If you want to meet your financial goals and certain milestones in life you have to be critical on how you spend money. Spending money and acting frugally could be the difference between a comfortable retirement and having to work hard in later years. It takes only a couple of habits to be robbed of your hard-earned money. There are certain spending habits that could be wasting you a lot of money though you are not aware of it. If you want to attain your financial independence and be in control of your every dollar, here are some spending habits you should be aware of.
1. Buying brand names
Because we are conditioned by advertisers that brand-name products always serve us better we are inclined to reach for brand-name products without ever counting the cost. But by trying generic brands or stores for products we buy often, we certainly would be saving 20 percent more.
2. Eating out
Many of us feel that cooking good food is tough. For some of us, we are too tired to cook. But when you stop eating out, the payoff can be huge. By changing your dining habits you could save hundreds if not thousands of dollars a year.
3. Regularly changing the oil in your vehicles
By wanting to stay on top of routine maintenance you show good habits. However when you are regularly changing the oil in your vehicles for every 3,000 miles, you may be wasting money. Many new vehicles use synthetic oils that can last you for over 8,000 miles or more. You could save your money by checking this website for oil change info for newer model vehicles and save yourself some money.
4. Drinking bottled water
You will be costing yourself 1,000 dollars more per year by getting your recommended daily amount of water exclusively in a bottle. Comparatively it will cost you no more than 50 cents per year for you get healthy tap water. You could try refrigerating your water overnight before drinking if your tap has a chlorine flavor.
5. Buying gourmet coffee
It may seem cheap spending a few bucks a day at the local coffee bar. However can you imagine all the money that is wasted and could be saved if you simply brewed your own coffee at home?
6. ATM fees
You rack up fees by using ATMs that are not on your bank’s network. You could be wasting money ignorantly if you use out-of-system ATMs just twice a week! You could be saving some money by switching banks or opening an account that is better situated to where you live/work.
7. Initial offers
It seems people are not haggling anymore. We all seem to accept the first initial offers when buying things. Sometimes it pays to ask and it never hurts to. Many seem to view the prices of such intangibles as cable bills, hotel fees, home accessories and more as non-negotiable. However you could be saving money and avoid wasting it when you haggle more.
8. Infomercial impulse buys
According to the Electronic Retailing Association, the infomercial industry brings in about 400 billion dollars a year. The allure of buying lower and quicker when we watch infomercials can become wasteful after all. It is no secret that many of these impulse purchases go unused.
9. Buying new things
Sometimes you are not obliged to buy a new stuff, yet you do. Because you have to buy an originally packaged product you thus subject yourself to paying double the price. Buying a new product just as it is released forces you to pay more and according to experts nobody should buy something new because it makes better financial sense to buy secondhand sometimes.
Be kind to yourself and start breaking these spending habits.
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