre bottles, not individual servings

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The College Investor says
July 5, 2013 at 7:56 AM

Another money waster is not paying bills on time, some companies will charge you a percentage of your total bill if you do not pay it on time, so it is better to organize the payment of your bills to avoid paying more.

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Peter says
July 5, 2013 at 7:32 PM

Soft drinks are seriously some waste of money. If you think about it, you’re paying to make your health worse. It’s just sugar water.

For me, eating out at a restaurant feel like a huge waste. It’s not healthy and it’s not all that great either. I can get a steak for $30-40 at a restaurant or I can eat a better steak for $6-9 at home. Plus, soft drinks at restaurants are so expensive too. My wife and I always share one drink.

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Mark Ross | Think Rich. Be Free. says
July 6, 2013 at 7:14 AM

Totally agree with you, I’ve stop drinking soft drinks for a year now and I’ve been saving a lot I can say, I kind of feel much healthier too.

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Kayla @ Drowning My Debt says
July 6, 2013 at 6:03 PM

I always avoid convenience stores because the prices are so inflated. I figure, if I didn’t need it enough to get it at the grocery store, I must not really need it!

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Management Training says
July 7, 2013 at 7:44 AM

Credit card charges are something that I always try to avoid to pay since ROI is pretty high. I keep track of my expenditures and always pay my bills on time.

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[email protected] says
July 7, 2013 at 10:32 AM

I hate to think of the money we’ve wasted on satellite TV over the years. We finally cut the cord, and haven’t missed it at all!

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Stefanie says
July 7, 2013 at 10:58 AM

It blows my mind that people are still paying credit card fees and ATM withdrawal fees when there are so many other options available at no cost.

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Sjef Jens says
July 7, 2013 at 3:30 PM

Absolutely agree with you. The ATM fees are another fee we can save on

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Dante Smith says
July 8, 2013 at 12:50 AM

Hey –

Your last post [5 Money Wasters you Can Cut Out From Life] was freaking awesome. I have gone ahead and added your stuff to my Feedly account. Please keep me updated if you post anywhere else.

Keep rocking –

Dante

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[email protected] says
July 8, 2013 at 3:30 AM

I agree that you can cut out all convenience stores except for one. I am from Texas and love me some Buc-ees. They have a 56,000 sf store in Bastrop that has the cleanest restrooms in the United States and also some great tasting tea. So, Buc-ee’s must stay but I would throw 7-11 under the bus in a second.

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Anton Ivanov says
July 11, 2013 at 6:29 PM

Soft drinks are not only a money waster, they are horrible for your health and physique. They are one of the biggest factors responsible for the high rate of obesity in America and other developed countries. Do yourself a favor and stick with water – it’s free and it’s healthy.

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Derek | MoneyAhoy.com says
July 12, 2013 at 9:09 AM

Seeing the soft drinks here on the list is a good one. I made a whole detailed post on it that builds on what’s here. Check it out if interested: http://www.moneyahoy.com/saving-money-cut-soft-drinks-out-of-your-life-today/

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Rachel says
August 4, 2013 at 8:47 AM

I agree on soft drinks, but would also add bottled water. That is, of course assuming the tap water where you live is safe to drink. Where I live the water tastes fine and is healthy and people still buy bottled supermarket brand water that has been filled up from a tap. Such a waste of water!

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Shobir says
September 15, 2013 at 11:38 AM

This is another great article, for anyone who wants to save money you need to pay attention to these things especially bank and credit card charges which can be very painful. There was a time when I was charged money for everything such as ATM withdrawals, late payments, going into the overdraft, it seemed overwhelming at times to keep track of these things, I now use a spreadsheet to keep a tabs on everything and it has made a real difference. Great post, please keep them coming.

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Imran says
September 30, 2013 at 9:43 AM

I’ve just finished my cell phone plan and I actually feel really liberated, although I was expected to pay £20 per month by bill always spiraled out of control. I am now on pay as you go and much more disciplined with my usage. I’m also taking a closer look at the 4 other money wasters listed in this post to see if I can permanently remove them. This is a really great post and you’re probably going to save me a lot of money. Thanks

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