Do You Have One of These 6 Money Sucking Habits?

When I first started blogging here, one of my popular posts was 80 Ways to Lose Money foolishly. People objected to items like drinking and coffee, etc. As for many those are essential expenses. Even playing golf, for that matter, can be a profitable investment of money. The contacts you make in the bar or in the Barista can even turn your career upside down, it happened to one of my friends.

Personal finance is very personal, for some coffee is waste of money, on the other hand a cup of coffee everyday increases productivity, at least mentally. Enjoy this guest post from Madeline. The task for you to capture 6 most money sucking habits you have.

I never gave my spending habits too much thought as a teenager and college student—although I probably should have. The idea of paying close attention to where my money was going didn’t really occur to me until I took an AmeriCorps volunteer position and had to learn to get by on a stipend of roughly $900 a month.

For the first time, I made myself sit down and write out where my money was going every month—and what I found was that a lot of little, seemingly innocuous purchases added up over time. I was actually kind of horrified when I realized how much money I was unnecessarily spending.

Although living on a limited stipend was what finally got me to pay more attention to my spending habits, it’s not just broke recent college grads who should take a hard look at their monthly budget. Check out the list of 6 money sucking habits below and see if you recognize any—most people are probably guilty of at least one.

Coffee

This is a big one for me and a lot of other people who love their morning caffeine. I used to rationalize my coffee buying habit by saying that I only bought inexpensive drip coffee for about $2, but do that every single week day and it starts to add up. And if you love specialty coffee drinks, it adds up even faster.

A report released in 2012 found that the average American worker spends $14.40 a week on coffee that they’ve purchased out (rather than prepared at home), which ends up being about $1,100 annually. You can cut that cost considerably and still get your caffeine fix by investing in a Thermos and coffee maker for your home.

Eating out

This is another one that a lot of American workers fall prey to. You may be tempted to eat lunch out with your coworkers, but even a fast food meal often ends up being more expensive than bringing a lunch from home. And if you go to a sit-down restaurant, you may find yourself paying $15-25 for one meal.

If you feel like you don’t have time to pack yourself a lunch in the morning, try making something simple like a sandwich the night before and leave it in your refrigerator. You can also make a big batch of something like pasta or curry on the weekend, then put the leftovers in a plastic container and take it for lunch during the week.

New clothes and household items

Clothes and household appliances aren’t the kind of thing most people purchase on a weekly basis—but when you do buy them, they tend to be a pretty big expense. Let’s say that you go to a department store and purchase new seasonal clothes for $200 (a relatively conservative estimate) four times a year and buy another $200 worth of appliances over the course of the year. That’s $1,000 right there.

I’m not suggesting that you should avoid purchasing clothes and appliances when you really need them—but I do think these are the kinds of things that are often good to purchase used for a fraction of the original price. Check local thrift stores or consignment shops, use online classified ads sites like Craigslist, or look for local deals on sites like Groupon and Discounts.ca.

Junk food

While it pained me to cut back on snack food purchases at first, it’s ultimately much healthier and easier on your wallet if you don’t scoop up items like Oreos and Pop-Tarts when you do your grocery shopping. If you’re someone who easily caves to temptation, make sure that you write up a grocery list and stick to it—no sneaking an impulse candy bar in right before purchase. You should also make sure that you don’t do your grocery shopping while you’re hungry; studies have shown that being hungry makes it a lot harder for you to say no to high-calorie, readily available food.

Alcohol

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Americans spent $50 billion on alcohol in 2010 alone. If you’re someone who splits a 6-pack with a couple of friends on the weekend, alcohol might not be a huge monthly expense for you, but if you’re regularly hitting up happy hours with your co-workers or going to bars with friends twice a week, those drinks can get pretty pricey. If you want to go out with friends but don’t want to spend a lot of money on alcohol, consider volunteering to be the designated driver the next time you go out. Your friends will likely appreciate the offer, and you’ll avoid spending money.

ATM charges. This is one of the most frustrating excess expenses for me. Why should you have to pay a $5 fee just to withdraw your own money? While 77% of Americans don’t think it’s okay for banks to charge an ATM fee, plenty of us grit our teeth and pay it anyway. In 2010, we spent a collective $7 billion on those pesky ATM charges.

To avoid wasting your money on those fees, plan ahead when you know you’re going to need cash. If your bank doesn’t charge their customers for using their ATMs, withdraw your money with them, or opt for cash back when you go to the grocery store. If you really need to withdraw money and aren’t near your bank or a grocery store, download a mobile app to search for surcharge-free ATMs near you.

Wondering how much you can save by cutting out even one of the money sucking habits above? Try this experiment: give up an unnecessary expense for a month and put the money you would have spent in a jar at home. You might be surprised to see how much you collect, and maybe you’ll be inspired to continue saving. Consider investing that extra money or using it for a reward (like a vacation) that you feel is worthwhile.

Author Bio:

Madeline Jacobson is a freelancer and writer’s assistant for Weiss-Roessler Writing. She likes writing about a wide range of topics, including pop culture, marketing, and advice for recent college graduates. She currently lives (and tries to save money) in Austin, TX.