6 Money Wasters

[AmyBoz]

http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-bud...d=bb-budgeting

Most of these are no-brainers for us villagers, however, I think a good reminder every now and then helps us all stay on top of things.

For myself, I can definitely let something slide every now and then, so seeing some of these in black and white are a good reminder to get people back on track!

[dcompton]

All good advice except, from my perspective, perhaps the soft drink cans in the car. In fact, in the winter I do sometimes keep some in the trunk, and will take one in when I'm working a long shift.

But in the summer, it would be much too exciting to keep soft drinks in the car. The cans explode. I've seen it happen, though fortunately, not to me. Not to mention that in that kind of weather you really don't want a very hot drink in a very hot can. This, however, is clearly a geograhical issue.

[mauimagic]

Mahalo Amy - you are so right about a refresher helping out!!

[Libby]

All good advice except, from my perspective, perhaps the soft drink cans in the car. In fact, in the winter I do sometimes keep some in the trunk, and will take one in when I'm working a long shift.

But in the summer, it would be much too exciting to keep soft drinks in the car. The cans explode. I've seen it happen, though fortunately, not to me. Not to mention that in that kind of weather you really don't want a very hot drink in a very hot can. This, however, is clearly a geograhical issue.

I've seen them explode in extreme cold too Only take one or two with your daily as needed vs keeping a case in your car. My case of water seems to have expanded enough to almost crack the bottle - very cold temps a few weeks back and thank goodness we caught the leaks before it really warmed up to what its been this week! I'd have a flooded trunk!

[Palooka]

Convenience stores is a major down-fall and I've said it before here.

Besides lotto tickets and just the 'convenience' of stoping to make your day fulfilled.. fluffy and all... when one has to go to work???

Just gah....I've been in this trap before.

Do I need to buy hostess donuts by the bulk..twinkies and zingers and green tea, Dr.Pepper and get a membership at Costco for it to become cheaper? No, I'm not kidding...?

Dh never gains weight! Grumble*

[Grainlady]

Great list. Glad I learned to avoid those money pitfalls years ago. Hubby and I walk early in the morning and go by a convenience store. It's amazing how many "regulars" we see in there everyday... Newspapers are delivered to homes/businesses for much less per copy, coffee is certainly cheaper made at home, and soda/pop by far rakes in more money for convenience stores than the gas they sell. But like I said, we walk by (LOL).

[tervsforme]

This is a great reminder. I used to go to the convenience store way too often. One of my co-workers stops there every single morning, it's amazing the money he spends there. I haven't been in ages.

[joyofsix]

Thanks Amy, I've got those down. Now I need some professional to come look at my life and see what I'm missing, LOL.

[Trishagirl]

Yes plus soft drink are terrible for womens bones cause the phosporous from pop eats up your bones and the carbination is bad for your digestive system. So Beware of those sweet drinks if you don't want osteoporosis!!!!!

[mombottoo]

Some others I can think of are:
Buying individual serving bottled water...WTH???
Buying ice...another WTH????
Not using store/gas station rewards cards...if you are going to frequent the business use their rewards programs...we saved $1.75 off each gallon of gas (20) just due to the points on our Wesco card.
Printing coupons off your own system without using them...wastes paper, ink and time.

[itsrtimedownhere]

i wish i could wean my husband off convenience stores! he's a cable tech so he's on the road all day driving from house to house. it's easy (one might say "convenient" ) for him to stop in for a drink.

some days i'll check our bank balance and see that he's stopped in at them 2 or 3 times a day!

[Lucas]

Yes plus soft drink are terrible for womens bones cause the phosporous from pop eats up your bones and the carbination is bad for your digestive system. So Beware of those sweet drinks if you don't want osteoporosis!!!!!

Are there any studies or evidence you can provide to back this statement up? I think it is possible but it also sounds a little far fetched.

[beesue]

I've seen them explode in extreme cold too Only take one or two with your daily as needed vs keeping a case in your car. My case of water seems to have expanded enough to almost crack the bottle - very cold temps a few weeks back and thank goodness we caught the leaks before it really warmed up to what its been this week! I'd have a flooded trunk!

In Wisconsin, I've seen both temparature extremes. One can exploded right as we were getting into our car in the summer -- sounded like a gun shot! Unfortunately, I've wasted a few sodas by leaving them in my car in the winter. The cans freeze -- tops and bottoms bulge out and sometimes they explode.

[Lady_V]

i wish i could wean my husband off convenience stores! he's a cable tech so he's on the road all day driving from house to house. it's easy (one might say "convenient" ) for him to stop in for a drink.

some days i'll check our bank balance and see that he's stopped in at them 2 or 3 times a day!

Don't I know it! The Old Man does satellite instillation (for now, he officially applied for the Management job and we're waiting to hear back), and he was stopping at the store for Gaterade and iced teas... WAS... I bought him a cooler and buy the same size bottles for much cheaper at the grocery store. Toss a few bottles in the cooler with some ice and in the van it goes for the day.

[sinopa27]

Good list and good reminder. Sweet Tea in restaurants can be just as expensive as soda. Water with lemon is what I get. I found organic lemons. So, if I know I am going out to eat, I am going to start bringing my own lemons.