🌻The Top 10 Biggest Ways You Are Wasting Money Without Realizing

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And why you will always be broke if you keep doing it.

“We usually save money to waste it.”

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― Mokokoma M

After saving and investing, one of the things that give me the most satisfaction is being able to use my money freely for things that make me happy and comfortable.

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However, many people can’t do that because they are busy wasting it on things that don’t make sense (I personally have found myself in situations where I have paid for things that I later regret).

The reality is that most of us have junk expenses. Knowing how to identify them, we can change those payments for ones that make more sense to us.

Read also: 7 life lessons people learn too late in life

For that reason, here are the top 10 ways people waste their money without even realizing it’s not a good decision.

1. By being cheap

I have bought many cheap good things. And I feel that there are things that do not make sense to buy expensive if there’s a cheap version that does exactly the same.

The problem is that sometimes when you buy cheap, you overlook quality. And with poor quality comes:

Repairs
Replacements (that often are so much that equals the price of an expensive item).
Poor use of the item.
An example I always like to remember is when buying shoes or things for the bed (like pillows, sheets, and mattresses). We spend at least 1/3 of the day wearing shoes, and 1/3 of the day sleeping, so we should invest well in those things.

Do not buy something cheap because you must save money, think that you may be spending more than buying a single good expensive thing.

2. Taking advantage of discounts.

Discounts are a good way to save money, but as long as you are going to buy that product anyway.

The problem is that the majority of people buy products with discounts simply because it’s cheaper than usual and not because they really need them.

A discount, no matter how good it is, will always be a waste of money if you don’t need the product. You may be saving 40 or 50 percent on that purchase, but by not buying it, you would be saving 100% of it.

3. Too many personal care and beauty products.

In January, I went to a dermatologist to help me choose which skincare products I was using were hurting my face due to a sudden acne breakout.

Most of the products I had in my routine were recommendations from an influencer from Instagram or Youtube, or I saw them repeatedly around my friends.

The dermatologist explained to me that a good facial routine doesn’t need to be long; it needs to be functional.

And I leave only with face soap, a product to control oil, and sunscreen.

Many people spend hundreds of dollars on face and hair products every month. However, none of those things are probably necessary for your personal care, and you are just wasting money.

4. More than $100 on a course without first trying the platform or item.

When I purchased one of the writing courses I took in 2021, the mentor created a support group where new students could share their personal progress and experiences.

I was surprised to see many of them started writing because of that course, not because they were struggling to grow their audience. When I asked why they bought the course without trying it by themselves first, the answers were very vague:

“I didn’t want to lose time.”
“I want to start making money from the beginning.”
“That was a single-time opportunity I could not ignore.”
Months later, I realized that many did not need the course (because they were good enough from the start) or did not even continue writing.

If you want to buy a course to learn something, first try the free version of that hobby. You probably won’t even like it when you try it, and you won’t lose money unnecessarily.

5. Extended warranties and expensive insurance.

When I bought my last car, it had an extended warranty from the last owner. I thought it would be a great idea to keep it just in case until I decided to see what included it, which is practically nothing for a car that doesn’t receive so much damage.

Extended warranties and expensive insurances when you don’t use all the extra features are a waste of money, it may sound good at the beginning, but most people never use it.

Phone insurance is one of the worst warranties and insurance that exist. Even if it’s only “$15 per month”, most of them need a deductible of $200, but if your phone breaks after two years, you would have paid $360 in insurance plus $200 for the other phone.

Extended warranties are just paying 25% more for something you probably don’t need in the first place.

6. Bulk shopping

Although buying in bulk can save you money per item, getting a discount on that item is not a deal if you buy more than you need.

I have gone hundreds of times to wholesale stores to stock up on cleaning and disposable items, but every time I try to buy food there, I end up throwing it away because it goes bad in my fridge since I live alone with my mother.

A discount per item when you buy in bulk is only a deal if you are sure you will use all of those items.

7. Luxury for status

If you’ve read me for a while, you’ll know I love luxury. I like to live the experience of a good restaurant, enjoy 5-star resorts on the island where I live, and drive a Porsche.

I do all these things because they give me satisfaction in my 20s, and it makes me happy to be able to live those kinds of experiences.

But I do all those things for and by myself.

My close circle (friends and family) do not enjoy those things like me (and many of them can not afford them) and prefer to live a more calm and carefree life. When I go out with them, I don’t mind doing what they want, and in general, I don’t mind doing it with others.

I’m not interested in changing circles for one that spends a lot of money, and I’m not interested in others admiring my life (because I know it’s not financially logical if you don’t earn well).

When you buy luxury for status, you waste your money. What you want to buy will never be enough to fill the low self-esteem of wanting to fit in where you don’t belong.

8. An old car because is what “millionaire people” do.

Many people drive an old car because it is a millionaire habit. However, driving the wrong car could be a waste of your money.

My boyfriend bought an old jeep three years ago because it was “a smart financial decision.” The vehicle was in poor condition because it was old and had to go to the repair center practically every three months.

In total, for the year he owned it, he spent almost 1/3 of the vehicle’s value, and it was still not completely well.

He decided to sell it and bought a new car.

The vehicle has never had any problems, and as long as he takes care of it as it should, it has the brand guarantee.

Sometimes a good new car is a cheaper decision that an old one.

9. An initial investment in a business that doesn’t require it.

When I started my Youtube channel, I received the most important financial advice when it comes to starting a business:

“The good thing about content creation is that you don’t need an initial investment; you have everything you need to grow in your hands, your phone.”

Many people believe they need the best equipment from the beginning, but this is just an extra when you are already making money with that business.

That will even help you create an audience of people that actually enjoy your content and not because you have good production.

10. Subscriptions services.

Think about all the subscription services you have right now. You probably don’t need 80% of them.

When was the last time you watched a series? And more importantly, if you are watching a series right now, why keep the other streaming services active?

Subscription services are a waste of money because you usually only use one of two on a daily basis, and the others are just there waiting for their time.

If instead of having all you can, you use to keep these two you have active, you can save money.

Many people will think, “but it’s just 8 dollars.” The problem is that 54% of Americans have at least $100 in subscription services they don’t use. What if I tell you to give me those $1200 annually just because? Of course, it would be nonsense, and that’s what you are doing.

Something I do is program the series I want to watch in the year, and I alternate the subscription service every three months while I am using it.

Read also: 10 daily habits made me a millionaire at 28 years old

Final thoughts

Many people waste their money in different common ways without even realizing it. Analyzing where your money is going and if that purchase actually makes sense to you and your financial situation can help you change these bad habits and build better ones.

I personally check my finances from time to time to see what I am spending my money on and check if it is a waste because I like my expenses to make sense and happiness for me.

Therefore, here I bring you the summarized list of 10 ways in which you may be spending money unnecessarily:

By being cheap. Repairs and replacement costs often are more expensive than buying one only big product.
Taking advantage of discounts you don’t need.
Too many personal care and beauty products. Go to a professional and see what you really need, normally are no more than three products unless you have a condition.
Courses without first trying the platform or item, you could be really good at it without needing to spend thousands or realize you don’t like it after testing it.
Extended warranties and expensive insurance. Most of the time, we don’t need that for our items.
Bulk shopping is only good if you actually consume all the products.
Luxury for status. Buying luxury for the wrong reasons it’s a waste of money, especially if you are not happy with it.
An old car because is what “millionaire people” do.
An initial investment in a business that doesn’t require it.
Subscriptions services. More than half of Americans have more than $100 in subscriptions that they don’t even use on a daily basis.

Contributed by Desiree Peralta

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