Contents
- 1. Buying things because of discounts
- 2. Ordering food through apps
- 3. Microtransactions
- 4. Paid subscriptions for everything
- 5. Regular wardrobe updates
- 6. Going to the supermarket without prior preparation
- 7. Delayed payment of bills
- 8. Buying clothes we don’t wear
- 9. Overpayment of bank commissions
- 10. Shopping «by mood»
- 11. Neglecting Gift Cards
- 12. Buying prepared food and coffee
- 13. Refusal to surrender
- 14. Paying bills «without looking»
If you happen to look at the “expenses” section of your banking app from time to time and wonder, “Where did all this money go?!” — it’s time to change something. We tend to associate budget control with major life changes, but the truth is that the lion’s share of our money is spent on the little things. So we need to rethink our habits.
1. Buying things because of discounts
Let’s be honest — everyone loves sales: it’s always nice to buy something cheaper than we intended. But the key here is «going to». The trap of sales is that we buy things simply because they are on sale. At the moment we even feel like «getters», but ultimately our house is replenished with items that we could easily do without.
So, even when you see a thing with a “good discount”, you should ask yourself whether we really need it, whether we will use it and whether we have its analogues.
2. Ordering food through apps
Even if a couple of years ago you used the delivery of ready meals extremely rarely, sometimes pampering yourself with sushi or pizza, during the pandemic you probably joined its fans. We do not argue, it is convenient, but, most likely, it significantly hits your wallet. If you don’t believe me, try living on homemade food for a month and compare the costs.
3. Microtransactions
Don’t you even know what it is? And these are any “virtual purchases”: for example, when you download an application and, without noticing it, subscribe to regular paid updates. Or you use the application during the test period, forgetting that sooner or later money will be debited from you. Or buy yourself the opportunity to go to the next level in the game — yes, this applies not only to children, but also to adults.
4. Paid subscriptions for everything
The main problem here is the same free trial period: when approaching its end, few people remember that they need to abandon the paid renewal. And as a result, we overpay for services that we don’t use or rarely use: online stores, streaming platforms…
5. Regular wardrobe updates
“We live in a world of so-called ‘fast fashion’ and are used to the idea that our wardrobe needs to be updated every season, and it costs us a pretty penny,” explains financial adviser Tomek Lynch Purcell. “Things accumulate in our closets, we forget about them and buy new ones.”
But what to do, you ask, if you want to dress fashionably? Complement your look with accessories that are now in trend, and not buy every time all the things for a new look. And, of course, it’s important to review your wardrobe from time to time to know exactly what you have and what might come in handy right now. It is also good to take care of things and, in which case, take them to a dry cleaner or atelier, and not buy “duplicates”.
6. Going to the supermarket without prior preparation
It is known that you should not go to the store and the market hungry and without a list of products. First of all, not to buy what is already at home. And also in order not to collect a full basket (or even a cart) of what you don’t really need.
“The average American household has been known to throw away roughly $1600 worth of groceries a year,” says finance and budgeting expert Andrea Voroch. — Perhaps the situation in your family is better, but most likely, you also throw away food at least sometimes. To avoid this, plan in advance what you will cook and eat during the week, and buy only what you need.
The other side of this coin is that if you go to the supermarket without a grocery list, you run the risk of not buying everything you need. So, in the end, order the delivery of ready-made food or go to a restaurant. Again, spending extra money.
7. Delayed payment of bills
Nobody likes to pay their bills, and that’s okay. The situation becomes abnormal when it gets out of control and we have to pay penalties. According to personal finance consultant Michelle Young, this happens to 35% of us: we simply forget to make a loan payment on time, pay our electricity bill …
To prevent this from happening, set yourself regular calendar reminders or, if possible, set up automatic payment.
8. Buying clothes we don’t wear
There are at least two categories here. First, clothing for sports. Many of us think that a beautiful fashionable uniform will motivate us to exercise more often, but let’s face it: how often does this really happen?
The second category is extravagant, interesting and unusual things: we like them in the store, but then it turns out that they are definitely not for every day, and we don’t really have anything to combine them with. It’s not about not trying anything new at all. You just need to take things to the store on time if you understand that they do not fit into your wardrobe at all.
9. Overpayment of bank commissions
This includes, for example, commissions for withdrawing money from ATMs or for overdraft. Yes, the amounts are usually small, but frequent abuse can hurt your wallet.
10. Shopping «by mood»
Have you ever gone to the store and bought something for yourself, just because you are in a bad mood, or vice versa — to buy everything for joy, having received a bonus? Along with food, shopping has become a familiar stress reliever for many, but in the long run it leads to very disastrous financial results.
Try to slow yourself down at such moments, ask if you really need what you are going to buy, and postpone the purchase at least until tomorrow.
11. Neglecting Gift Cards
Surely you from time to time, while cleaning cabinets and drawers, as well as shaking old bags, find gift certificates there that have expired and that you never used. As well as discount cards that you completely forgot about.
Of course, if the products of a particular brand for which you have a discount or a certificate are not interesting to you, you should not go to the store. But if the purchase was planned anyway, it would be a shame not to use them.
12. Buying prepared food and coffee
Coffee to go and going out to a cafe for lunch have become a pleasant tradition for many of us. Which, however, has a very unpleasant effect on our finances. Just calculate how much coffee to go costs you. Wouldn’t it be better to start cooking it at home and take it with you in a thermal mug? And prepare lunch and bring it to work in a lunch box if you had to go back to the office.
13. Refusal to surrender
Many of us have long lost the habit of using cash and pay by card everywhere. This is convenient, although it often leads to unnecessary spending: the necessary amount of cash to make an expensive purchase may simply not be at hand, and the card is always there, even if there is a risk of going over the limit.
But cash has its own peculiarities: some of us who still pay with it are used to casually dropping the phrase “no change”, not realizing that this “little thing” can eventually add up to serious amounts.
14. Paying bills «without looking»
It may surprise you, but many people do not check the cafe bill before paying for it. They don’t double-check the check after paying for groceries at the supermarket, and they don’t look at utility bills. But it is worth remembering that in all these situations there is a place for both the human factor and the possibility of a technical error. So you should be careful — and before you get a wallet (real or virtual), and before you remove it.