How often have you looked at your bank accounts and thought to yourself, “where did all my money go?”, or how many times have you felt buyers’ remorse after purchasing something? The truth is that it's way too easy to spend without noticing how much money is actually slipping away. In this episode, we’ll talk about 7 common habits that cause people to waste money and share some tips on how to correct them. Links: Check out Triangle's competitive Personal Loan and Auto Loan refinance rates to start saving money Check out TCU University for financial education tips and resources! Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter! Learn more about Triangle Credit Union Transcript: Welcome to Money Tip Tuesday from the Making Money Personal podcast. Many people believe they don’t have enough money because they don’t earn enough, but often the real issue is spending too much. Most of us don’t spot wasteful spending right away. It can build up for different reasons and turn into a habit. If your habits aren’t helping, they could be hurting. To make the most of your money, it helps to know where you might be wasting it. Here’s a list of a few wasteful habits that tend to drain our money. The first one is throwing away food. Have you ever filled your fridge, only to toss out a lot of it a week later? This is a major way people waste money. If you want to cut waste, start here. Fix this habit by making a food plan. Choose recipes for each meal, list the ingredients you need, and buy only those. Planning ahead keeps you organized and helps you use everything you buy rather than waste it. Habit number two is spending too much on dining out. After a long day, it’s tempting to order takeout or eat out if you haven’t planned a meal. But eating out often adds up fast. With food, drinks, tip, and tax, you might spend more on one meal than it would cost to make several at home. What can you do? Plan your at-home meals in advance and set a budget for dining out. This way, you'll have money set aside to spend on dining and can enjoy eating out without guilt. Habit number three is impulse buying. Impulse buying often happens for emotional reasons. If you buy more than you planned, that’s an impulse purchase. This can waste a lot of money, especially if you didn’t budget for it. To change this, try shopping in person with cash and bring a list—only buy what’s on it. If you shop online, use a debit card instead of a credit card. You’ll have to pay close attention to your spending because you’re limited by that account balance. Habit number four is buying brand-name items when generic products work just as well. People often spend more on brand names without noticing. Brand-name products can cost 20% to 30% more, even when generics work fine. Look at the items you usually buy and see if the price difference is worth it. Many generic products, especially food products, contain the same ingredients. Do your research and choose what makes sense. Habit number five is stocking up on too many things you don’t need. The Internet is full of people showing off their hauls—candles, body scrubs, food, sneakers, clothes, and more. Many of us like to collect things, but there’s a fine line between collecting and overbuying. Content creators, ads, and online messages often tempt us to buy things we think we’ll use but don’t really need. This can be wasteful, especially since some items, like cosmetics and beauty products, expire. If you stock too much, they may go bad before you get to use them. Avoid this habit by sticking to a budget to help avoid overspending on things you don’t need. If you’re considering items that have a shelf life, be intentional to use up what you have before buying more. Habit number six is paying unnoticed fees or subscriptions you don’t need. How many subscriptions do you have? Can you keep track of them all? Have any gone up in price in the last six months or year? If you don’t keep track, you might end up paying more than you planned. Avoid wasting money on fees and subscriptions by checking them regularly. Cancel the ones you don’t use or downgrade the plan if necessary. When it comes to late fees, check your account history for any missed payments. Companies will charge a fee when a payment isn’t made on time, so the best way to avoid these fees is to stay organized. Mark up a calendar or set alerts on your phone to stay on top of all payments and use auto pay tools to ensure the payment is made on time. Wasteful habit number seven is paying high interest on loans. If you think you’re paying too much interest each month, you might be right. Interest rates change over time, and your rate could be higher than necessary. To avoid this, consider refinancing your loans to get a lower interest rate. This can lower your monthly payments and free up a little cash. Check out Triangle Credit Union for the best refinance rates on auto loans, mortgages, home equity loans, personal loans, and more. If there are any other tips or topics you'd like us to cover, let us know at tcupodcast@trianglecu.org. Also, remember to like and follow our Making Money Personal Facebook and Instagram to share your thoughts. Finally, remember to look for our sponsor, Triangle Credit Union, on Facebook and LinkedIn. Thanks for listening to today's Money Tip Tuesday. Check out our other tips and episodes on the Making Money Personal podcast.
