Everyone knows when he or she creates their monthly budget that there seems to be a couple hundred dollars that are unaccounted for. Sometimes it just seems as though money is disappearing over the month and you have no idea what you are spending your money on. You just assume those extra dollars you always have left over are like the matching sock that always seems to go missing after you wash your clothes. Or, you write the missing money off as “miscellaneous expenses.” Never fearrrrr, Mick B is here! I’ve compiled a list of 10 things that people waste their money on, and assume it’s just gone missing:
- Vending machines: most companies have snack machines in their offices, heck even elementary and secondary schools have snack machines in them these days. If you buy a soda (which usually runs about $1.25- $1.50) and a snack (about $1.00) you spend roughly $12.00- $15.00 per week. This adds up to roughly $50.00- $60.00 a month
- Coffee: One can expect to spend anywhere between $2.00- $ 5.00 on one cup of coffee per day if purchased at a gas station, local coffee shop or for my fancier followers… STARBUCKS! That’s between $10.00 – $25.00 per week or $40.00- $100.00 per month! Wow, at this is assuming that you don’t purchase a snack to go with that coffee.
- Contract Cell Phone Services: I once was a sprint customer, paying about $110.00 per month, I switched to Boost Mobile and I am now paying $45.00 per month. I was wasting $65.00 per month! Did my internet service slow down a little? Maybe, but I certainly am not willing to pay $65.00 a month for my page to load a little faster.
- Cable: According to an article posted by YAHOO! , the average cable television bill was $99.10 in 2015. Personally, I don’t have cable, I have internet, HULU and Netflix. Since most people have internet anyways, I would say I save about $80.00 a month by not having cable. What a waste!
- Gym Memberships: Now, I have an all access membership to Club Fitness that costs me about $20.00 per month, but some gym memberships are a lot pricier. For example, Gold’s Gym requires a $50.00 initial payment and $40.00 per month thereafter for a membership fee. So roughly $45.00 per month on a gym membership! Wow, one could say you could do an at home workout which is kinda free (because you may have to purchase equipment) and save yourself the $20.00- $45.00 or you could drop down to the one gym membership at Club Fitness ($10.00 per month) and save either way.
- New Books: I may be alone on this one, but probably not. I own a Kindle and I love to read. I also have Amazon, 1-Click which allows me to purchase books at the click of a button. I have caught myself multiple times a month purchasing books that average about $10.00 a piece. I should be ashamed, because I also have a library card. I’m not sure if all libraries are as advanced as mine, but they offer an e-library. The only downside is that I often like to read books that everyone else likes to read. This means a lot of the time the books I want to purchase are on Hold, and I am not a very patient person. If I used my library card, I could save $20.00- $30.00 a month.
- Landline Phone: I can’t, for the life of me, figure out why any one would still have a house phone, but please, join us in the 21st century and get rid of it. I know plenty of companies trick us into bundling, but DON’T DO IT! Get rid of the cable and the home phone. Save yourself. Otherwise, you’ll probably be wasting $20.00- $40.00 per month.
- Lawn Care: From March- October or November most people need their lawns cut. That is approximately 8-9 months of lawn care. For the longest while after purchasing my first home, I refused to learn how to cut grass. “That’s a man’s job” and “I’m not poor, I can pay someone to do it!” Well I would usually get my lawn cut every two weeks and believe me when I say, two weeks was a stretch. My lawn would look horrible compared to my neighbors. At $25.00 a cut, for about 9 months, I spent an average of $450.00 on lawn care. There are those that get their lawns cut every week, in which case you are looking at $900.00 a year, minimum. This summer I purchased a $200.00 mower from Home Depot and had my mom teach me how to use it. It’s one heck of a work out, but after a while I got the hang of it.
- Manicures/ Pedicures: I know I go to the nail shop every two weeks. The average Gel Polish Fill-In costs roughly $25.00 and a pedicure costs between $20.00- $25.00 and an eyebrow wax costs roughly $8.00. You’re looking at roughly $50.00- $60.00 per visit. That adds up to about $100.00 per month! Nail polish is so much cheaper and lasts much longer.
- Hair Care: I’m pretty certain the price paid for hair care varies based on race/ sex. But for my immediate circle, women spend about $55 for a wash and style every two weeks, $200 for a sew-in that lasts about 2 months, or $200 for braids that last about 2 months. If broken down by month, most African-American women spend about $100 per month on hair care. For men, they can get their head cut and beard trimmed for around $25. If they go every week (which a lot tend to do) that’s about $100 per month. If men cut their own hair and women styled their own hair, we could save up to $100 per month!
And there you have it folks, my list of ten things we waste money on every month! Let’s just say I just saved you between $500- $700 a month on unnecessary purchases… you can thank me later! Remember, if any one asks… tell them Mick B told you.
Can you think of anything you waste money on every month? Comment below, help us, help each other.
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