MSN discusses ways that we waste money on a daily basis. The article titled “Ten Ways that (We) Waste (Our) Money” shows us how we can save up to $2,389.55 per year. There are several things that we can do with an extra $2389 per year such as taking an extra vacation, renovating a room in our home, or splurging on something such as a new television, designer handbag, or stereo system.
Here are some ways that MSN says we can save over two thousand dollars every year. I, for one, would love to save an extra $2389 per year.
Stop playing the lottery. Think about how much money you and your spouse spend on buying raffle tickets at work, playing the weekly lottery, or betting on sports games. If we took all of this money and put it into a high interest savings account we would have a lot more money at the end of the year than we would by playing the lottery.
Using other Bank’s ATMs. I would never pay an extra $2 to $5 to use another banks ATM. I would walk 10 blocks…in the rain, before I paid $5 in service fees to withdraw $20.
Leaving appliances plugged in. I can’t relate to this extra cost because I live in an apartment. However, but leaving appliances plugged in is bad for the environment so I support this point.
Pumping premium gas. I sold my car in September and I am thankful that I don’t spend an extra $40 biweekly to fill up (or sometimes not fill up depending on the current price) my car. In the 3 years that I owned my car, I never pumped Premium gas into my Honda Civic. However, I know that some luxury cars require Premium gas.
Paying for a gym membership. I don’t agree with this point because a gym membership can have several benefits, other than health. However, we can workout at home or outside in our neighbourhood to save money. Lulu Lemon offers free fitness classes once or twice a week.
Not bundling your telecom services. Don’t even get me started on the cost of my monthly satellite, home phone, and high speed internet bill. My telecom services are bundled and I still think that I pay way too much every month…especially with the NFL Sunday ticket sports package.
Continuing to smoke. Smoking is a totally ridiculous and expensive habit. That’s all I have to say…totally ridiculous and unnecessarily expensive.
Paying for credit Cards. I completely agree with this point. We should never pay an annual fee to have a credit card. There are several great credit cards on the market that do not have an annual fee. Shop around and find the best credit card.
Drinking bottled water. Although I agree with this point for environmental reasons, I don’t agree with it for budget reasons. I drink a lot of Crystal Light and it works best when I shake it up into my water bottle.
Splurging on Car Washes. Once again, I completely agree. When I had my Honda Civic there were times that I was paying $9 every week to wash my car.
Do you agree with MSN Money’s Ten Ways Canadians Waste Their Money?
(Photo by Seattle Municipal Archives)
Kristina Tahnyak
Tahnya is a Certified Financial Planner and former Investment Advisor turned marketing and communications professional She holds a degree from Concordia University, is debt free and currently works in the field of digital marketing.
I would have to disagree with the car washing. Especially this time of year you need to remove the salt and road grit. That is basic maintenance in my books.
Wow, I feel great not to be guilty of too many of these.
Actually, just the appliance one. I did the math and wrote that one of my extra Macs uses $16/mo in electricity if left on. That was the big one. Newer things like latest TVs are required by law to have a low power draw.
Plain gas, gym in basement, and a nice Brita pitcher ’cause our town water tastes like crap. Post-Brita, it’s just fine.
I also agree withevrything except the car washing. If it’s not washed regularly over the salty season, it could cause damage. It doesn’t have to cost much, though. The gas stations that have car washes usually have free car washes available, either through their points programs, or with minimum purchases.
I’d say you should buy low consumption vehicles first and then worry about the Premium gas. You guys have such bad cars when it comes to consumption, it’s insane. In Europe most cars run on 1/4 of the gas you use :)
I wouldn’t ditch the membership in the gym. Not all people have the willingness to train alone. Gym is fun. I would surely keep off smoking (never had this nasty habit anyway) and ditch my cable. I don’t use it anyway. I also have a very simple phone with no internet on it. I pay 4$/month.
Bottled water is wrong, especially if you have good tap water. Our friends in NYC buy Poland Spring (which has the same connection to the real Poland as I have with the Moon) instead of drinking their tap water, which happens to be one of the best in the world. But hey, someone’s gotta spend hundreds of bucks/month for something :D