I like to think of myself as a pretty smart guy, but I have to admit that I still do pretty stupid things from time to time. We all do. I also like to think that I live a pretty frugal lifestyle, but I know that, occasionally, money still slips through the cracks. This post is about how we let that money slip through the cracks because of 5 stupid ways we waste money.
1. Buying too much food.
Have you ever gone grocery shopping on an open stomach? Worst idea ever. Never go grocery shopping on an empty stomach. I’ve made this mistake a few times, and it usually goes something like this. Everything looks mouthwatering, so I end up buying enough food to make a five course meal every day of the week. Of course, that never happens, so the food ends up spoiling. I have to throw it out, leaving me with nothing to eat, so I go the grocery store on an empty stomach. Repeat.
2. Buying too many clothes.
I’ve always found it fascinating how we buy clothes that we never end up wearing. How much of your wardrobe do you actually wear on a regular basis? I’m a guy, and I’d say it’s around 50% for me. I’m almost afraid to ask what the percentage is for my female readers. Having grown up with sisters and seeing what was in their closet, I’m going to guess that it’s well below 50%.
3. Having expensive hobbies.
After asking my readers to share their most expensive hobbies, I’ve come to the conclusion that not only are hobbies expensive, we tend to have a lot of them. Whether it’s collecting more books than you’ll ever be able to read or buying more DVDs than you’ll ever be able to watch, hobbies tend to become money pits. Most of us can’t afford to blow money on all of our hobbies, so we usually pick our favorite one (at the time) and waste all of our money on that.
4. Upgrading stuff.
Who wouldn’t make it a large for only 25 cents more? Why wouldn’t you upgrade to a nicer rental car for only $8/day? If I’m already going to spend $200 on a cell phone, what’s another $100 to upgrade to a better one? We waste money on upgrades that we don’t need. The salesperson’s job is to get us to do just that. The scary part is that we still fall for it even though we know exactly what they’re doing.
5. Misplacing stuff.
How many sets of audio/video cables do you have? How many of those sets did you buy because you couldn’t find your old cables at the time? We all misplace stuff every once in awhile, so we end up buying them again. Of course, we usually end up finding the missing stuff later on, so we’re left with duplicates. This is why I own enough ethernet cable to wire a small computer lab, enough contact lens cases to use a different one each day of the week, and enough screwdrivers to be really productive if I had 4 arms (and actually knew where the other 3 screwdrivers are).
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Misplacing stuff is the worst. I do that way too often.
Great post! Stumbled it.
Thanks,
Nate
It surprises me that you are actually right about buying too many clothes. I am also a guy and looking in my closet I have found a lot of items that have never been used or only used once or twice. It is probably closer to 25% for me, but that is still too much when you are on a budget.
When I go to the supermarket or shopping in general, I treat it as a military operation. I stick to my objective list and checkout within my set time limit. Hungry or not, mission accomplished every time.
I have 5 black golf shirts and 5 black pants. My standard uniform for work. Like school uniforms, there’s no need to impress, especially with a 14:1 guy to girl ratio here.
I think that there are many other things that can be added to your list:
1. Watching movies in theaters during prime time (/buying popcorn). There are times of the day where the price is discounted.
2. Parking fees. There are definitely places where you can park for me, albeit a little bit far. But the fees rack up.
3. Paying tolls. Try to take another highway or use prepaid devices
Expensive clothes is the easiest way to blow money quickly. I don’t mind spending money on groceries because I know I eat them and don’t throw them out.
Check, check, check, check, and check. Yup, I’ve been guilty of all five. Heck, I think I just committed #5, as I haven’t been able to find my iPhone headset for a couple days now.
I buy way too much food. Period. I have Subway on my way to work probably twice a week ($6 each time). Over a long period of time, it all adds up. I need to be more careful.
I found you via Wisebread’s Top 100 Personal Finance Blogs. Congrats on making the list!
Great Post! I’ve been (and am) guilty on all accounts. For me, I waste money on gas. I seem to have trouble combining errands and so make the same trip two or three times when I know I could have made it just once and saved the gas.
Regarding #1, I’ve learned that the best way to avoid this problem, at least a single person who lives alone, is to only go shopping for a couple of meals at a time. I attempt to tailor my menu to what is on sale/what I have coupons for, buy in bulk, and make one big meal that lasts for several days–it’s inexpensive and keeps me from overshopping. Generally speaking, if you only go to the grocery store once or twice a month, you’re going to be in the mindset of, “I must stock on provisions to last me forever!” and you’re going to buy too much food. If you’re just thinking, “I only need these two meals to last me through the week,” you’ll buy far less.
Shopping more frequently also makes it possible for you to buy more of the fresh foods on the outside aisles of the grocery store, which tend to be less expensive and healthier, and avoid buying a lot of the boxed, canned, frozen stuff in the center aisles which are usually overpriced for the convenience they provide and not very good for you at all.
I have to agree with Nate @ Debt-free Scholar. Misplacing stuff and then buying them again (and then finding the first thing 2-3 months later) is definitely the most common way I waste money.
I really should declutter and organize, I’m thinking…
I seriously waste about four hundred dollars a month on fast food. I need to save my heart and my pocket book. Posts like this really help me to put that type of thing into perspective.