5 Ways to Stop Wasting Money

Deviating from my traditional yoga and travel theme, let’s talk money. My goal is create peace of mind and when your finances are mess, your mind is not peaceful.

While our economy is at its height, there are still those that are struggling financially. Blame it on increased housing cost or the ability to stretch the dollar further. Even people making a healthy living are finding that they are living paycheck to paycheck, feeling that there is no chance to getting ahead. When I looked at my own spending, I found that there were many money wasters that I was not consciously aware of costing me far more than I expected. Here are a few things I discovered were sucking up my funds. I cut them and quickly saved thousands of dollars.

#1 – Foo-Foo Coffee

For a hot minute when I lived in Seattle I drank white chocolate mochas like they were going out of style. This far too expensive habit was recking my stomach and was quickly abandon. While I was officially hooked on coffee, I gave up the fancy options and move to basic drip coffee before the “Frappies” where a big thing. My bank account has thanked me. Even though I will admit I grab a large coffee almost daily during the week, it cost $2.25 a day. So my weekly habit cost me about $600 a year. Take that times two, which is what the average signature drinks will cost you, and double it if you have a 2 drink a day habit. That is over $2,400 a year. I could take a great little vacation for $2,400. If you really cannot live with your fancy coffee. Consider investing an espresso machine for home. You can pick up a four and half star espresso machine for less than $70. This will save you money and totally impress your friends if you invite them over for coffee. Personally, I had one of these fancy machines and never used it. Give me a french press any day and I have all I need.

#2 – Interest Fees

Making payments on anything unless it is interest free is throwing money to the wind. Have you ever looked at what you pay in interest on your credit cards, loans, or any other installment plan? It will surely blind you. I know, I know, sometimes it is necessary. We get to the end of the month when the bill is due and we don’t have enough to cover everything so we only pay a portion. If you’ve been doing this for a while, there is no doubt your are throwing away hundreds to thousands of dollars a year. It is a vicious circle. Maybe you find you can’t afford to get by any other way. Take a minute to figure out if your debit just disappeared, would you be able to make it? Do yourself a favor right now, find a debit consolidation plan or cease all extra unnecessary spending to put toward your debit and stop the madness. I learned the hard way that living off your credit cards will bury you. No matter how you do it, pay off your outstanding balances and only use credit cards as a means to gain miles, paying them off each month. If you don’t feel strong enough to do that, don’t use them at all. I spent many years just using my debit card knowing I could only spend what I could afford. Once you are in this mindset, you can slowly transition to using credit cards which will help you build back your credit and give you miles you can use on a variety of things including travel.

#3 – Subscriptions and/or Annual Fees

For years I have held on to gym memberships where I would not step foot in a gym for an equal number of years. There was something in the back my mind that kept me believing that I stayed fit just by having the membership and if I cancelled it, I would instantly become unhealthy. Well, it didn’t happen. I spend more time in yoga studios or hiking or doing something outside to hold on to a gym membership I was not using. I can only imagine how much money gyms make off of people who never show up. Want to know how much I would spend to never show up? At one point I was a member of two gyms I never went to, one in the same building as my office and the other where I shared a friend/family membership with one of my besties (she never went either.) Between the two memberships I was spending roughly $60 a month. It would be modest to say this went on for 3 years but let’s cap it at that in which time I wasted over $2,000. Let’s not forget about other subscriptions we sign up for like too like apps, dating sites, things we get a 30 day free membership on and forget to cancel before fees start to accrue. I went through my statements and discovered lots of little random charges. Check out your Amazon account if you have one. I had 3 different charges monthly, I still don’t know what they were for, that I cancelled and certainly never missed. Lastly, don’t forget about that $100+ annual fees on your credit cards. This year alone I closed four different accounts saving myself $400.

#4 – Get Rid of Cable Television

Everyone I knew was buzzing about the great viewing on Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu yet I just could not give up cable. This was a personal attachment. I wasn’t really watching that much television and blamed it on my daughter missing out on her shows on Disney or Nick Jr. The truth was I was attached to what I knew and afraid of the unknown. I was already paying for Netflix and had an Amazon Prime Membership that offered Amazon free viewing. After resisting and talking about it for several years, I got so fed up with paying $180 a month, I finally cancelled my cable. I invested in a Kindle Fire Stick which cost me about $40 and allowed me to access all the subscription channels I already had and more. I still had to pay for internet, which increased slightly over the package deal but overall I save over $100 a month. That’s another $1,200 a year.

#5 – If I Ain’t Broke, Don’t Replace It

Just because Apple puts out the latest version of anything, there is no need to replace something that works perfectly fine. While I am not carrying around a flip-phone, I do make changes slower than others. Full confession, I did just acquire the latest version of Iphone. This was after 3 years of having my last Iphone and only because I was getting a deal to upgrade and add a line for my daughter. Ultimately, I saved money. All this said, make sure you get a full life out of anything you buy. I have things that are 20 years old and to replace them just would be a reason to waste money. Just take a moment to pause before you make your next replacement purchase whether it is a car, electronics, or something otherwise still functional. Decide if you need it or what it and whether it will make your life a little better even if it makes your wallet a little slimmer.

Often I have been accused of being a bit on the frugal side. It used to bother me. Not so much anymore though. I have figured out what I find valuable and that is where I focus my spending. No question this would involve travel and yoga for me. For others it could be something else entirely. This is my list and maybe foo-foo coffee or the latest gadget is something you cannot live without. The point is, there are areas where you maybe bleeding out financially. Find out where that is and cut it so that you can afford all the important things (to you) in life.

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