We all make stupid purchasing decisions every now and again… but are you making them daily without even knowing? Honing in on your spending is vital in making sure you stick to your financial goals — but usually it’s the small, useless purchases you’re making that are making you broke.
Check out these 8 things you need to stop wasting your money on.
Buying lunch every day
Eating out adds up quickly, before you know it you can be spending hundreds a month on a quick bite. Prepare your food at home and keep snacks with you to avoid the tempting purchases of useless (and often bad for you) food. Treating yourself is okay! But making it a habit will quickly deplete your account.
Unused subscriptions
Are you subscribed to things that you forgot you were subscribed to until you saw your credit card statement? Companies want you to sign up for 30 days free, only to forget you were subscribed, so you can be another victim of their services.
Check out what you’re subscribed to and if you aren’t actively using it, cancel. They add up quickly, and you’d be surprised how many subscriptions you can cut out of your finances.
Brand-name products
Go generic and save lots of money. Store brands end up costs about 30 percent less than national brands. It’s nice to have name-brand things sometimes, but ask yourself, “is it worth it?”. Most of the time, you’re just paying for the fancy label – many generic brands are just as good or better than the leading brand-name you’re using in groceries, toiletries, makeup, and other supplies.
Cable
Join the 21st century and get rid of your cable and get your TV from the internet with Netflix, Hulu and HBO. Cable bills can run up to $100 a month, that’s $1,200 a year. Unless you genuinely feel like you can’t live without it, cable is a waste of your money.
Bottled water
Buying bottled water may seem convenient, but it’s truly a waste of your money. Look into getting a stainless steel or glass water bottle and fill it up. Worried about un-purified water? Amazon has many options of water purifiers that you can use to fill up your reusable water bottles that you can keep in your home. Not only is this a money-saving hack, but it’s good for you too. Stay hydrated, my friends.
Impulse buys
Every where you can buy something, retailers are making it extremely easy for you to impulse buy. They are masters at product placement so you pick up a little extra something on your way to check out. Skip the mindless purchases and put that $5 towards your savings goals or your bills for the month.
The simple and small purchases you’re making every day might be what’s killing your finances. If you have goals and plan to meet them, cutting out the wasteful purchases you make daily are vital. There’s always times for a little bit of splurging, but if it’s happening all the time, you could be practically setting your money on fire.