Stop Wasting Money: 5 Ways You’re Letting Your Money Slip Away

I’m not one to be a penny pincher or be a scrouge over spending a few dollars. However, you aren’t going to see me wasting money either. I want my money to go towards things that are useful, support causes I care about, or bring me joy.  

Here are a few small and major ways that people are letting their money slip away. 

1. Keeping Unused Services 

Paying for services and items that you don’t use can be a small way you are wasting money, but it can really add up! What are some common examples of this? 

  • Magazines that you never read 
  • Landline phone 
  • Gym membership you haven’t used in a year 
  • Cable or streaming services 
  • Premium mobile phones plans with features you don’t even use 
  • Online shopping subscriptions 

2. Having Credit Card Balances 

Carrying a balance on a credit card is one of the worst offenders. The average credit care interest rate on new cards is almost 22%!

If you have the cash to pay your credit card balance off – do it. 

3. Not Getting Your 401(k) Match 

Once you have your emergency savings account set aside. One of your next goals should be starting to contribute to your 401(k) – especially at least up to the match. It’s free money! What do I mean by this? 

If your salary is $100,000 and your employer has a 100% match up to 4% of your salary, that means:  

  • You put in $4,000 of your own dollars 
  • They give you an ADDITIONAL $4,000 of their dollars 

You just got paid $4,000 dollars for no additional hours worked. Not doing this could be considered a waste.  

4. Not using Rewards or Coupons 

I don’t care if you are a Kroger shopper, Meijer shopper, or anything in between. You are never too good to keep an eye out for a coupon or rewards program. My family is quite busy, and we have neither the time nor the interest to coupon clip. That said, we can punch in our rewards code at the register. We regularly get $10 – $40 off shopping trips just for entering our rewards code. Don’t even get me started on the free sandwiches we get at Chick-fil-a for using rewards. 

5. Not being Smart with Charitable Giving 

This is the area where I see the biggest dollars wasted – and it’s wasted to taxes… the worst of offenders. 

If you make sizable gifts to charity, consider talking to your tax or financial advisor about one of these strategies: 

I have already written or made videos about these topics, so follow those links to learn more! 

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I hope this article helps you identify ways to better align your spending with things that are actually important to you. It’s not really about savings dollars – it is about ensuring your dollars go towards things you value!