Iād rather burn my money than spend it on thisā¦
Can you frugal your way to riches? Probably not.
Can you frugal your way to early retirement? Absolutely!
If you spend money on just 1 or 2 of these things youāre probably going to be alright. Any more than thatā¦ well, itās going to be very tough to retire early, let alone on time.
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Letās get right to it:
1. Credit card interest
This one shouldnāt come as a shock. I have to bring up avoiding credit card debt whenever I can.
Spending more than you earn and putting it on credit cards you canāt pay off monthly is robbing from Future You. Itās a handcuff that prevents you from saving, investing, and achieving financial goals.
If you have credit card debt (youāll know because youāll be paying interest monthly) prioritize getting out of it with all of your focus and attention as priority #1.
Read also: 7 pillars of self care (GOOD INFO)
2. Higher education
66% of public college graduates walk away with debt. The average debt at graduation from four-year public and private nonprofit colleges was nearly $30,000 in 2020.
There are many alternatives to college and with skyrocketing tuition, one should consider those alternatives.
You can get a specialty certificate via trade school that is directly applicable to a career. You can do an apprenticeship. You can do one-off online courses. Take a coding bootcamp. Become a realtor. Or simply get an entry-level job and work your way up.
Community college is another great option at a tenth of the price.
3. Individual stocks
Photo by Wance Paleri on Unsplash
Sure, by picking individual stocks to invest in you get more control over the makeup of your portfolio.
Sure, thereās a chance you can outwit everyone else and earn more than the market as a whole.
The reality is most people donāt ā not even the most experienced of investors.
Choosing individual stocks poses more risk because youāre not diversified. They require more time, education, and attention. It can be harder to keep your emotions in check. You might let personal bias creep in and lead you astray.
Plus, managing all of this can be a huge headache.
I suggest buying index funds, a bundle of stocks. I always recommend ones that track the S&P 500 or total stock market but you can also choose different index funds if you enjoy researching and a little choice.
4. Excessive entertainment
Comfort and enjoying yourself in moderation is great. But some people take it too far too often.
These are the people that live for the weekend and go crazy every time it arrives. These are typically the people that crave instant gratification. They tie happiness with buying things and doing āstuffā.
Shared experiences are incredibly important, but you can build memories and spend quality time with your loved ones locally for cheap or even free.
Think about when you were a kid. I bet most of your best memories were making up games with friends, playing in the park, or going camping.
As we get older, we get inundated with ads, social media, and a feeling to go go go and spend spend spend.
Slow down. Appreciate what you have. Stop doing it for the āgram and keep that cash!
5. Timeshares
Timeshares are not an investment or asset. They do not generate income.
If you want to know about my experience getting pressured to invest in a timeshare check out this super embarrassing old video next.
The gist, they were insanely nice to me until they were incredibly mean to me.
If you have a timeshare horror experience Iād love to hear about it in the comments!
Read also: 5 money rules everyone should know by 30
6. Exercise machines and/or fancy gym memberships
Photo by Osarugue Igbinoba on Unsplash
At-home machines are expensive. Plus, they break down, need maintenance, and might require a subscription.
Plus, 40% of people report not using them nearly as much as they thought they would. Instead, they gather dust and end up getting sold for 20 cents on the dollar.
Gyms can be useful if you use them often but 67% of memberships go unused. So, set a limit that fits your monthly budget (hint: itās not $200 at Equinox).
I pay $10 to go to my local Planet Fitness and itās great. Itās clean, it has tons of machines, lots of TVs, nice people, and itās a sixth of the price of my last gym.
If nothing else, consider canceling your membership during sunny months when itās nice out and exercise outside instead.
7. Pools
The average cost to maintain a pool is $80 to $150 monthly or about $960 to $1,800 yearly. That doesnāt sound too bad, but the annual cost to own a pool is $3,000 to $5,000 when you factor in repairs, opening and closing costs, electricity, and water.
On the other hand, hot tubs cost around $20 a month to maintain and you can use them year-round. So, swap to a tub and dive into savings!
8. Unnecessary items for your baby
Iām not a dad (so maybe this will be me someday) but some parents take it way, way too far when it comes to buying things for their baby.
The baby product market is a $1.7 billion dollar industry in the US. Some babies are truly spoiled. For example:
Designer shoes, designer clothes, designer diapers (Iām guessing thatās a thing), too many toys, baby bathrobes, wipe warmers, netted fruit feeders, squeezable spoons, a peepee teepee.
I donāt know what some of these things are but if you do, stop it! Especially that last one. It sounds grossā¦
9. Cheap anything
A prime example is furniture. Sure, you might save money upfront when you buy cheap furniture from Ikea, but youāll likely end up having to buy replacements sooner than if you bought quality items instead.
This applies to small purchases as well. Iāve learned my lesson by buying cheap kitchen knives, coffee machines, shoes from Target, basically anything from H&M, office supplies, candles, kitchen appliances, and even a knockoff watch when I was 12.
Buy it right or buy it twice.
Read also: 7 ways wealthy people make money (copy this)
10. Real Christmas trees
Photo by Jessica Lewis on Unsplash
Iām going to end by putting on my Grinch hat because this one is personal. We bought our first house last November so I was extremely excited to buy my first real Christmas treeā¦ finally!
We trekked out into the rain, drove to 3 different lots because they were sold out everywhere, and ended up paying $210 for a 7-foot tree. That included a stand we needed but thatās still insane.
I learned the range is $65 to $175 on average for most people. Thatās a few quality gifts you could put under the tree.
Or money you could invest instead!
Not to mention, fake trees donāt have bugs or allergens, thereās no debris falling constantly, your pets wonāt drink gross water, and I could go onā¦
But Iāll probably still buy one again if Iām being honest. You canāt replace the smellā¦
What do you think?
I know one of these got you mad. Thereās at least one thing on my list you fully disagree with. If so, let me have it in the comments. Tell me how great your pool and pelotons and timeshares and lavish vacations are.
OR let me know something I missed!
Thanks for reading!
CONTRIBUTED BY Frankie Calkins
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