I was not good with money. I had no intention of saving. I even had this bad habit of just mindlessly spending my paycheck after getting it.
You see, I was unhappy. I was trying to fill in the void of emptiness that I was feeling by spending and of course, that behavior didn’t do me any good.
After having to quit my job this year, I realized how much that behavior has caused me and how much damaged it made to my finances.
But what really surprised me after paying close attention to how we were spending our money is how much money we were really wasting on small everyday spending — on the things that we barely even notice.
Yes, if I was charged with let’s say a$500 fee by my credit card company, I would definitely be calling them immediately. After all, $500 is a large amount of money.
But what about those little everyday spending that we do, those things that we never even notice. They’re just small and petty but they could easily pile up and lead us to waste even more than $500.
I was so guilty of this. More often I was wasting money by not really paying close attention to it or sometimes, I even actually think that we are saving money.
And these things might be costing you too.
Here are 5 ways I was wasting Money without realizing it…
Waiting until the last minute
We all have days when we just love to procrastinate — not just on our day to day tasks but also on planning for a holiday or even planning for our future.
I was this person. Every time we plan to go on a holiday, I love to spend my time waiting for the perfect deal to come until the last minute that I end up not getting any deals at all.
I just end up with an expensive ticket or an expensive hotel room that I didn’t even have to pay in the first place if only I wasn’t too obsessed in waiting for the ”perfect last-minute deal”.
If you’re like me then maybe it’s time to reconsider this behavior. Yes, there are last-minute deals out there but definitely not as many as we may think.
The odds of you finding the perfect last-minute deal is very slim and waiting for it might just end up costing you more.
Stay on top of your finances and track your spending effectively with the help of this Ultimate Finance PrintablePlanner
Forgetting to cancel free trials
My sister and I have plenty of these. We often get easily wooed into trying out a subscription-based streaming service but we always forget to cancel it.
More often, free trials will automatically charge your card after a certain date and if you’re someone who rarely spends time checking each item that is charged on your card then those free trials are definitely going to cost you for months.
What I do now is I create a list of all the free trials that I’m a part of and I then set a reminder on my phone a day before the trial end for each of them to make sure that I never miss it.
Always choosing convenience over savings
Without any second thoughts, I would always easily choose convenience over savings. Whether it’s springing for an Uber ride instead of just walking to a subway or even having groceries delivered — I would always go for the easiest way.
But after having to quit my job and paying close attention to every expense, I realized how much that behavior had cost me.
Sometimes, it’s just so easy for us to ignore it because the upfront charge is just low, plus it’s convenient but what we don’t realize is how fast those upfront low charges can pile up which can easily ruin your budget.
It’s not bad to choose convenience but if money is tight and your goal is to save then you definitely need to rethink this behavior.
Buying Items just because they are on sale
I know a lot of people who are guilty of this and I was even one of them. I love finding great deals. I mean, who doesn’t right?
But if you are only buying things that you don’t need or sometimes you don’t even want just because they are on sale then that’s definitely a problem.
We always easily go for things that are on sale because we want to save money — simple as that. But if you don’t really need the item or you don’t have any plans of using it then you are definitely just wasting money instead of saving it.
Ask yourself first this question: Is this something that you truly need? Will you still think of buying this item if it wasn’t on sale?
Buying in Bulk
Buying in bulk is a great way to save money — that is as long as you eat or use them before they go bad.
We throw out a lot of food and the reason behind this is we often choose to buy in bulk thinking that we’ll get around into using them before they go bad but we never do.
So, instead of saving money we end up wasting it.
This is where Meal Planning saved us. Meal planning will not only save you time from stressing out over what to cook but it will also help you save money on food.
I find that Meal planning and keeping a list of everything that we have along with the date it goes bad is the best way to avoid food being thrown out.
Plus, it helps me become more aware of the things that we have and how long we have until they go bad.
Whether you’re trying to save money, pay off a debt or even working towards financial freedom the very last thing that you would want to happen is to waste money on unnecessary things — things that we could have easily avoided if only we were more aware.
Remember, awareness can make a huge difference in helping you achieve your financial goals. Take the time to sit down and identify where you might be wasting money — so you can start working your way into achieving your financial goals.
Stay on top of your finances and track your spending effectively with the help of this Ultimate Finance PrintablePlanner
Your turn…
What are the things you caught yourself wasting money on? Let me know in the comment section below or send me an email, I would love to hear from you!!
