It is very easy to waste money if you aren’t financially responsible. There are plenty of simple ways you can waste a lot of money if you aren’t careful with what you are spending on.
On the other hand, it is also very easy to stay financially responsible once you understand where your weakness are. With a bit of self awareness and these habits, you shouldn’t have much trouble working to avoid falling into those same traps.
Stay Organized
You are more likely to waste money and overspend if you aren’t able to keep up with the items that you have already purchased.
If you are able to stay organized, you are more likely to be able to find everything you need in your home instead of buying them, especially if prices aren’t good at the time you really need them.
Also, if you are organized you are more likely to not let things expire in your house.
Keep an Eye On Your Money
Even if you aren’t someone that has an extremely strict budgeting system that you follow, keeping a loose eye on your money will help you spend less of it.
Plus you are more likely to find errors if you are keeping an eye on what is coming out of your accounts. You can quickly spot fraud and get it handled before it messes up your cash flow.
You are also less likely to go crazy and overspend if you keep an eye on your cash flow.
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Plan Ahead
If you keep a loose eye on your budget, you can also see how your cash flow will be throughout the month. This will help prevent overdraft charges if you are able to see that you will end up being short at any given time.
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Buy Durable Items
You’d be surprised how much money you will save if you just invest the money in a better quality product. You often get what you pay for, regardless of whether the item is cheap or not.
When I was in college, I used to buy can openers from Dollar Tree every few months, until I got tired of it and went to Walmart and bought a $9 can opener. It was made in America and seemed thick and durable and even came with a lifetime warranty.
Being the poor college student I was, I saved my receipt and the packaging in case it failed. Years later, I was cleaning out some old papers and found where I had saved the packaging and receipt.
I never needed to replace it in all that time despite constant use and the can opener looked just as good as it did when I bought it aside from a little rust on the gear.
I felt comfortable throwing away the packaging, especially since the receipt had already faded. It has been several years since I threw away the packaging and receipt and I’ve still yet to have any issues with the can opener.
This just goes to show you that if you buy a quality item, it will serve you for many years and you won’t have to deal with the hassle, wasted gas, and wasted time of trying to replace the item.
Don’t Buy Junk
Don’t waste money on cheap toys, single use items that have a good reusable alternative (especially lint rollers), and other nonsense that won’t actually serve you or your family.
You will absolutely end up overspending if you buy nonsense items that are a waste of time or require a bunch of expensive replacements to keep the item functioning.
Don’t Have FOMO
As much as I agree with buying items and returning them if they don’t work out, so you don’t miss out on the good deal.
If you know that you aren’t going to be able to return the item, or if you know that you will probably be able to get a better deal or a better item elsewhere, don’t be afraid to pass on that item.
Just make sure that you actually return everything you need to and don’t let it just sit in a corner somewhere or in the trunk of your car. If you don’t return the things you don’t need, you’ll still end up overspending in the long run because the item still won’t satisfy your needs and you would have wasted money on something that you can’t use anyway.
Keep Your Schedule in Mind
Whether you are meal prepping, keeping your house stocked, or buying clothes and supplies for your kids, make sure you consider what you will actually be able to use.
There isn’t any point in buying a bunch of groceries and planning on a different meal for every dinner, when you know that you aren’t able to eat all of the leftovers before it is dinner time the next day.
This is especially true if you don’t like putting leftovers in the freezer, especially if it isn’t enough to make a full meal for your family and you don’t like doing a potluck style dinner.
When it comes to keeping your house stocked, be sure you are always buying ahead of time so you don’t have to run out of your staple items. It is also much better to shop the sales and use your coupons to buy the products your family needs, then to risk not being able to find the exact item that you and your family prefers.
I definitely prefer buying clothes and supplies ahead of time so I can find exactly what I’m looking for versus having to settle for something else and overpaying for it.
Although this is a less painful way to overspend, it is easier to slip into a habit of overspending like this because once you get out of the routine of planning and buying ahead, it is very hard to get back into it.
Don’t Buy Dumb Things
Don’t buy things just for the sake of keeping up with the Joneses or for the sake of buying keepsakes you won’t actually use or appreciate in the long run. This is a terrible way to overspend because you aren’t actually happy with the purchase you are making, you just feel like you need to make it because you have to.
There are plenty of ways to keep memories alive like photos, videos, and usable keepsakes like sweatshirts and tumblers instead of lapel pins you would never wear and postcards you’ll probably never look at again.
Keep Your Subscriptions in Check
It is very easy to join a bunch of subscriptions and never cancel them. However, they are also a quick way to overspend and waste a bunch of money on something you might not even be using often enough to warrant the cost of it.
I prefer putting a reminder in my Google Calendar when all of my bills are due, but especially for any subscriptions I sign up for so I know when I need to cancel them to avoid getting charged.
This is a great practice if you know you are only trying to take advantage of the free trial for something, but don’t want to waste money on paying for it regularly every month.
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