So be honest...

[laterbloomer]

How many of these ways do you waste money? Link

I'm for sure guilty of 5 and maybe guilty of 3 more. 

[mollyanna58]

I eat out / get take out too often; I don't plan my meals. I haven't been to the movies for over a year (maybe 2) but if I ever go back, I'll buy the overpriced popcorn and soda. I will buy brand names depending on past experience with generics. My vice is candy and baked goods but I buy candy on sale usually. I will sometimes pay for shipping rather than take the time and drive 5-20 miles each way to a store to pick up. I will buy groceries that I need when I need them and not wait for the items to go on sale but stock up when they are on sale. I use fewer disposables than I used to. I am disorganized, but it costs me time to find thing, not money.


I waited 3 years before buying a new stove, and I've needed a new dishwasher for over 4, so I'm good there.

[flamingo]

I'm guilty of at least 10 of those. I spend a lot on my hobby, buy name brand, don't wait for a sale when I need/want clothes or shoes. My DH goes to the store like every other day and I still have super pricey cable.  Plus more that I'm not remembering right now. 

It's not breaking my budget, so I don't worry about it. Shrug. If it gets out of hand, I just stop spending for awhile.

[busymom]

I do buy expensive skin care products and cosmetics, but then, I break out if I use the cheap stuff.   I don't own a smartphone, so I'm money ahead there.     We DO buy bottled water, but, the water out of the tap here isn't the best, so....  

[weltschmerz]

Two. Cigarettes and dining out.

BUT......I have zero debt. Nada.

[vetswife]

I buy expensive skin care products but probably cheaper in the long run, as they last a long time and I don't browse the cosmetics in the store, where I used to always wind up buying more.  Plus, we still have cable, smart phones on a Verizon plan, and I buy too many goodies at the grocery store. On the other hand, we don't go anywhere or do anything other than visiting with relatives and friends since DH got sick so we're saving a lot overall.

[Deleted]

I'm guilty of a lot of them. Especially the ones that make life more convenient. And sometimes being lazy saves me a little money. For instance, I really enjoy drinking a cafe mocha from Starbucks, but I rarely indulge since it's more convenient to just make coffee at home.

I do buy brand names for almost all of my clothing and products. But as much as I prefer brands and some specific designers, I buy most of my clothes on sale. And since I'm lazy, don't want to go to the store more often than absolutely necessary, and hate to run out of things (making me have to make an unplanned trip to the store), when I see a good sale price on things like laundry detergent, I buy several. 

I don't like paying fees to financial institutions, especially not to get my own money out of an ATM or cash a paper check, so I avoid those.

I've passed on things I saw and wanted online, because I don't like paying for shipping. But I pay for Amazon Prime and I recently discovered that it's worth a few bucks to me to pay for somebody to gather everything on my grocery list, bring it outside and load it into my car.

So yeah, I'm all over the place.

[wvugurl26]

We have cable, I buy name brand stuff, we use bottled water, I do have some expensive makeup and skincare, and we do go out to eat.

We have cut back drastically on eating out. We don't go to the movies enough for the popcorn cost to matter. We literally go like maybe every two years.

I get an iced coffee at Dunkin Donuts each morning. I look for gift card deals and cash in credit card rewards for them. I already get up at 530am, I'm not getting up even earlier. My commute is anywhere from 40-60 minutes most days so I don't want the ice melting either.

We buy cleaning products. DH does most of the heavy scrubbing. We buy what he wants to use.

[laterbloomer]

I like the article because it gives me ideas on where I could cut back if I really wanted to. And it makes me feel good about the areas I am frugal with. I quite smoking and drinking a long time ago, so that is lots of money saved (let's not think about how much I spent before I quit) I gave up extended warranties the day before I joined YM on MSN. That's like 12 years ago and never a problem (knock on wood) I ask for stuff for my hobbies for my birthday or gifts. I don't think I will ever give up buying cleaning products, I'm not into making my own.

[Deleted]

Jan 24, 2019 18:42:45 GMT -5 laterbloomer said:

I like the article because it gives me ideas on where I could cut back if I really wanted to. And it makes me feel good about the areas I am frugal with. I quite smoking and drinking a long time ago, so that is lots of money saved (let's not think about how much I spent before I quit) I gave up extended warranties the day before I joined YM on MSN. That's like 12 years ago and never a problem (knock on wood) I ask for stuff for my hobbies for my birthday or gifts. I don't think I will ever give up buying cleaning products, I'm not into making my own.

Extended warranties have never made much sense to me. What I hear when someone tries to pressure me into buying an extended warranty is "you need to spend some more money to cover your ass if you buy this product from us because it's really a piece of crap and we don't stand behind what we sell and the manufacturer doesn't stand behind this product". Which can lead me to thinking maybe I should consider buying a totally different product from somewhere else. My brain obviously doesn't go in the direction they intend with the extended warranty pitch.

[Apple]

I think there were three on that list that I could be guilty of.

Insurance-- I've had the same company since the divorce.  I could shop around and see if I could get a better deal, but I'm lazy, and don't feel I'm paying a fortune.  I'll save more once my son is off my insurance.

Cell phone-- I have unlimited, shared with my son.  The areas I use my phone are pretty much the bare spots in all the "coverage maps".  There is only one company that works everywhere I need it to.  The lower data plans are only a little less than what I pay, and I like to know that I could stream movies, pandora, and gps if I'm on a road trip, and never have to worry about going over my data plan.

Cleaning products-- two bottles of Mrs Meyers cleaner (32 oz each) for $13 (maybe $14).  For $13, I've got 32 gallons of cleaning solution.  This stuff is going to last me for years.  Not sure if vinegar would be cheaper (and the cleaning powers aren't as great as frugal sites lead you to believe, IMO).  I could have gotten cheaper cleaning solution, but I don't mind the way this stuff smells, and I can be very sensitive to cleaning scents.

Oh, I guess I should have put four...  I'm very disorganized!  I'm working on that though.

[tcu2003]

Insurance - I need to switch, I just haven't pulled the trigger.  Which is especially egregious since I've actually gotten a quote from a new provider.  

Name brands - we buy a lot of generic, but there are certain items we stick to name brand (hello, Cheerios!).

House - it's well within our budget, but definitely larger than we need.  That said, I love my kids' school and our neighborhood, so we're not moving anytime soon.

Dining out - depends on the week, but it's at least weekly, and sometimes up to 3x/week.  

[TheOtherMe]

The worst two I do is pay too much for television, but it's pretty much my only entertainment.  I also enjoy a cup of tea from a locally owned coffee house when I go to town--maybe 3 times a month.

The house is too big for me, but I'm not selling it yet.  I prefer living here than in an apartment complex with people with kids or people that party.  If I could find a place for seniors that accepted cats, I'd work on getting the house ready to sell.  

I am looking forward to the day when dining out consists of somewhere besides Dairy Queen.  I have come to really dislike Dairy Queen because I take dad there at least once a week.

[Deleted]

I think some of the list is just silly.  Of course, I pay full price at the grocery store if I need something.  I try to buy on sale, but if you are out of toilet paper, what exactly are you supposed to do?

I don't buy movie popcorn because I don't go to the movies.  Yay me for my financial wisdom!

Vinegar is fine, but I'm too busy to make my own cleaning stuff.  That is the stuff I buy with coupons and do fairly well.

You get the idea.  The article does make you think, but not all those ways are a waste of money.

[thyme4change]

I was thinking that i would do at least 25 of them, but, as it turns out, I don't! There are kinda two types of things there: (1) Lazy/indulgent/convenient and (2) Uninformed/Misinformed. I do most the the first and only 1 of the second.

[Cookies Galore]

My big ones would be vices (hello booze!), dining out/takeout, and beauty products.
I do menu plan each week, that plan just happens to include days where I want to go out or order in if I so desire. I buy fancy hair and skin potions, but I also buy drug store. I know what works for me. Booze, well, I love my stocked home bar.

That said, our only debt is mortgage, car loan (0.9%), and hubs' student loan (his debt, not mine, which is at 1.9% anyway). We don't have cable, no kids, don't leave all the lights on, etc. I'll continue drinking wine, spending $9 a week on coffee, and keeping Sephora in business. It's a healthy balance.

[plugginaway22]

Theotherme....we LOVE the occasional Chile dogs from DQ!

[TheOtherMe]

Feb 6, 2019 15:39:41 GMT -5 plugginaway22 said:

Theotherme....we LOVE the occasional Chile dogs from DQ!

You said "occasional".  That means not every single weekend.  

Plus I'm a vegetarian and lactose intolerant.  Dairy Queen is not where I would choose to spend my money.

[resolution]

I was going to list mine, but when it got up to 15 I stopped counting. I am not sure how I am doing as well as I am doing, considering what I train wreck I am by that article's standards...

The main thing I have going for me is the small house, and I would like to buy a bigger house.

[weltschmerz]

Jan 24, 2019 18:09:29 GMT -5 wvugurl26 said:

We have cable, I buy name brand stuff, we use bottled water, I do have some expensive makeup and skincare, and we do go out to eat.

We have cut back drastically on eating out. We don't go to the movies enough for the popcorn cost to matter. We literally go like maybe every two years.

I get an iced coffee at Dunkin Donuts each morning. I look for gift card deals and cash in credit card rewards for them. I already get up at 530am, I'm not getting up even earlier. My commute is anywhere from 40-60 minutes most days so I don't want the ice melting either.

We buy cleaning products. DH does most of the heavy scrubbing. We buy what he wants to use.

Someone gifted me with a tiny jar of expensive eye cream from Lancome. $130.00. Did I see any noticeable changes after using it? Not even a little bit!

It's no different from anything I can get from Dollarama.

[countrygirl2]

I buy expensive makeup and cologne, so that.  Most everything else I do good on.  I have been cutting.  Maybe I could save on electric, I dropped subscriptions..  I could drop Sirius radio and we now have the basic dish subscription and it could go. I stopped the bottled water, we now have a kinetico reverse osmosis water system, water tastes great by the way.

[cronewitch]

I don't waste on most things but I am not a frequent shopper so sometimes pay full price. 

[Deleted]

Feb 6, 2019 17:40:20 GMT -5 resolution said:

I was going to list mine, but when it got up to 15 I stopped counting. I am not sure how I am doing as well as I am doing, considering what I train wreck I am by that article's standards...

I stopped counting as well.  In general, doing very well at a lot of the "green" things such as not buying fast fashion, minimizing use of disposable products, not wasting natural resources.  I rarely eat out. I'm very wary of ongoing monthly commitments such as subscriptions, Internet, TV and cell phone and have cut back to what I truly use and enjoy.  I never pay credit card interest or other bank fees.

Not as great about waiting for sales and comparison shopping.

[laterbloomer]

Feb 6, 2019 17:40:20 GMT -5 resolution said:

I was going to list mine, but when it got up to 15 I stopped counting. I am not sure how I am doing as well as I am doing, considering what I train wreck I am by that article's standards...

The main thing I have going for me is the small house, and I would like to buy a bigger house.

You probably make good money.

[resolution]

Feb 21, 2019 15:07:14 GMT -5 laterbloomer said:

Feb 6, 2019 17:40:20 GMT -5 resolution said:

I was going to list mine, but when it got up to 15 I stopped counting. I am not sure how I am doing as well as I am doing, considering what I train wreck I am by that article's standards...

The main thing I have going for me is the small house, and I would like to buy a bigger house.

You probably make good money.

We have a good income for the area we live in, but not so much by YM standards. I think a lot of our savings is just from staying home and not buying a lot. For example, we break five rules every time we go grocery shopping (shopping in one place, paying full price if its on our shopping list, not comparison shopping, buying cleaning products and wine), but since our tastes are fairly simple and the volume of what we buy is low its not too damaging.

[Malarky]

We pay too much for cable, Netflix and Hulu.  And we have Amazon.  But we never go to the movie theatre and it makes people happy.  Particularly during the long dreary winter.  In the summer, it's an absolute waste.

We've cut back recently when I pointed out to DH that our restaurant bills were far exceeding our grocery bills.  My meal planning has gone seriously downhill since there's usually just the two of us these days.  

My Planet Fitness membership is cheap but seriously underutilized.  

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Let me see....

I do not comparison shop.  If I am in the grocery store and need something, I buy it.  I can't run to 3 places to find the cheapest price.

Along the same lines, I pay for shipping if I find something I need.  Again, I rarely shop in a store for clothes as it's just too difficult for me.

We have more house than we need, but it is paid for and we would be paying the same for a smaller house.

We overpay for the cable package, Comcast pretty much has a monopoly here and there is no alternatives.  No cable, no local TV.  (I’ve checked....no signal where we live).

I might be overpaying for insurance, but I consider that customer service has $$ value.

Generic products are NOT always as good as name brand.  It depends upon the product.

I do occasionally buy individually packaged foods.  It depends upon the situation, but not the norm.

We eat out a lot.  3 times this week if we go out tonight (lunch, happy hour and dinner).  We will eat out Sunday when we go OOT.

My skin care is not cheap, but I try to buy it on sale.  Best I can do is 20% off  I don't make expensive, impulse purchases of make up.

[Deleted]

Feb 22, 2019 21:11:23 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

I might be overpaying for insurance, but I consider that customer service has $$ value.

Having been in the business my whole career I'm wary of cheap insurance, too.  In the old days nearly every company used policy forms developed by Insurance Services Office (ISO).  Now, according to an article I read in a CPCU Journal (respected professional organization), the lower-cost carriers are developing their own forms that whittle away at coverage.  One example was the definition of an "insured driver"- for example, if you let someone use your rental can and then they loan it out to someone else without your knowledge, any damage they cause (not covered by their own insurance) may be covered under your policy if it's an ISO form but not if it's from a form developed by another company.  You don't know till you have a claim, of course- and then you may also find that the low-cost carrier will put up roadblocks and make lowball offers.

DS' employer actually got out of Private Passenger Auto because the price competition and the high expectations of customers made it almost impossible to make a profit.  Thank heaven he found a spot in Commercial Auto. 

I also agree on clothing. I have a few brands I trust (made in USA, classic styles) and I may wait for an e-mail announcing a sale... or I may not.  Since I rarely buy clothes the extra cost of not buying on sale doesn't add up to much.

[NoNamePerson]

Feb 5, 2019 18:11:47 GMT -5 @bamafan1954 said:

I think some of the list is just silly.  Of course, I pay full price at the grocery store if I need something.  I try to buy on sale, but if you are out of toilet paper, what exactly are you supposed to do?

I don't buy movie popcorn because I don't go to the movies.  Yay me for my financial wisdom!

Vinegar is fine, but I'm too busy to make my own cleaning stuff.  That is the stuff I buy with coupons and do fairly well.

You get the idea.  The article does make you think, but not all those ways are a waste of money.

When I first glanced at the slide talking about disposables I thought that was toilet paper on the counter! Alas, it was paper towels.

As for wasting money via the list - it's my money and I'll waste it if I want to. 

[countrygirl2]

I just bought new curtains $200 for one window and almost half price!  I didn't have to have them.  Going to get DD 2 pair for her windows, they are 95 long so adds to cost. I fear Pennys will stop selling them soon and these are very nice lined ones.

I had some sheers I ordered online cheap for the bedroom and yes they were cheap, I ironed the wrinkles out but they still aren't great.  Cannot even imagine having to iron them.

I nee to comparison shop at Sams I think some of their stuff is to high I impulse shop to often.  But I have reduced a lot of basic expenses.