It’s very easy to spend money frivolously, especially right after your get your paycheck. Then you end up scraping by for a little while until your next paycheck comes if you don’t have any savings. Then, the pattern repeats itself.
To help break this pattern, here are common spending habits you should break as part of your overall budgeting effort.
1) Applying For Store Credit Cards
This is a great way to drain your money and damage your credit. People often do one of two things with store credit cards:
- They spend way more than they normally would at one time to take full advantage of the savings and, all in all, end up spending more in the long-run just for the fancy “savings” deal.
- They apply for store credit cards at retail shops they don’t usually use and then forget about them, resulting in missed payments. Not only can this damage your credit score, it can also accrue pricey late fees.
2) Falling For “Buy More, Save More” Tricks
You know the deal – “buy two of X item and get Y percent off your third purchase”.
This is a common trick in retail to get people to spend more money on things they don’t actually need. Sure, the deal can seem tempting, but when you really think about it, do you actually need that extra item?
The same principle applies to the next bad habit.
3) Spending More Money For Free Shipping
Online shopping comes with shipping fees. No one likes paying those. That’s why many people end up spending more than they otherwise would just to take “advantage” of a free shipping deal.
There are some cases where this can be a wise move – if the extra money you spend is a relatively small amount and essentially lesser or equal to the shipping charge. Anything beyond that is basically just a ploy to get you to purchase more stuff.
4) Not Making A List Or Meal Plan Before You Go Grocery Shopping
It’s always a good idea to eat out less and make more meals at home. Not only is it healthier, but it’s far easier on your budget.
That said, before you head out to the supermarket for food and ingredients, you need to have a comprehensive meal plan and grocery list in place.
Failing to do so, you are likely to purchase ingredients you already have at home. Also, if you don’t actually have the time to prepare your food, you can end up buying food that will go bad before you have a chance to use it.
5) Purchasing Cheap Products
This may seem counterintuitive at first, but there’s sound logic behind it.
Sure, buying a less expensive product can save you money in the short run, but it is also likely to break down, wear out, or fail to provide what you need sooner than a high quality product.
Think about things in the long-term, rather than simply what will save you money “right now”.
To read about more bad spending habits, check out this post.