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With everyone seemingly vying for your hard-earned dollar, overspending is extremely easy to do. Sometimes you may not even be able to identify where you are overspending. Here are 20 things that you could potentially be wasting money on:
1. Extended warranties
It seems like you can buy an extended warranty on pretty much anything nowadays. When you purchase a large appliance or that new TV, the salesperson may tempt you into getting an extended warranty. It may sound tempting, but in reality these “service” or “protection” plans generally are not worth it and add so much extra to your initial costs to purchase the item.
When you first buy an item, you typically receive the manufacturer’s warranty that can vary in length, depending on your purchased item. Did you know that if you use a credit card to make your purchase, many times the credit card company extends your product warranty for free?
Even if your item breaks after the manufacturer or credit card warranty is up, it will typically not cost you much more to fix your product than what the extended warranty would have cost you. At that point, depending how long you have had your product, it might be cheaper to just get a new product than trying to fix the older one.
2. In-game purchases
Have you ever been on a level in Candy Crush or a similar game and just need that one extra life to beat the level? It can be very tempting to just give in and buy the extra lives, especially since they are so easy to get. This can be a huge way you are wasting money.
Instead of making that in-game purchase, consider limiting your playing time for certain games, especially the ones that are addictive. Also, you can cut off ways to make in-game purchases easily by deleting your stored credit card information and passwords. This makes you have to jump through a lot of hoops just to make the in-game purchase, and by the time you have thought about it, hopefully you will choose to save money.
3. Credit card interest
Are you making only the minimum payments on your credit card balances each month? Even though you are consistently making payments each month, you are still charged interest each month that you carry a balance.
Interest can be 10%, 15%, 20% and many times even higher than that depending on your credit card. Interest can really compound and make that initial balance extremely difficult to pay off, especially if you are only paying the minimum each month.
You have to first begin by identifying your spending habits and work on paying down that credit card balance. Make more frequent payments toward your credit card balances and even consider transferring your balances to a lower interest credit card. Paying off your credit card balance is not easy, but you will save hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars in interest.
One company that I recommend in helping not only monitoring your credit but also giving you your credit score is Credit Karma. A high credit score and exceptional credit can go a long way.
4. Always buying brand name products
One big way you may be wasting money each month is buying every name brand product, regardless of what it is. Some generic products are just as good, if not better than, their name brand counterparts.
Generic over-the-counter medication is pretty much the exact same as the name brand, other than the fact it is significantly cheaper. Other generic or non-name brand products you could consider include food products, cleaning supplies, paper products, diapers and the list can go on and on.
5. Excessive couponing
Have you ever bought something just because you had a coupon for it? This can be an easy way you are wasting lots of money. You may be buying several products that you have very little use for and would normally not purchase, but since you have a coupon, you buy it. You then justify your purchase because you used a coupon and did not pay full price.
6. Expedited shipping
If there is an emergency and you need something expedited, then it can be worth paying the extra money for. If it is not an emergency, expedited shipping is a huge waste of money for most people.
Even though the standard option to ship may take an extra day or two, it will save you lots of money in the future by selecting this option. Also, if you are shipping out a present or card for a special occasion like birthdays or Christmas, plan ahead and give yourself plenty of time to get that item to its destination.
7. Food waste
Are you throwing out expired or uneaten food every week? If you are, this is a sign that you are buying too much and wasting money. Take a look at what you are throwing away, and either scale back on the amount you are buying or choose to eliminate that product altogether from your food budget. Buy food that you know you can consume by the expiration date.
One way that we have saved is by using Instacart. With Instacart, you know exactly what you are ordering and you no longer are buying items you do not need. This can help save you hundreds and even thousands in the long run.
8. Rental car insurance
Renting a car can be a stressful situation. You have to sign so much paperwork and then on top of that, the car rental agent really pushes and pressures you into rental car insurance.
If you have car insurance, typically it extends to rental cars as well. You definitely need to check with your insurance company to check your coverage. Also, many credit cards that you use to book your rental car provide secondary insurance coverage in case something were to happen. So ultimately, getting the extra car rental insurance is not needed for most people and a great way to not spend extra money.
9. Late fees
When you think of late fees, you probably think of things like an overdue library book. Yes, this is one example of a late fee you should avoid, but there are many others as well. Any bill that you pay after a due date like a credit card, mortgage or utility typically charges you a late fee. These can range from a few dollars to sometimes even $50+.
Making your payments on time will require organization, but it will save you tons of money that you would have wasted on late fees. Many companies even allow you to sign up for auto-pay so you can eliminate the chance you will forget to pay your bill.
10. Impulse buying
Impulse buying is probably one of the most dangerous ways you can waste money. Have you ever gone to a store and before you know it, your shopping cart is full of all kinds of stuff you had no intention of getting?
The thing is impulse buying is no longer just limited to buying things in person. You can actually impulse buy online from the comfort of your home and this can even be more dangerous.
Some ways to avoid impulse buying are to have a predetermined list for your purchases. If it is not on the list, you cannot buy it. Also, if you want to buy something, wait to buy it and do your research on it. Maybe it is something you could live without, but in the moment, you feel like you have to have it.
11. Buying premium gas
For most vehicles, you do not need to spend more at the pump on premium gas. Unless your owner’s manual says it is a requirement, skip the premium gas and stop wasting additional money that you do not need to spend. Premium gasoline provides no increase in fuel economy or reduced emissions, so stick with regular gasoline.
12. Bank fees
There is a reason your bank lobby looks like the inside of the Sistine Chapel. Banks make a lot of money on fees every year from their customers. This is one way you might be wasting a lot of money.
Many banks charge fees for not maintaining a minimum account balance, overdrafts, foreign transactions or if using an ATM that is out of their network. The list is endless of the amount of fees that you are charged and you need to do everything in your power to avoid these fees. It might even mean having to switch to a bank with lesser fees or maybe even going to a credit union.
13. Bottled water
Bottled water is an expense you could be wasting money on. Sure, it is more healthy than soda or sugary drinks, but there are also ways you can save while not having to buy bottled water. For many people, you could drink tap water or if you do not like the taste, invest in a water filter that could last you a long time and is much cheaper than buying bottled water.
14. Books
Books are becoming more and more expensive. You may purchase a book and read it once or maybe not read it at all. With e-readers like Kindle becoming more popular, downloading a book is becoming easier than ever. The costs of downloaded copies of books can really add up.
Consider going to your local library and borrowing a book or several for free. Many libraries now offer services that let you download books for a limited time to your e-reader. Other websites even let you download copies of free books to your e-reader.
If you have to spend on a book, try not to pay full price. Many companies offer coupons and incentives that will greatly reduce the cost of the book and ultimately save you from overspending.
15. Expensive clothes for baby or dog
Sure, your baby will look great in those brand name clothes. But guess what? They will outgrow the clothes extremely fast. Whether the clothes are expensive or not, they are still going to get stained, spilled on and dirty.
Expensive clothing for your dog is typically not worth the expense. Depending on where you live, your vet may recommend a sweater or coat in the winter, but that would be about all your pet would need.
We have found that Chewy offers some of the best selection and deals around for our dog Yoda. Not only can we get clothing and apparel from Chewy, but they offer a variety of other products that we take advantage of.
16. Deal websites
We all love a deal, but do you realize that many waste extra money on deals they do not even need? There are many deal websites that offer discounts on a huge amount of items, events, entertainment and other things, but these websites can also trap you into wasting money you would have otherwise not spent.
Just because something is on sale does not mean you need to purchase it. You can save money on deal websites, but you need to make sure that you actually will use the product or service and not just buy because you think it saves you money.
17. Cell phone overages
Data overages can add up extremely fast and can cost you dearly. Use Wi-Fi whenever it is available to you, which can help save some of your valuable monthly data. If you are on the go and you have to use your data, be smart about it and try not to use up all your data by streaming movies or downloading lots of content.
18. Having too many hobbies
Having a hobby or several hobbies is not a bad thing, but it is if you are pouring lots of money into each one. Some expensive hobbies that come to mind are golfing, world traveling, collectibles, gambling and many others. You could begin limiting yourself to having one or two hobbies that cost money and then look for free or inexpensive hobbies like hiking, writing or photography with your phone.
19. Coffee
Do you buy coffee every day at your local coffee shop? Chances are you are probably spending a lot more money buying coffee this way than if you prepared it at home. It does take a little more preparation to brew your own coffee, but you could save a lot of money and not overspend on coffee from a shop. You could visit your local coffee shop once in a great while as a special treat to yourself.
20. Alcoholic drinks in restaurants
If you go to restaurants frequently and purchase alcoholic beverages, you may be spending a lot more than you think for this convenience. Restaurants make a lot of money on their alcohol sales, which is why your server pushes these drinks on you. If you skip the alcohol, you could be saving hundreds, if not even thousands, a year. You can still go out to a restaurant and have a great time – just with a lot more money in your wallet at the end of the night if you do not drink.
Summary
As you can see, wasting money is something that is extremely easy to do. The hard part is finding the ways that you are wasting money. Hopefully you can start identifying the areas where you are wasting money and put a stop to it so that you can use that money for something more beneficial.