Wake Up Call: How To Spot Ways You’re Wasting Money

Sometimes it’s not so easy to take a much-needed step back and view just how poor your money situation is.

Those who have that ability to remove themselves from a very personal situation and take stock of their budget, expenses, and income are those who can safely say in time that they’ll be able to learn how to save money and eventually build the wealth they so richly deserve and desire.

Then again, you have the opposite end of the spectrum: individuals who waste money and don’t recognize that they do so.

in defense of those individuals, you can argue that it’s harder to see these wasteful habits because you’ve incorporated them so easily into your way of life.

Take for instance that simple cup of coffee, one that you could have easily made at home, but you simply love the convenience of a fresh cup at a premier retailer. That cup of coffee, let’s say you have two per day, is going to cost you about $8 per day. You don’t realize you are spending nearly $3,000 per year for coffee. If you think and about how much a can of coffee costs and how long it lasts when you make your coffee, you’d spend about 10 or 20 percent of that total amount on coffee.

The coffee goes along with other daily drink habits, such as an energy drink, $5 per drink, or even something as simple as bottled water, about $2 per day.

What if someone told you that you spent $5,000 per year on just beverages? Consider for some that is a good chunk of their yearly salary.

Wasting money also centers on those purchases that would be classified as impulse buys. Your best bet is to exercise some patience on items that ultimately are the kind that you really don’t need, but want for a variety of reasons, such as wanting to have the same tablet, for example, that your friend has or making sure your 20 something-year-old car in the driveway doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb, even though not having a car payment should take precedence.

Most who are financially savvy wait a few days before making that purchase, and if they’re still interested or feel that it’s a need, they’ll opt to make that buy.

Everyone has had that moment where they feel as though they’ve bought something that they’d consider wasteful. As much as that type of spending is ill-advised, what really will kill your budget is the kind of spending that happens on a much more consistent basis.