There’s a fine line between having stuff and enjoying stuff. Do you enjoy the fine taste of your coffee? Or just need caffeine to survive? We waste a huge amount of money on expensive things we don’t need.
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| Expensive Things You Can Do Without |
Many of them we don’t even particularly want. They are just habit. Just stuff. And perhaps it’s time to clean out your financial house and future spending habits.
1. Gourmet Coffee
Coffee is always on the list of things we can do without, and yet we keep on buying it. If an expensive cup of coffee is part of your routine in the morning and you sip it with elegant refinement, perhaps you should continue to indulge. But if you just need to shot of caffeine to get your eyes all the way open first thing in the morning or late in the afternoon, there’s nothing wrong with the cheaper coffee at fast food restaurants, gas stations and even down the hall in your office break room.2. Restaurant Drinks
It costs restaurants less than a quarter for every soft drink or tea on the menu. But they sell them for upwards of $2 most of the time, making soft drinks and tea one of the most profitable items on a menu in a restaurant – fast food or otherwise. If you want to cut a nice chunk off your bill at mealtimes, skip the over-priced soft drinks and go with water. It’s usually free and it’s better for you anyhow.3. Cable
There are very few shows that rely on cable these days. If you have an online provider like Hulu Plus or Amazon Prime you can watch just about anything you want when it’s convenient anyhow. You may have to wait a day for a show to be available online, but how many of us are able to watch anything in real-time anyhow? Ditch your $100 cable bill and pay $15 for the shows you want when you want them. Simple.4. Delivery
The most wonderful thing about shopping online is how easy it is for everything to arrive on your doorstep. But the downside of that is that most places charge for delivery, and the delivery fees can be steep. With a little shopping around and cyber-coupon clipping you can find ways to get your items shipped to you for free. Or, in many cases, you can pick up items locally and skip the $5 – $10 in shipping fees anytime.5. Newspaper and Magazines
The internet is forcing the print industry to really stand up and pay attention to their business practices and prices. Currently there is more news online than in any morning paper, and magazine articles are more readily accessible online as well. Paying for magazines and newspapers is no longer necessary, but it may be a luxury you enjoy. Flipping through a fashion magazine or the financial times may simply be more satisfying than skimming a website. If that’s the case, keep your subscriptions. But if you subscribe because you always have, perhaps it’s time to keep that cash or pay for a (cheaper) digital subscription.6. Fish Tanks
Fish are beautiful and watching them swim can be hugely soothing. Unfortunately those swimming beauties can also be hugely expensive as well. Freshwater aquariums are not too pricey if they are small and easily maintained, but the larger your aquarium, the more you can expect to pay for the materials and upkeep required. Salt water tanks in particular can run into the hundreds of dollars every month simply for water changes and other basic supplies.7. Expensive Binge – Shopping Trips
Shopping feels good, but you can get the satisfaction of shopping without binging completely. Set yourself a budget for your shopping trip – $20 in cash perhaps. Then hit the stores to see what treasure you can find. You may not grab a whole outfit, but a pretty necklace, a great pair of discount sunglasses or something fun for the house can satisfy your shopping urges without breaking the bank the way full shopping trips can.8. Your car
There are many areas where having a car is simple a necessity. You can’t get to work in the suburban sprawl of most cities without a car. But in more urban areas you may not really need a car at all. If you live near excellent public transportation you might be spending entirely too much on insurance, car payments and parking fees. Even if your place comes with a parking spot, you might do better to sell the space rather than using it yourself. Let someone else pay for the privilege of parking in your spot and you don’t just save money, you can actually come out quite a bit ahead.9. Credit Card Balances
Keeping a balance on your credit card is a hard habit to break, but it’s an expensive one. If you have balances on your credit cards, do what you can to pay those down as quickly as possible. The longer the balance sits, the more it is costing you in fees and interest. Make some cuts or roll the balances onto low APR cards to get it paid down more quickly.10. Vacations
There is nothing more exciting than a big trip, but those trips can easily cost thousands of dollars to enjoy. If you can, skip the vacations for a while to build your savings. But for many of us, a vacation is a necessary way to keep some balance in our lives. If that is your situation, opt for vacations that don’t require airfare, expensive hotels and outlandish meals. Consider camping, or staying in a cabin in a national or state park. Drive instead of flying and stay in hotels where you can cook your own lunch or dinner at least some of the time to keep costs low.11. House Phone
While some feel a house phone line is a safety feature that can’t be overlooked, most of us never use the house phone. Consider cancelling your house phone all together and just using your cell phones as a house phone. If you are worried about having a phone at home, adding a cell phone to your existing plan may cost you less than $10 per month, and that phone can stay at home as a back-up for emergencies.12. Investment Fees
Investing money is supposed to make you money. It can also make your investment bank a great deal of money as well – through fees. There are so many places now where you can invest your money without paying high management and investment fees. Do a bit of research to see just how much you can save by switching management companies or opening up a new investment with a different company – those savings definitely add up.13. Boats and Jet Skis
Finally, the toys we adults enjoy can be outrageously priced. Who wouldn’t want to zip around on the water on their own jet ski? Probably anyone who realized just how expensive things are to own! Jet skis and boats can cost as much or more than a car and have the added expense of storage. Paying for your boat, for storage, for fuel and maintenance gets to be pricey. As the old adage says, the happiest days for a boat owner is the day he buys the boat and the day he sells it.We all want nice expensive things in life, it’s ok to treat yourself for completing a goal. But making this kind of spending an lifestyle will break your bank and leave you empty for future needs. Hope you like the post and leave us your thought on this buying subject!
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