Ask The Readers: Your Best Tip To WASTE Money
You guys have been so good with the commenting in the past couple of months, that I’ve gotten the opportunity to get to know more of you than ever before.
This is why I’ve decided to add a new type of post to the site called Ask The Readers. You guys are a really smart bunch, and always willing to give some feedback.
Since this is my first time attempting one of these, I ask that everyone pitch in and give their best tips in the comments section. I think this is a question that everyone can relate to, so don’t hold back! If you want to give more than one tip, that’s fine too.
Let me elaborate more on the question to you, so that you have more to work with.
- What is the best way to waste money on a daily, monthly, yearly bases?
- What purchases tend to be the biggest waste of money?
- What fees tend to be unfair and lead to wasted money?
- What is a quick way to increase debt?
Feel free to use humor and sarcasm to answer these questions if you so choose. The reason I chose to ask about wasting money, rather than saving money is that it adds a funny twist to money management, while being educational at the same time.
After you guys are done, I’m going to compile all the tips into a separate post, and together we can educate each other, and the world, on what things to AVOID in order to save some cash! i’ll start it off, now go crazy in the comments! 
Photo by Lisa_Yarost
Posted by Alex Shalman in Ask The Readers | March 14, 2008 | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumble | Print | 31 comments
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Buy coffee from starbucks daily. That’s what $3 on average now? Nearly $3000 for the working year. The average American family earns between 25000-35000 a year. That’s nearly 10% of their earnings. Instead, we can make this coffee at home for much cheaper, or bring water instead which is cheaper and healthier!
Change photographic gears whenever newer model of bodies or lenses are out;
Dine out every day.
Buy thing without thinking what they are for.
Buy things with credit card
Five quick ways to waste money:
1. Buy a new outfit every time you go on a date-”He already saw me in everthing else!”
2. Buy groceries daily rather than weakly-”I’ll just stop by the sotre on the way home while I’m hungry to grab something for dinner”
3. Purchase a gym membership and never use it- “But I have it just in case I want to workout”
4. Shop online at QVC or HSN- “Great product but how many lotions, potions and gadgets does one really need?”
5. Driving to work alone rather than car-pooling or taking public transportation-”I just can’t share my drive time space with other people even though gas is well above $3 a gallon”
Do all these things and by the end of the work week you too can be broke!
Hey Dude,
1) The best way is to spend it on those machines where you try to grab one soft toy among the hundreds of other silly looking ones. You lose a dolllar everytime, you get stressed up and sometimes the game is rigged!!!
2) Self-help books that you i) don’t finish reading but keep buying more of ii) just read, underline but don’t take action on
3) The 35% surcharge on taxi cabs in Singapore!
4) Sign up for all the credit cards in the world, live like a millionaire and wait for the interest rates to kill ya!
Haha! Good release of stress this! Anyway, I’m actually writing on “21 Secrets of Self-Made Millionaires” currently.
I talk about how I managed to get my cashflow from -20% to a +20% in just 4 months in this post.
To CANI,
SaiF
The World’s First Teen
Personal Development Video Blogger
These tips are awesome! Keep them coming guys =)
This is a fun one! Here’s a few off the cuff suggestions:
Buy every eBook you find on the web. It’s only $9.95, right?
Be sure to choose the monthly subscription option for all of the magazines, ezines, newspapers and membership sites you visit.
Never plan ahead. You can always buy your way out of a problem.
Dear Alex;
When you say “best” ways to waste money, that can be taken 2 ways. Do you mean, that sarcastically, in that “best” really means worst”? For example, I personally think one of the best / worst ways people waste money these days is to go to Starbucks once or twice a day. I have seen many clients / employees who are making no more than $10 per hour, yet they manage to give Starbucks $10 per day to feed their desire for coffee. The funny part is that, when you ask them, they say the coffee really isn’t that much better.
If you want to save some money (which is important these days), pick a lower cost alternative, such as Dunkin Donuts or McDonalds.
Mr Positioning (Stanley Bronstein)
Thanks for the feedback. By the way your site redesign looks AWESOME! Congratulations!
Buy bottled water!
This may not be as applicable in other parts of the world, but in the U.S. there are generally lower restrictions on bottled drinking water than there are on tap water. On top of that, big-name bottled water (Coke’s Dasani or Pepsi’s Aquafina) are bottled from “municipal sources” anyway. Filtered tap water.
I happen to live in Michigan, (largest source of fresh water in the world, and some of the best tap water) and I laugh any time I see someone buy a case of bottled water. Convienence factor or taste, I still think it’s a waste of money.
I always have to poke back at people who always say never use a credit card. There’s a big difference between carrying a balance and paying interest versus paying your balance off in full every month and earning cash back. Never use a credit card IRRESPONSIBLY.
Buy lunch every day instead of bringing your own lunch to work. Dine out every weekend. Buy premium cable channels like HBO and Showtime. Buy regular brands instead of generic brands. Drink wine every day (tastes great but very expensive when you add it up). Shop at Abercrombie, Diesel, etc., instead of places like Old Navy.
Buying a new car - spend five figures, have a loan with non-deductible interest, and watch your insurance rates jump up - for what? Impressing the other people in the parking lot (and then being irritated when the scratches and “dings” appear?)? My 1994 Toyota Camry is good on gas, looks acceptable, and cost me $4,500 (cash) when I bought it in 2005 - with a little maintenance it’s running fine and I expect to have it for years and miles to come.
Thanks Alex.
I love my site redesign too. It makes it easy for me to share lots of great content with my readers . . .
Take care my friend
Mr Positioning (Stanley F. Bronstein, Atty, CPA, Author and Professional Speaker)
Daily:
My 2 Euro Coffee when going to University lectures (5 Times a Week, 26 Weeks a year). Resulting in 260 Euros/Year (about 380$)
Buying DVDs.. Just rent them.
Renting DVDs for too long - just bring them back the same night, saves you another payed day. When i rent dvds, for three of them usually i save 4 Euros.
Monthly:
Paying high rates for Credit Cards or unbalanced Bank Account
Been there, done that. Last year i paid 100 Euros just for that matter. Never again!
Yearly:
Here in germany we have health insurance provided by the country. Every company does have to give you the same service, but they all take different monthly charges. Rates vary about 4-5%, reaching several hundred Euros per year..
hmm.. well
SNACK MACHINES! snack machines seem like nothing.. hey it’s just a dollar.. but then if you buy snacks everyday that’s 365 dollars in snacks when u coulda gone to costco and gotten them in large quantities for cheaper.. and same goes for buying drinks at those drink machines.
COFFEE/ TEA: instead of purchasing tea at wawa or starbucks/panera etc which is way overpriced you can buy it in bulk and make it at home- way cheaper
LUNCH: spending 7-8 bucks on Panera for lunch several times a week can add up..
Aside from that i think i’m wise about money…
Agreed, I hate buying DVDs. You shouldn’t buy a DVD unless you commit to watching it at least 5 times.
I think living on a cash system is vital. Cut up the credit cards. If you can’t afford something with cash at that very moment, don’t buy it.
Instead of purchasing a gym membership, I like coming up with ways to work out around my home. For example, pull-ups and push-ups work out virtually every upper body muscle there is. And you can do those work-outs without spending a dime on a gym membership or workout equipment.
Oh my gosh … Alex … my brain does not want to think about money from this angle!
This is truly a stretch for me! Wasting money?!? That’s not the message that I want to send to the Universe my friend! Wow. Okay. I’ll give it a shot, but I gotta stick to the beat of my own drummer here … for self preservations reasons!
Q1) What is the best way to waste money on a daily, monthly, yearly bases?
A) Tighten up your purse strings immediately … because we’re in a recession you know … and make all your buying decisions strictly based on price … that would be a total waste, because the rest of the world will receive the message that they’d just be “wasting” THEIR money by buying YOUR products and services. Why should the world give you money, if you’re not going to pass it around? Clearly, that ’s a wasteful money management strategy.
Q2) What purchases tend to be the biggest waste of money?
A) Any purchase that you make because you love, love, love whatever it is, and then beat yourself up for the next year because you spent the money. It’s not about the money. It’s about using money in ways that bring you joy!
Q3) What fees tend to be unfair and lead to wasted money?
A) I’m going to go with: What are legal fees, for $1,000,000 Alex. Although, who am I to say that they’re unfair … but I’m not into litigation.
Q4) What is a quick way to increase debt?
A) Keep on focusing on the debt, talking about the debt, making decisions based on the debt, loath the debt, forget all about why you spent that money in the first place, and what it allowed you to do, and basically put all your intention and energy into debt … and what do you get? More DEBT!
Oh my gosh - I think I need to go shopping immediately!
This was fun Alex - thank you!
Erin.
Erin Thoms Melnick
Modern & Millions
http://www.crosscountrytour.com
Alex, I get a feeling these comments are giving you hundreds of ideas for future posts.
Buy designer clothes and shoes for your children. Nothing like a baby wearing Jordans that they outgrow in 3 weeks! Oh wait, I might have done that one before…
Never go to the library for the free info, reading, magazines, newspapers, books (duh), videos, dvds, books on cd and cassette, kids puzzles, games, puppets, reading and math kits and so much more. Also don’t go to the library to use their free computers for email, word processing, internet, or a class on how to use these things. And don’t ever go to the library for any free programs on a variety of subjects like travel, book groups, writing groups, foreign language, sign, language, crafts, health, taxes, cooking, etc etc. And if you want to waste more money, don’t look into using the library’s meeting rooms for your group or club, don’t stop by for any story times or live music, and don’t learn how to use the databases most libraries have available on their websites. Plus don’t apply for a library card for your state library because it will help you do research from home: genealogists beware! There’s more stuff that you can waste money on by not using your local public library, but my head hurts now.
Best way to waste money……..smoking!
how about being so obsessed with what others think you don’t even realise that 90% of your puchases stem from this one idea and the other 10% are to make sure they don’t find out.
Good point! I remember when my mom bought be the Jordan’s with the red 23 on the side! Those sneakers were $90 (at an outlet store!), and I had to get them two sizes too big just so that they would last more than a year. Dumb decision.
Exactly! This epidemic that we have to “be like the Jones’s” makes us broke.
Smoking is a good one…
I think the number one thing for *most* people is paying for a traditional, wired phone. Seriously, why does anyone need one anymore. Landline free since 2000.
Cable TV is a good waste of money. I use Blockbuster Online with unlimited instore exchanges (grandfathered plan). I still get basic cable for free (channels 2-24), as it comes with my High Speed Internet.
The only reason we have one is that our security system requires it. I hate that thing.
I would think is buying lottery…. chance to win it too low… a waste of money.